Casino Industry Says Shutdown Would Be Devastating

ANDERSON, Ind. -- The state's burgeoning casino industry said Monday that the looming possibility of a state government shutdown would have an immediate negative impact on communities that rely on the industry economically.

Casinos would be forced to go dark Wednesday morning if the Indiana Legislature doesn't reach a budget deal during the special session, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.

There are about 1,000 workers at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino. As patrons feed slot machines and engage in other methods of gambling, the casino forks over $200,000 a month in revenue to Anderson.

Mayor Kris Ockomon said the casino provides money that the city can't do without, and he hopes legislators and Gov. Mitch Daniels will listen.

"Help us survive this. Let us move on. We've got great things happening here in our community with potential job growth," Ockomon said. "We don't want to see a big hit to our economy by shutting things down. We need to be moving forward, not backward."

In the shadow of the casino, Montana Mike's restaurant has been open for eight months, feeding off the casino crowd. Manager Kevin Boring said a Hoosier Park shutdown would be damaging.

"The casino has been one of the biggest things to come to Anderson since the GM plants shutdown," Boring said. "If it were to close … a lot of people would lose their jobs."

Twelve other casinos all over the state would also go dark, providing a costly hit to state coffers.

"The whole ideal of foregoing $3 million a day in revenue to state and local government, the disruption of 15,000 to 16,000 employees and their families would be devastating," said Michael Smith, of the Casino Association of Indiana.