Larry Birds home town going Broke & gambling may save it

Rep. Jerry Denbo sees sin in a lot of places, but he sees salvation in gambling for French Lick.

For this Orange County Democrat, there's nothing sinful about trying to bring jobs to a dying community.

Legislation to bring a casino to French Lick comes from the same guy who wants "In God We Trust" on license plates and the Ten Commandments on the Statehouse lawn.

Contradictory?

Not really, Denbo maintains.

"I vote God's will," he said, noting that God doesn't directly speak to the issue of gambling.

Or tax increases or speed limits for that matter, said Denbo, who helped sponsor legislation in 1996 that would have raised the speed limit on highways to 70 mph.

For folks such as Jack Carnes who storm the Statehouse in their orange shirts to lobby for a French Lick casino, Denbo is their savior.

"He's our only hope," said Carnes, a longtime Republican who crosses his party line every two years to vote for Denbo.

Denbo, elected in 1990, began campaigning for gambling in Orange County in 1991. Since then, the legislature has legalized riverboat casinos and just last year permitted them to stay dockside. But not in Orange County, home to the historic French Lick Springs Resort and Spa and the West Baden Springs Hotel.

"Jerry's total focus is on the needs of the people he represents," said Sen. Becky Skillman, R-Bedford. Her district also stretches into Orange County, yet she says a casino might not be the answer to revitalize the area.

And this year, legislators are offering another reason to avoid transferring the 11th riverboat license there: It might violate the state Constitution's prohibition against special or local laws which the state Supreme Court cracked down on recently.

"That's just another excuse," Denbo said.

Denbo may not be a top leader in the House, but it takes 51 votes to pass anything. And in a chamber controlled 51-49 by Democrats, every legislator has clout.

Denbo has drawn his line in the sand: If he doesn't get his casino, he will not cast that 51st vote Democrats need to pass a state budget. "That's not a threat. It's standing up for what I believe in," said Denbo.

His down-home style doesn't reflect his love for classic literature nor the seven years he worked as an English teacher at Springs Valley High School, where he was also an assistant basketball coach when Larry Bird played there.

As legislators debate gaming in Orange County, he said the place where he grew up and raised a family is deteriorating. Unemployment is high, and new industry is unlikely because the county is either flood plain or hillside.

Still, he stays. The Denbo name is famous in Orange County. Denbo was a close friend -- and distant relative -- to the infamous Seth Denbo, a Crawford County Republican legend known for his voter shenanigans.

Other reasons he stays: his two children and four granddaughters live there. And Indiana University basketball -- which he champions by wearing a Hoosier-red blazer -- is nearby.

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GeneralPete@Hotmail.Com

 

[R0han1]

Gambling to the rescue, and the government wants us to believe that its all bad. NOT!!!

It's better to burn out than to fade away!!

 

[ericdixon]

May save the town, but there will be some sad casualties along the way!

Sports betting is fine, the odds are decent but casinos are a no win situation in the long run and more often in the short run, basically its a way to print money for the house. In other words unless you like throwing your money out the window, stay away from casinos.

Without sports, what a drag life would be!

 

Good point Val.

GeneralPete@Hotmail.Com

 

INDIANAPOLIS -- Just in the last week, two bills that would have allowed additional gambling in the state died in the House, and another to allow a riverboat casino in French Lick was overwhelmingly approved by that chamber.
Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Garton called it an "avalanche" of gambling bills

"Yeah, it does disturb you," Garton, R-Columbus, said. "No one would have predicted this would have happened in Indiana in 1988 when the constitution changed. I don't think anyone would have predicted it."

Gov. Frank O'Bannon said Friday he was relieved that many of the issues, such as slot-like electronic gambling machines and the bar favorite Cherry Masters, weren't going to be legalized this year.

The one gambling proposal that has been forwarded to the Senate would allow the state's 11th riverboat casino license to be transferred to a man-made lake between two historic hotels in French Lick and West Baden.

The Senate has never approved such legislation and its chances this year are uncertain.

House Bill 1902, sponsored by Rep. Jerry Denbo, D-French Lick, was overwhelmingly approved 84-13 in the House last week. Revenue from gambling would be used to renovate the two historic hotels and promote tourism.

The riverboat casino license has existed since gambling was approved in 1993, but the Army Corps of Engineers would not allow a riverboat casino in its original destination, Patoka Lake about seven miles away.

Rep. Tom Saunders, R-Lewisville, spoke in favor of allowing economically challenged Orange County have a casino to help create jobs and income.

Although he generally opposes expanding gambling, "This is a state so dependent on revenue (from gambling) now, I don't see us coming out of it," he said. "In the last 12 years I think I have voted in favor of this issue three times."

Saunders also talked about the rich history of West Baden, which had been a spa and the destination of the nation's movers and shakers 80 years ago. At its prime, the area had 23 casinos, Saunders said.

Rep. Sue Scholer, R-West Lafayette, also voted in favor of the proposal, pointing to restoration of the West Baden Springs Hotel with one of the world's largest free-standing domes. It has been called the eighth wonder of the world.

"West Baden is gorgeous," she said. "I have watched those facilities go downhill. It's not something that can be maintained without some funding.

"But it is another place in the state to gamble," she added.

Other forms of gambling haven't fared as well.

House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer announced last week that he was going to kill a proposal to allow pull-tab gaming machines at the horse-race tracks and two off-track betting centers. He was concerned about a political contributor who was trying to buy a minority share of Hoosier Park race track in Anderson.

Bauer, D-South Bend, said he was worried about the perception of impropriety with the sale.

A House committee also voted against a bill that would have legalized and regulated video-poker machines in bars and taverns across the state.

It was killed by House Public Policy Committee Chairman Markt Lytle, D-Madison.

The proposal would have allowed each bar to install up to five of the machines. It would have given the Hoosier Lottery responsibility for regulating them. It could have produced $144 million annually in tax revenue for the state and $36 million for local governments.

Rep. P. Eric Turner, R-Marion, also carried an amendment that would outlaw keno, a fast-paced game of chance played in bars and restaurants, which was the first vote to restrict gambling in Indiana in a decade.

The state Lottery Commission had said it al ready had the authority to institute the game, if lawmakers and the governor wanted. It was outlawed as part of the state budget, House Bill 1001, which is under consideration in the Senate.

O'Bannon would not say for certain that he would veto any bill that included the new form of gambling.

"I don't know what that is other than the people in the business who want to make money," he said. "It's so profit driven, but it's a decision that has to be made based on if it's good for the society as a whole.

"You provide the service and a certain number of the community wants the gambling opportunities. That's why they go to Las Vegas."

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[PatPatriot]

You know whats being proposed in Massachusetts?
They are going to extort money from other states by asking them for like 80 million a year, for NOT building casinos in Ma., since the casinos in CT. get a lot of Ma. residents.Romney said we won't go onto buiss. if you cough some dough.

 

FRENCH LICK, Ind. - Decades ago, this town in southern Indiana's hill country was the playground of rich and privileged travelers who lounged in mineral springs by day and gambled the nights away.
Gambling and prostitution flourished for nearly a half-century thanks to the influence of well-connected hotel owners and politicians, and police who turned a blind eye. During its heyday in the 1920s, the area had as many as 17 casinos.

Today, there is no shortage of hard-luck stories in French Lick. And there is a fervent hope that it will be saved not by industry but by an old friend: gambling.

A casino with slot machines, blackjack and poker is seen as a way for the town to resurrect past glory and distinguish itself as more than just the hometown of basketball legend Larry Bird.

Gambling "brought this place to life, and that's probably what's going to save it," said Dan Floyd of Newcastle, Ontario, whose family has vacationed in French Lick for five years in a row.

French Lick is one of many rural towns across the country that consider casinos their best economic option as business and industry - and many of their own residents - shift to big cities. Casinos have opened in recent years in towns such as La Grange, Mo., Tunica, Miss., and Rising Sun, Ind., all little more than dots on a map.

For 11 years, Orange County, Ind., has lobbied the Legislature for a casino, each session ferrying busloads of orange-shirted boosters a hundred miles north to the Statehouse in Indianapolis. For just as many years, the proposal has been defeated, but another bill has been introduced this year.

Empty sidewalks and storefronts line the streets of downtown French Lick. The West Baden Springs Hotel, dubbed "The Eighth Wonder of the World" when it opened in 1902, needs extensive renovation. Orange County's unemployment rate is nearly 9 percent - worst among Indiana's 92 counties.

"French Lick is dead," said 89-year-old Parke Flick, a lifelong resident who takes twice-a-day walks through town for exercise. "You don't see a soul. You've got two bars and a dime store."

In the first half of the 20th century, French Lick and neighboring West Baden Springs were regular vacation haunts for U.S. presidents and Hollywood stars. Four major league baseball teams came to the towns for spring training.

"On Saturday nights, it was so crowded you could hardly walk up and down the sidewalks," Flick recalled. "This was strictly for millionaires who used to come down. We little snot-nosed kids would watch them come by in their furs and go past into the casinos."

The illegal gambling ended in 1949 when Gov. Henry F. Schricker ordered state police to crack down.

Things are much quieter now. The French Lick Springs Resort & Spa - one of the area's two 500-room hotels built a century ago - was nearly empty one recent day.

The hotels' problems are a symptom of the economic ills in Orange County, where about 1,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the past two years. Tourists bypass the area in favor of flashy new casinos an hour's drive south on the Ohio River.

Proponents believe a new casino would draw enough business to support shops and restaurants along a proposed promenade between the two hotels. Some even want to create a Larry Bird Museum.

"We don't want to be known just as a gambling center," said state Rep. Jerry Denbo, a French Lick Democrat and the chief legislative proponent of a bill that would allow a countywide vote on the casino.

There is significant support among the county's 19,400 people for a "boat in a moat" casino - a stationary vessel on a yet-to-be-built man-made pond. Even some church leaders back the plan.

Denbo, a deacon at First Baptist Church in West Baden Springs, cited studies suggesting a casino would create 2,000 much-needed jobs.

The bill has cleared the House this year and a committee in the Republican-led Senate for the first time. Denbo and others believe chances for passage are better than ever.


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INDIANAPOLIS -- The House gave final legislative approval yesterday to the French Lick casino bill as Orange County residents in the balcony and lawmakers on the floor stood and cheered.

House Bill 1902 -- which requires a countywide referendum before a casino could open -- now goes to Gov. Frank O'Bannon, who has said he supports the idea and is expected to sign the legislation into law.

''Gov. O'Bannon has a special place in his heart for French Lick,'' said Rep. Jerry Denbo, the French Lick Democrat who has fought for more than a decade to bring a casino to the area. ''He's assured me he will sign this.''

If so, the referendum could take place in November and -- if approved -- a riverboat casino could open as early as next year.

Supporters said that could revive the tourism that once made French Lick and neighboring West Baden a national destination. Illegal gambling flourished in Orange County in the early 1900s at two once-majestic hotels in French Lick and West Baden.

''We are a resort community, and this will take us back to our history,'' said Norma Cox of French Lick, who has been traveling back and forth to the Statehouse to lobby for the bill. ''Our towns were built to serve the hotels, and this will be a great opportunity for us to do that again.''

The French Lick Springs Resort remains open but has been losing business to Caesars Indiana in Harrison County and other riverboat hotels on the Ohio River.

The hotel in West Baden was abandoned and has recently been partially renovated. Tax revenue paid by the Orange County casino would help pay for the upkeep of that hotel.

Steve Wilson of Paoli, one of the regular supporters at the Statehouse, said he remembers attending his prom under the West Baden hotel's grand dome. ''My goal in supporting this was to get the West Baden dome restored,'' Wilson said. ''With this, we can get that building renovated and bring jobs to Orange County.''

With the highest unemployment rate in the state, Orange County has struggled to keep industry and its valuable tourism trade.

Lawmakers who voted for HB 1902 yesterday said they are hopeful the casino -- which likely will be the smallest in the state -- will produce jobs as well as spawn others at the hotels and other businesses that will support tourism.

But opponents are fearful that gambling will bring more harm than good to the area.

''This sends a message to our people that you can get rich quick, without working,'' said Rep. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, a consistent opponent of gambling. ''It's destructive for our society.''

Still, the bill passed easily -- 79-12 -- as even some lawmakers who have opposed gambling in the past voted to support Orange County.

Some said it was only fair, because the original 1993 riverboat law included a license for nearby Patoka Lake that was never used because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would not allow a casino there.

Others said they were swayed by the hard work of casino supporters, who became so familiar at the Statehouse that they were affectionately called ''orange shirts'' for the Tshirts they wore during their visits.

Republican Leader Brian Bosma of Indianapolis was among the first to shake Denbo's hand after the vote.

''That was the first vote I've ever cast in favor of gambling,'' Bosma said.

''We appreciate it,'' said a chokedup Denbo.

Lawmakers swarmed Denbo after the vote, offering handshakes, hugs and congratulations.

Similar sentiments were shared with the Orange County supporters, who looked down on the discussion and vote from the balcony.

Several lawmakers spoke directly to the group.

Rep. Vern Smith, D-Gary, said the group was the most relentless he'd seen in his 13 years in the House and 18 years as a city councilman. He said supporters ''have reached the end of the rainbow now.''

Rep. Markt Lytle, D-Madison, said the ''orange shirts have proven you can never give up.''

''We're not here for the high-paid lobbyists, we're here for the people,'' he said.

Rep. Bill Ruppel, R-North Manchester, congratulated the supporters for their success, even though he voted against the bill.

''Some of us represent districts that are against gaming,'' he said. ''You're going to see some red (no) votes up here. We're not against you. We're not against you having jobs. We all have to represent our people back home and put their points of interest first.''

HB 1902 requires that -- if the proposal is approved in the referendum -- the Indiana Gaming Commission contract with a company to own and operate the casino.

A local historic board created by the legislation would decide where the casino would be located, although plans call for it to be in a manmade waterway between the hotels in French Lick and West Baden.

The board also would have the final say on the boat's exterior design.

Based on a study conducted last year, the casino likely would pay about $10 million in taxes annually, which would be split among the state and local governments, including Orange, Dubois and Crawford counties and French Lick, West Baden, Paoli and Orleans.

Some of the money would go to the Indiana Department of Commerce for economic development work in the region. Money would also go to a trust fund administered by the state for the upkeep of the West Baden hotel.


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West Baden - West Baden likes to be known as the home of the eighth wonder of the world. It very well could be. The West Baden Hotel, built on gambling in 1902, could be fully restored to its old glory soon thanks to a vote in the Indiana House of Representatives Friday.

Orange County residents, cleary visible in their orange T-shirts, could hardly contain their enthusiasm. "Congratulations. Thank you. You fought for that a lot of years. It's been a good team effort." Representative Jerry Denbo went to the legislature 12 years ago with one thing in mind, to bring legal gambling back to the Valley for his constituents.

John Carnes says, "We have to have it or we're heading in the wrong direction right now. It's gonna be a ghost town without it." The hope is that a riverboat gaming license would restore the neighboring French Lick Resort Hotel to its original granduer as well.

Adina Cloud says, "In 1999 our occupancy was 43%. Our occupancy currently is at 34%, so we are seeing a major decrease." If Orange County Residents approve a referendum, which most likely will take place in the fall, the general belief is that a riverboat would be placed right smack dab in the middle of the one mile that separates the two hotels.

"I think the referendum will pass big time, don't you," asks Denbo. "I think most people realize this county has to have something. Everything is going downhill, and with gambling the economy will be better, business, schools, everything will benefit in some way."

"Maybe it will keep our young ones here." That is the real hope. Even the governor, who still has to sign the bill into law, understands that. "Not only for jobs. They've suffered greatly. Not only do they have high unemployment rate, to save jobs, create jobs and restore a very important piece of history."


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[TheGeneral+]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Leaving an advisory group exempt from rules of access and openness will hurt Orange County's casino efforts.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

With all the doubt and hard feelings hovering over recently legalized gambling in Orange County, the community hardly needs a credibility gap in its process of selecting a casino operator.

Steps should be taken at the local and state levels to close a loophole that allows advisory members of the French Lick-West Baden Springs Historic Hotel Preservation Commission to accept gifts from prospective operators and speak with them outside of a public forum.

The commission will review five casino applicants and send a recommendation to the Indiana Gaming Commission, which forbids gifts from casino operators to local commissions and requires that commissions communicate with candidates in a public forum. However, the open-forum rule does not apply to advisory panels, and the French Lick commission has not made any rule barring its advisory group from taking gifts.

Though non-voting, the advisory group is no token. Its four members, all public officials, include state Rep. Jerry Denbo, D-French Lick, the leading proponent of Orange County gambling, and Jim Mathers, president of the Orange County Commissioners. Denbo says he wouldn't accept a gift; Mathers says he might take a meal; both say informal conversations with casinos have been helpful in their deliberations. All of that misses the point.

Casino gambling was approved in a hard-fought referendum in November, and endorsed with deep reservations by this newspaper, because it may be the last best chance for saving the historic West Baden Springs Hotel and reviving tourism in a destitute county. The venture cannot succeed unless skeptics and proponents alike are assured of systemic protections against special favors and behind-the-scenes deals. Pledges of good will from well-positioned individuals are not enough. That's why laws and rules against closed meetings and conflict of interest exist.

www.indystar.com