(1-30-25) Stateline area residents will not be able to visit a casino in New Haven, Indiana anytime soon thanks to developments in Indianapolis yesterday.

The bid by Full House Resorts (Las Vegas) to move the Rising Star Casino from Rising Sun in Southern Indiana to New Haven has been stopped by the Indiana State Legislature who refused to advance the bill put forth by Senator Andy Zay (R-Huntington).

Senator Ron Alting (R-Lafayette) pulled the bill and said that as chairman of the Public Policy Committee he does not intend to allow a vote on the bill this year.

The move would cost Full House an initial $150 million dollars, paid to the State of Indiana in $30 million dollar increments.

Allen County’s Cathie Humbarger called the casino a poor investment in light of the flood of online gaming options available and called brick and mortar casinos “the dinosaur of gambling”. Humbarger also pressed Zay over why he was sponsoring the legislation and not a New Haven Lawmaker. Zay responded by talking about his rural roots and pointed to his decade-long friendship with New Haven Mayor Steve McMichael.

All three local legislators which include Senators Liz Brown and Tyler Johnson as well as Representative Dave Heine all oppose the casino.

New Haven Mayor Steve McMichael gave what the Indiana Capital Chronicle called “full throated support of the bill”.

Testimony questioned the actual value of the casino from the standpoint of jobs – noting that the average hourly rate of pay for gambling service workers in 2023 was $16.53 per hour – well below the median wage of $26.53 per hour in Northeast Indiana.

COMPANY PROFILE

Full House Resorts, Inc. develops, owns, operates and manages casinos and related hospitality and entertainment facilities in regional U.S. markets. Based in Las Vegas, Full House operates seven casino facilities in Colorado, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana and Nevada.

While each of our casinos has a distinctive look and feel, they all have the same goal: to provide our guests with the best experience in entertainment and customer service in an inviting, comfortable atmosphere. We also want to be the employer of choice in each of our casino markets. For great customer service, Full House needs great employees—and we have them.

In addition to growing our casino business organically, we also expand into new markets where we see a promising opportunity. We opened American Place in Waukegan, Illinois in February 2023 and Chamonix in Cripple Creek, Colorado in December 2023. This provides career opportunities for our employees and promises to provide good investment returns for our investors.

RISING STAR CASINO RESORT

On April 1, 2011, Full House acquired the Rising Star Casino Resort in Rising Sun, Indiana. The casino has 40,000 square feet of gaming space with 944 slot and video poker machines and 25 table games. The property includes two hotels with a total of 294 rooms, pool, meeting space and a pavilion with five food and beverage outlets, including a fine dining restaurant, buffet, sports bar, quick service restaurant and coffee shop and a large, multi-purpose Grand Theater for concerts and performance events as well as meetings and conventions.

The 300-acre grounds also contain an 18-hole Scottish links golf course with full-service clubhouse. The property is conveniently located within driving distance of Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio and near Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky. Rising Star Casino Resort added a ferry boat, “MS Lucky Lady” in 2018. The ferry boat travels between Rising Star in Rising Sun, Indiana and Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, cutting down travel time to the casino for customers.