Casino Brings Changes to Sleepy Town in Indiana

The start of casino gambling in Orleans, Indiana this November will bring great changes to an otherwise sleepy town of 2,273.

"They figure that at least 75% of the traffic that will come for the casino will pass directly through the center of town here in Orleans," town council president Robert Henderson said. "We know we will see a great increase. Heck, we already are."

But he and leaders in the town of Paoli are worried that casino admission tax money they feel was promised them for infrastructure improvements and historic preservation might not come as easily as they had anticipated.

"We don't want everything they have," Henderson said. "Just what we have coming."

At issue is $68,000 each year for Orleans and about $100,000 annually for the town of Paoli, the county seat, which has 3,844 residents. The money was to be distributed from casino admission taxes administered through the Historic Hotels Preservation Commission.

The 5-member board negotiated the casino deal, selected its exterior design and oversees the community development plan the Springs Valley area has with Blue Sky, the partnership developing the gambling casino.

But during the commission's July meeting, the issue heated up and brewed into a two-hour debate. Several members wanted to give the money directly to the towns so local citizens can decide how it would best be spent.

But others wanted the communities to make grant requests for specific projects that would be funded or not by money released by the commission.

After much back and forth, the issue was tabled until the commission's next meeting.

Commission chairwoman Adina Cloud, an Orleans resident who works at the French Lick Springs Resort, said the towns should receive the money directly.

July 31, 2006
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!

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