By Robert Anglen
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Starting today, Indiana gambling boats get an extra three hours to entertain patrons, going from 21 hours to 24. A new law approved Friday will keep slot machines ringing and cards shuffling 24/7.

"It gives the casinos an opportunity to generate more revenue. It gives the state an opportunity to generate more taxes," said Larry Buck, general manager of the Grand Victoria Casino in Rising Sun. "It was approved (Friday). We're starting today."

Seven of 10 gambling boats in the state have opted to stay open all the time. But three of the boats - including the Grand Victoria - will only extend hours on weekends and holidays.

The extension shouldn't make a dramatic difference outside of the boats, which until this morning were open about 21-hours a day, closing only for a few hours around sunrise and opening again before many people started their workdays.

"Our customers who work third shifts or just have upside-down work hours now have another entertainment option with around-the-clock gaming," Larry Kinser, general manager of Argosy Casino & Hotel in Lawrenceburg, said. "At this point, we don't know what impact continuous gaming will have on our business flow."

Belterra Casino in Florence, about halfway between Cincinnati and Louisville, will also take the figurative locks off the doors of the gambling boat.

"It keeps us competitive. It helps with the hotel guests," said Mario Maesano, director of casino marketing. "If the larger properties are doing it, we felt we needed to be doing it, too. Our customers have been asking for it. We wanted to do it for them."

But beyond customer relations, the benefits in actual revenues are unknown, Maesano said.

"We are still calculating it," he said, declining to answer any questions about revenue. "What it provides is entertainment around the clock."

Because the five Ohio River gambling boats are primarily located in isolated counties - with little more than country roads and farmland outside the casino properties, casino officials say the additional predawn hours aren't expected to have any spinoff effect.

John Wolf, coordinator of the Indiana Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, said what is going on inside the casinos is bad enough.

"We would oppose any expansion, and this is expansion," he said. "There are no clocks and no windows in casinos. They don't want any way to mark time. It is just another way to make more bankruptcies."

When approving the legislation for 24-hour operation in April, legislators talked about a revenue gain of $10 million to $20 million in the next two years. But Wolf said he anticipates that will be offset by the cost of bankruptcies, crime and addiction that the extended hours will generate.

"It's simply adding to the problem we have," he said. "Indiana is now No. 2 in total gambling revenues received. We're second only to Nevada. We've passed New Jersey and Illinois. The whole state is addicted."

Extending casino hours is the latest move by legislators to relax restrictions on gaming. Last August, they approved "dockside gaming," which allowed customers to come and go from the boats as they pleased instead of waiting for specified cruise times.

The change also came with a new tax structure that left boats paying taxes based on a percentage of earnings. However, in its first months of operations, the state fell short of predicted revenues by $96 million.

Jenny Arnold, spokeswoman for the Indiana Gaming Commission - which regulates the state's $2 billion-a-year industry - said Friday that any boat could elect to change its hours of operation by making a request.

Buck at the Grand Victoria said he would monitor how much business the additional hours bring in.

"It doesn't do anything substantial for us. The extra hours generate incremental profit," he said.

E-mail ranglen@enquirer.com