Hoosier senator remains hopeful for a northeast Indiana casino

State legislators recently passed a bill for an independent casino relocation study.

One Indiana senator believes northeast Indiana is due for a land-based casino.

In an exclusive interview with Gaming America, Indiana Sen. Andy Zay shared his thoughts on the potential benefits of bringing more land-based gaming options to this corner of the state.

Indiana is home to 13 commercial casinos. However, none of these reside in northeast Indiana, making it an untapped region for casino owners and operators.

“I think it would be a great investment,” said Sen. Zay. “When you talk about a casino, first of all, it’s a substantial investment. It’s all private investors. There’s no government connected to that. We’ll see what the study says and keep driving forward.”

Sen. Zay pointed out there are several casinos close together along the Ohio River in southeast Indiana, a fact that has impacted Rising Star, a riverboat casino owned and operated by Full House Resorts.

“They’re not cutting it down there,” the senator said. “It’s an underperforming casino where they’re at on the Ohio River. We’ve got three casinos within 30 miles. Of course, now Ohio and Kentucky have turned up their gaming.”

Sen. Zay led the charge during the state’s last regular legislative session to bring a casino to the northeast region of the Hoosier State.

However, the attempt to relocate Full House’s casino license to Allen County failed to pass this year. Senate Bill 293 would have allowed the operator to move its Rising Star casino in Rising Sun, Indiana to the City of New Haven.

As a result, Sen. Zay drafted Senate Enrolled Act 43 (SEA 43), which recently passed and moved to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.

Under the terms of SEA 43, the Indiana Gaming Commission would be required to conduct an independent study “with the goal of identifying the top two regions in the state where a casino license could be relocated.”

Good to know: The state gaming commission must submit the study’s findings to the Senate Budget Committee by November 1

“We’re anxious to see where that study comes out,” said Zay. “I believe northeast Indiana is right for that kind of entertainment destination. It looks to bring a million to a million-and-a-half people this way that might not ordinarily come and capture some of our younger folks, 20-40-year-old folks.”

He added this would be an ideal destination for people in that age demographic to have bachelor parties, birthday parties and other events.

“I think it would be a great asset to bring it up this way,” he said in closing.

Laura Mack

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