LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. — Casino gambling on Thursday got a whole lot more convenient for patrons, and likely, more lucrative for casinos.

        They're betting on it, agreeing to a higher, graduated tax rate.

Bobby dick of Finneytown plays a slot machine Thursday at the Argosy Casino. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        With the Indiana Gaming Commission's long-awaited approval, seven riverboat casinos were allowed for the first time Thursday to stay docked, allowing for flexible boarding. No more scrambling to get on line for a “cruise” that left every two hours or so.

        “I like this a lot better, you don't have to rush around,” Bobby Dick of Finneytown said as he sat at a 25-cent slot machine at the Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg.

        “One time, I came down and missed the boat,” he recalled. “I wasn't going to wait two hours. I just turned around and drove home.”

        As of 4 p.m. Thursday, Argosy reported 4,500 patrons, which is about 900 more than the average at that hour on the four previous Thursdays under the old rules.

        Still, the weekend might be a better indicator, as 40 percent of Argosy's revenue typically is generated from Friday night through Sunday, general manager Larry Kinser said.

        He said Argosy doesn't plan to increase its staff of 2,300, though shift changes were made.

        The change also allows Argosy to expand its hours to 9 a.m. to 5 a.m. seven days a week.

        Some patrons believed the old system was something of a charade, anyway.

        “I always felt, all along, they were playing a game, making it a little harder for the gamblers,” said Brian Haycock, 54, of Swayzee, Ind., near Kokomo. “Like, we don't have a casino in our county, it's out in the water. It was a game.”

        The casinos cannot legally be decommissioned, so still must adhere to maritime requirements such as staffing and maintenance. Argosy typically has 14 “maritime” personnel aboard at any given time, including a captain and deck hands.

        While it will pay more in taxes, Argosy also will have lower costs with the new rules. The casino's biweekly fuel bill typically was between $6,000 and $12,000, Mr. Kinser said.

        He worked for an Argosy floating casino in Riverside, Mo., near Kansas City, two and a half years ago when it gained approval to stay docked, and both the number of patrons and the level of profit rose.

        When Illinois went dockside in 1999, casinos brought in a record $1.65 billion in revenue — a 21.6 percent increase from '98.

        This was watched carefully by Indiana lawmakers, who envision tens of millions more in additional tax revenue. Indiana has 10 riverboat casinos, including five on the Ohio River. They employ 16,000 people.

        “They're starting to redo this area, so you have to give the casino credit,” said Amy Slayback, 30, of nearby Aurora, who was in Lawrenceburg Thursday scouting out day-care centers.

        “Whether people like having the boat here or not,” she said, “it's meant jobs. Things are getting better.”

        Candy Mear, 40, who lives in the adjacent community of Greendale, doesn't see it that way.

        “I voted against it,” she said at a BP convenience store near the Argosy. “It brings the wrong element. They (casinos) will use up what they can and then move on.

        “It's brought more traffic,” she said, “and it's only going to get worse.”

        Argosy, as any business would, is betting on it.

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