FWR Reports On Downtown Casino Action
“Hoosier Park, a gambling and horse-racing business owned by Indianapolis-based Centaur with facilities in Anderson (a “racino”) and an off-track betting location in Fort Wayne, has been looking into locating a gaming facility with video gambling machines right in downtown Fort Wayne. The plan is to move the off-track betting site from Washington Center road to downtown, and bring up 500 gaming machines from the site in Anderson.
The project has moved beyond the investigation stage. They’ve even picked a location — the parking lots along the corner of Harrison and Berry, across from the Metro building (though they haven’t purchased it yet). A professional poll conducted by a prominent out-of-state company that specializes in political and issue research surveyed some 400 people in the area on their attitudes towards some kind of gambling facility in Fort Wayne.”
Area near Harrison and Berry. Image from Microsoft Virtual Earth
“The Hoosier Park project seems to have the best chance of becoming a reality, more so than the Summit City Grand Resort project or several other scenarios (such as a riverboat) for gaming in Fort Wayne. “It’s probably the easiest sell to both the legislature and the people of Fort Wayne,” says Ed Feigenbaum, an expert in Indiana legislative issues who edits the Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter as part of Indiana Daily Insight (www.ingrouponline.com). “You’re not talking about a real casino, a destination kind of resort that has the potential to change a community, that has the potential to really incite the anti-gambling factions within the community. You’ve got a facility that’s already in existence, with a limited number of machines. That’s what makes it an easier kind of sell.”
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“But even if the money were there, getting a gaming facility in town requires legislative approval, and this is where support from local government becomes necessary to a certain extent. At this point, no one in city government is talking about providing financial assistance to establish gaming in Fort Wayne. Mitch Harper, who conducted his own poll on gaming on his blog Fort Wayne Observed, says talk of any kind of financial assistance would probably change the community’s attitude towards the issue considerably. “I know that there are a lot of people who simply think ‘well, if the state makes it legal, and someone wants to put their private dollars downtown or wherever…’ There’s a shrug of the shoulders,” he says. “But if the city is going to do TIF districts and tax abatements and build new sewer lines or whatever they do to offer assistance, those people would go absolutely ballistic.”
Harper himself doubts expanded gaming in Fort Wayne would be an effective tool for economic development. Furthermore, he says there’s a saturation point with gambling, that setting up a gaming establishment in a community doesn’t significantly “grow the market” as far as gamblers are concerned. “There seems to be a finite amount of gambling money,” he says. “We’re at a point where there’s enough saturation that communities are chasing their tail.””
That would increase the flow of Amish downtown. I don’t see that happening otherwise. That shouldn’t be construed as racist as I have several Mennonite friends that wouldn’t be offended.
Maybe the city can sell some of the gambling machines they “acquired” back in the mid 90′s when busts were rampant. Although I would imagine those machines are obsolete by now…
I have to say I think this is a horrible idea. Just when Fort Wayne is trying to turn their downtown image around with the baseball stadium, Harrison square, etc…something like this goes in. This isn’t Vegas – which is arguably the only gambling destination in the world that doesn’t “sleeze-ify” the city.
Plus, there has been study after study showing how gambling (including lotteries!) are target marketed to the poor. Billboards go up in poorer areas of town. TV Commercials air on the “poorer” demographic shows. All selling the pipe-dream that all your troubles can go away if you just come to the casino / buy a lottery ticket. This is beyond immoral.
Fort Wayne would do well to steer clear of this one.
I think that Downtown needs more attraction, but not a casino. As it has been stated, casinos, especially those in cities, prey on the poor. They are the ones who suffer. Even if the casino brought in money it would be at the cost of citizen’s finances. One can argue that people make their own choices, but choices are also influenced by context. Putting a casino in the city provides a context of temptation and I don’t think the city needs to promote that.
If the city does decide to do this they really need to milk it. No take abatement, not privileges make sure that the tax money goes back into downtown, that the the casino – not only in bringing in visitor s-. is working for the city, not the other way around.
Sorry for going on about the Amish, and even commenting here for that matter… lol, but hey, with the Amish tendency to love to gamble horses maybe the city can start a stable and their own carriage ride business in a special deal that will allow such. Maybe they could get more money out of the situation than as is in the carriage ride situation right now. Business ought to go up for the current carriage business in town because that will increase interest in doing such things downtown! Win Win! Goats might have to be stooped to to be used as collateral more often at the Grabill Bank but who give a flying f~ oh wait, we’re riding now.