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Indiana’s gambling evolution - or “gaming” as its proponents prefer to call it - continues to permeate.
A cover article in the “Indiana Business” magazine that arrived this week featured the November “Return of French Lick.” The historic resort community in the middle of nowhere will re-open its hotels and casinos before Thanksgiving - $382 million in projects - all made possible by the return of gambling in the form of a “riverboat casino” (without a river).
Their state representative, Jerry Denbo, has worked tirelessly since his election in 1990 to bring a casino back to Orange County, introducing legislation every year and arguing that this was the only hope of saving the historic buildings and bringing any significant economic development back to the French Lick-West Baden area.
Probably true, and sadly so.
Spent a few days sometime in the 90’s in French Lick on a golf outing. The old hotel still had some of its grandeur, albeit with only about 20 percent occupancy, the golf courses were good (and they’re putting over four and a half million dollars in renovations into the more historic of those two courses as well as adding a new course) but there was an undeniable sense of melancholy in seeing the old buildings in slow but sure decay.
So while I’m glad that these neat buildings will not be lost, I have to wonder about the price we pay.
Couldn’t help but notice that the executive director of the Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau is Robert Denbo. Hmmm...
It is quietly referenced later in the article that Robert feels “its exciting to see the tangible results of the legislation that his father fought for over the years...” ... not mention his tangible paycheck. It’s some consolation, I guess, that Wells County doesn’t have the market cornered on conflict of interest possibilities.
But I digress.
Meanwhile, a non-profit group organizes a little duck race in Wells County and runs up against Indiana gambling laws and is told that designating the first duck to cross the finish line as the winner is somehow against the law while randomly drawing out a winner from the first group of ducks to arrive is not. Go figure.
Community and Family Services board chairman Bette Erxleben reports that since last Saturday’s event - that they hope to make an annual ducky day - they’ve received word that they will not need to be concerned. Our little duck race will fly under the state gambling law’s radar. Whew.
Meanwhile, a friend from Muncie tells me that a wave of “poker clubs” has sprung up in the Delaware County seat, where people can join, play unlimited-stakes poker and the club owner rakes an hourly fee. Sounds like a casino to me.
According to my friend, the county prosecutor has made a statement that the clubs are legal since poker “is a game of skill.”
So ... poker may (may) be a game of skill, but so is football. Betting on the outcome of a football game is illegal (at least so far) but betting on the outcome of a game of poker is not.
Confused? One thing you can bet on: it will only get more confusing. In the meantime, we might consider re-naming our state; how does “Las Indy” sound?
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