Terre Haute casino opens Friday; city ready to capitalize

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Peeling plastic wrap off table game screens, sliding restaurant menus into sleeves and connecting service to the remaining couple hundred of the 1,000 slot games on the floor were just a few of the “final touch” tasks workers circling the colorful, LED-lit casino floor completed this week.

After casino leaders and local officials cut the ribbon Friday morning, the first visitors will walk into a ballroom of flashing animated games and plush gaming tabletops, adorned with a crown of 40 mounted TVs and encircled with reminders of the land’s heritage and region’s culture.

Kentucky-based developer Churchill Downs Inc.’s Terre Haute Casino Resort, located at 4500 E. Margaret Dr., will officially open to the public at 10:30 a.m. Friday after two years of development and a changing of hands.

Mike Rich, vice president and general manager, said he believes the hotel provides an experience unlike others in Indiana or its neighboring states. Once completed, the casino resort will have six bars (including a rooftop bar), five restaurants, an event center, a hotel and a pool. The project development cost lands around $290 million.

“No one else in the state is offering those levels of amenities as it relates to the casino properties,” Rich said. “What people will experience is something that really feels like a regional resort, as opposed to a gambling hall with a restaurant, which is what the majority of the state outside of this property will feel like.”

As for what it brings to the region, Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun plans to use the casino’s impact as a launching pad to achieve his ambitious vision for the city, which includes a pipeline of quality of place and infrastructure projects as well as a rebranding of the region.

“Anytime you are driving visitors to your community, you have a chance to reap a financial reward,” Sakbun said.

Rich expects a busy kickoff with a few thousand people, while also looking forward to the total solar eclipse on Monday.

The 122-room hotel’s construction is ongoing, but leaders expect it to open May 15. The entire facility, including the hotel and restaurants, will be 21+.

Visitors can choose from 1,000 slot games, 50 electronic table games and 30 table games—some of which are located on the outdoor, smoking-permitted patio. They also can try their hand at one of the six live poker games in a room offset from the floor. High rollers can also play in the VIP high-limit lounge and get a drink at a speakeasy bar hidden in the back.

Developers also made an effort to embed the casino into the local community. The three restaurants in the casino are each inspired by local influences. The Four Cornered Steakhouse pays homage to a former horse-racing track; Rockwood Bar & Grill is the namesake of the family who previously owned the land; and The Soda Shoppe is inspired by the Coca-Cola bottling industry’s history in the city.

“I want people to take away how serious Churchill Downs took this commitment,” Rich said. “Obviously, it was a privilege to be granted that license—the last and final license for Terre Haute—and people will, I think, be able to come in and see the level of spend and the level of seriousness we took in making this place a special place to come visit.”

The tax dollars and additional economic impact the casino brings into the community, Sakbun said, will result in millions more dollars for the city to work with. He mentioned repaving streets, laying down more sidewalks, improving city equipment and making serious investments in projects that residents will see the benefit of.

The casino’s opening comes at a time when Terre Haute is hitting its stride in new project development. Sakbun mentioned the “overhaul” of downtown with two new hotels, a new convention center and other developments with an eye toward walkability. He also mentioned the riverfront and the east side, where the casino resides, as two additional areas where the city is targeting development.

“This is where we start to play chess, not checkers, and look at a synchronization of dollars to grow a community for decades.”

With a new influx of visitors, Sakbun said the goal is to get them to stop and look around. The city will install signage guiding visitors between downtown and the casino.

“One, I want them to know its history, how Terre Haute came to be, and two, I want them to check out our downtown community as well,” he said. “Not just coming off the Exit 11 on I-70 and rolling the dice a couple of times.”

The original job creation estimate for the facility was around 400. However, Rich said Wednesday they are nearing 600 with postings remaining. The lowest roles start at $15 an hour, but he said several pay much more, including dealers starting at $22 an hour.

Sakbun said they are focusing on making sure the casino’s jobs are not cannibalizing other workplaces’ staffs. Rather, he said the city and the casino aim to bring new people into the workforce or level up workers’ skillsets.

This goal applies more broadly as well to other industries in the region, Sakbun said. The city is working with local higher education institutions, the Goodwill Excel Center and community correction centers to improve their overall workforce.

With casinos comes gambling and gambling addictions. Sakbun said they are addressing that reality head-on and are planning to ramp up their education and services related to betting to make sure residents and visitors alike know “play when you want to, not that you have to.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling addiction, help is available. Call the Indiana Problem Gambling Help Line at 1-800-994-8448 or text INGAMB to 53342. Online resources are also available.