Casino news from http://www.courier-journal.com/
Two groups of Harrison and Floyd residents gave Caesars Indiana casino overwhelmingly high marks yesterday for improving their community.
The casino's tax revenues and incentive payments to two local community foundations have helped pay for college scholarships, adult-education programs and an array of projects.
That message was delivered to two consultants who visited Corydon yesterday on behalf of the Indiana Gaming Commission, which is performing an investigation on Caesars as part of renewing the boat's license later this year.
Under Indiana law, all 10 state-regulated casinos get a similar review after five years and at three-year intervals thereafter. Caesars opened in November 1998 and is due for renewal after eight years.
Elected officials, directors of local agencies and political leaders from New Albany and Floyd County, which receive a total of about $1.1 million annually from Harrison's $23 million in casino tax revenues, attended a focus group session during the afternoon.
About 43 people testified in detail about how more than $100 million over eight years has helped the county and region.
A second session from 6 to 8 p.m. drew just two Harrison residents, as well as County Commissioner Jim Heitkemper; the county Chamber of Commerce's executive director, Barbara Middleton; and Jerry Finn, executive director of the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
All praised Caesars. Real-estate agent Virgil Carpenter, for instance, told consultant Debbie Wilson that he had served for 8½ years on the board of directors for Harrison's community foundation.
Carpenter said it was a joy participating in an endeavor where worthy nonprofit groups and schools reap the benefits.
Heitkemper said the only negative aspect to having casino gambling is the anxiety over the future if the Indiana General Assembly were to eliminate the county's gaming-tax revenues.
"We'll always be watching our back on that," Heitkemper said.
Finn said the casino's payments into the Floyd foundation have "been a real blessing to our nonprofits." The foundation also recently paid out $400,000 in scholarships for students, who can renew their awards for four years, he said.
While there are reports about individuals who become addicted to gambling, the problems don't seem widespread, he said.
Laura Littlepage, a senior researcher with the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU-Purdue University in Indianapolis, acknowledged that the final report won't reflect a broader cross-section of views from the larger market from which Caesars draws.
Although officials in Louisville and other communities likely would offer a more balanced view about Caesars, Littlepage said, "the focus of the Indiana Gaming Commission is on Indiana residents."
A summary of the comments will be incorporated into a report for the gaming commission's review in November.
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