BY RACHEL MELCER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
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An artist's rendering of the planned Hollywood Park Boomtown Casino in Vevay, Ind.
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Barely one second after members of the Indiana Gaming Commission awarded the state's final casino license to a Switzerland County operator Monday, the walls shook with a thunderous cheer.
More than 160 residents of the state's second-poorest county -- most wearing T-shirts proclaiming their allegiance to the riverboat cause -- clapped, yelled and cried at the news they waited nearly five years to hear. They talked excitedly about new roads, bridges, jobs and industry.
The Vevay boat in Switzerland County, along with Argosy Casino Lawrenceburg and Grand Victoria Casino & Resort in Rising Sun, will enhance the already-huge economic boon of jobs, development and millions in tax revenues casinos have brought to Indiana -- the top riverboat state in the country.
Across the country, riverboats are a $6.17 billion business, said Bill Thompson, professor of Public Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. While one major casino couldn't survive Kansas City's flooded market, Mr. Thompson thinks the Tristate can handle Vevay. "But anything beyond that, they'll find it's going to be harder and harder to get the dollars -- unless they can figure out a way to draw people from more than 50 miles away." Hollywood Park-Boomtown Inc. will build a $150 million to $160 million riverboat casino, hotel and resort complex on the banks of the Ohio River, along Ind. 156 in the unincorporated community of Florence near Vevay. Company officials say the resort will open, full swing, as early as the summer of 2000.
Supporters brushed off concerns that the casino will flood the southeastern Indiana market already dominated by Argosy. Later this year, Caesars Glory of Rome will eclipse Argosy as the nation's largest gambling riverboat. It is expected to open in Harrison County, in the Louisville market, on Nov. 16.
Switzerland County boosters groaned and held their breath as Gaming Commission member Robert Swan, who cast the lone dissenting vote, argued that the license should not be awarded until the Caesars operation was up and running for at least six months.
"I still feel like we're moving too early. There's no reason to risk an entire market for this one boat," he said, expressing the doubts that had led commissioners to delay awarding the license for more than a year.
But others pointed to the success of Argosy, the nation's No. 1 cruising casino in attendance and receipts, as well as the other casinos in northern Indiana.
And Hollywood Park-Boomtown officials said their casino would draw gamblers from Lexington, Northern Kentucky and the Greater Cincinnati area -- where demand will increase beyond the supply of Argosy and Grand Victoria. Caesars is expected to dominate the Louisville market.
"I think that we've got some numbers now, we have some data" that the boats are thriving, said Commissioner Ann Buchowski. "I just cannot, in good conscience, string these people along any more."
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An aerial view of Vevay, Ind., looking southeast toward the Ohio River.
(Glenn Hartong photo)
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JoAnn Connolly, owner of Riverhouse Bar & Grill in Vevay, about 5 miles from the future riverboat site, recalled burning a sign she had made four years ago, proclaiming Switzerland County first in the race to obtain an Ohio River casino license. When those initial plans were dashed and the license awarded elsewhere, some residents began to lose hope for their economic future.
But they kept at it, lobbying the Gaming Commission and local legislators. Finally, they said Monday, they have made the last bus trip to Indianapolis for a commission meeting.
"We've been up here so many times and we have been told no, wait and maybe. It's discouraging. After a while, you just want to drop your head and leave," said Vevay resident Russell McSwain. "It's been a long road."
Ms. Connolly said "the champagne and beer are being iced right now" for a victory party at her tavern. She only wished she had thought to make another sign.
In the middle of their joy, a small cluster of officials from Crawford County -- which had hoped to win the casino license before losing their prospective operator last month -- quietly smiled and accepted a consolation prize. With $1.1 million in revenue annually, given directly from Hollywood Park-Boomtown, the Crawford County annual budget will more than double. Jefferson County will receive an estimated $1 million per year; Ripley County, $500,000. These are called revenue-sharing agreements for communities surrounding counties that have casinos.
But that hardly compares with the $4.3 million Switzerland County will realize upfront for infrastructure and emergency services improvements, or the $150 million it is expected to receive in gaming tax revenue over the first five years of casino operation. "We simply won't have revenues to pitch to the wind," said Crawford County attorney Harold Dillman. "But we've generated the will to secure our future. This struggle has awakened us (to the possibilities), and we will go somewhere with our economic development."
Hollywood Park-Boomtown officials say there will be plenty of opportunity to go around.
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A riverboat casino complex will be built near the Markland Dam.
(Glenn Hartong photo)
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As soon as engineering and environmental studies are complete, the company will begin a 12- to 14-month construction phase -- creating 700 local jobs in the process. The riverboat complex will open with about 1,400 employees, most from across southern and central Indiana, said Bob List, executive vice president and corporate counsel. "This will be a shot in the arm for an area that so desperately needs it," he said.
Many of Switzerland County's 8,000 residents work at just two local industrial firms, or commute to jobs in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. Parents have had to watch their children leave home to attend college and find professional jobs.
"If it weren't for the bridge across the (Lockland) dam to Kentucky, our poor county would be in really bad shape," Ms. Connolly said. "I think everybody wants a job that's easier to get to. This is our opportunity."
Switzerland County Council President Michael Jones said the county will avoid putting all its economic eggs in one basket. But improved infrastructure and riverboat revenue will make it possible for the county to pursue other growth and industry.
"We know that a riverboat is not the only and sole answer to our problems. But we know it opens the door to opportunities," he said. "We want the future we have only been able to dream about."
The casino complex will be the first step. A 12-story, 309-room hotel, 18-hole golf course and resort will replace 190 acres of soybean and corn fields. A backwater channel will be dredged into a proper lane onto the Ohio River. Property owners will receive $1 million for some land being bought outright, while others earn lease payments of about $1 million per year plus a percentage of the profits, Mr. List said.
Florence will grow far beyond its one store and small marina. Yet Mr. Jones said all of that will not disrupt the quiet way of life in Vevay and other communities beyond the immediate reach of the casino perimeter.
"We know that change is always going to bring issues," he said. "But I have a lot of faith in the people of Switzerland County and our ability to maintain our area as a nice place to live, as well as a nice place to visit."
Marie McCain and John Hopkins contributed to this report.
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