Is the plan to move casino license near Fort Wayne dead?
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INDIANAPOLIS - A proposal to build a $500 million casino near Fort Wayne appears to be stalled, at least for the current legislative session.
After a bill outlining the move of Full House Resorts’ casino license from Rising Sun to New Haven was dropped without a vote Wednesday, the legislation’s sponsor. Sen. Andy Zay, R-Huntington, said he doesn’t have any concrete plans to try and revive the measure.
“Full House will continue to look at appropriate legislation. What our appetite to jump in on that at this point—I’m not certain. It is a budget session; we’re dealing with big things. Whether we’re going to jump back in on this, I would say it’s highly unlikely,” Zay said.
Zay did say he might look at advancing language to authorize a study on suitable sites for the license move.
“We might do something in regards to studying it. I wouldn’t expect to bring the full license forward in an amendment form or any other form,” he said.
Full House Chief Development Officer Alex Stoylar declined an interview request Thursday, but issued a written statement thanking supporters.
“We would like to thank the thousands of supporters of the ‘All In on New Haven’ campaign for their dedication to bringing a world-class resort casino to the community. Although a vote was not taken to move the proposal forward, we respect the legislative process and look forward to continuing to work with state and local officials to bolster economic development in the region,” the statement read in part.
Testimony before the Senate Public Policy Committee this week reflected many of the same arguments that have surfaced since Full House publicly discussed its plan to move to New Haven last fall. Supporters, led by New Haven Mayor Steve McMichael, welcomed the massive influx of tax revenue and jobs a new casino would bring to northeast Indiana.
They and Zay pointed to the lagging tax revenues—$2.3 million last year—the casino was generating in Rising Sun with the saturated market in southeast Indiana. Full House claimed tax revenue in the Fort Wayne market could increase to around $65 million.
Opponents in Wednesday’s committee hearing—many part of a group called the Coalition for a Better Allen County—mostly said they were morally opposed to gambling and didn’t want a casino in their community. A few executives from rival gaming companies also testified against the bill as they would stand to lose money if a casino moved closer to their markets.
Zay said his bill wasn’t a referendum on gambling or casinos, and that all it sought to do was move a license from one part of the state to another.
“That wasn’t the question before us,” said Zay. “The question before us was should we move this license?”
As written, the bill would have required Full House to pay the Indiana Gaming Commission a transfer fee of $150 million over five years. It would also have required Full House to invest $500 million into building the casino and hotel.
The bill stipulated that at least 20% of the tax revenue that New Haven received had to be used to on property tax relief for local homeowners. At least 3% of taxes received during each quarter must go into the commission’s Together for Tomorrow Fund. The fund can be used to provide financial support for public health; addiction services and recovery services and resources; to address homelessness or related services; public safety; or “any other purposes deemed appropriate by the commission.”
Multiple elected officials from Rising Sun also testified in favor of the legislation, feeling Full House’s financial commitment to the region will be satisfactory if and when the license moves.
Full House has already made a couple attempts to move its license. In the most recent round of license shuffling, the Las Vegas-based company was a finalist for bidding on the Vigo County license that ultimately went to Churchill Downs Inc. out of Louisville. Full House has also eyed moving its license to Indianapolis.
Sen. Tyler Johnson, who represents New Haven, and Sen. Liz Brown, who represents much of the Fort Wayne suburbs, both opposed the bill, though neither is on the Public Policy Committee.