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Indiana's Clark County not giving up on getting casino
By Ben Zion Hershberg
bhershberg@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Clark County political and business leaders say they're disappointed -- but not surprised -- at the Indiana General Assembly's decision to prevent a casino from moving to Clark or any other county.
And a key proponent of a Clark casino, John Perkins, said he believes casino operators are still interested in the county because of its proximity to downtown Louisville.
"We have met with people who are interested in optioning" the Colgate-Palmolive property near the Ohio River in Clarksville for a casino, said Perkins, a Jeffersonville city councilman who is president of the local gaming commission that was created after a casino referendum was approved by more than 60 percent of Clark voters in November.
It was the third try for Clark casino supporters.
The roughly 60-acre Colgate tract beside Interstate 65 is expected to be available next year after the toothpaste plant shuts down. Spokesmen for Colgate-Palmolive couldn't be reached for comment about the property.
In addition to its high visibility and convenience to Louisville, Perkins said, a casino on the Colgate site would be a tremendous economic boon to Clarksville, which will lose one of its oldest and most important industries with the plant closing.
Gaming companies interested in the site "understand it's a crapshoot, but if they can tie up the property and we can get a license they would be in the catbird seat," Perkins said.
Language prohibiting casino relocations was added to a bill allowing slot machines at racetracks. Lawmakers said it was intended largely to prevent Clark County from luring a casino from another Ohio River county.
"It wasn't totally unexpected," said Perkins. "We always said it might be a two-, three- or four-year process."
Perkins predicted Clark County's political leaders -- and perhaps those of neighboring counties -- would be lobbying the legislature next year to change the language prohibiting casino relocations.
He said Clark County also might get help from Kentucky, referring to support by several Democratic candidates for governor of Kentucky for a gambling referendum there.
If such a referendum succeeded and a casino was built in downtown Louisville, Perkins said it would kill Caesars Indiana, the casino in Harrison County.
But a Clark County casino right across the river from downtown Louisville would help keep that Kentucky business in Indiana, Perkins said.
Paul Kraft, president of the Clarksville Town Council, wasn't as optimistic as Perkins about the county's chances for getting a casino.
"It was a disappointment," Kraft said of the relocation ban.
"I don't think it's killed for good," Kraft said, but he acknowledged the legislation put a damper on the excitement that had been building about the chance to locate a casino on the Colgate site.
"Now we will have to wait to see if someone else will buy it," he said.
Rep. Bill Cochran, D-New Albany, urged those pursuing a casino to keep at it.
"We can always make a change," he said. "It's a dead issue for right now, but nothing says it's impossible to create another license."
Cochran acknowledged that nearby casinos would likely fight such an effort, and he said Clark County officials would likely be in for a long wait.
He pointed to the French Lick casino license, which originally had been slated for Patoka Lake. It took a decade for lawmakers to agree to move the license from the lake, where federal officials wouldn't allow a casino.
"It'll take some time," Cochran said. "But if I was them, I'd continue to try."
Bob Neafus, owner of Danny Boy's bar and restaurant on South Clark Boulevard near the Colgate plant, said he and other property owners in the area have speculated that a casino there would improve the value of their real estate.
"I think there was a lot of hoping," Neafus said.
But when he and his neighbors heard the General Assembly was opposed to a casino relocating, Neafus said, "everybody came back to reality."
Reporter Ben Hershberg can be reached at (812) 949-4032.
Reporter Lesley Stedman Weidenbener contributed to this story. |
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