Riverboats paying the bills

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's riverboats are cruising toward becoming the state's biggest taxpayers.\nBy 2005, floating casinos could be paying more in taxes than all of Indiana's major corporations -- including such giants as Eli Lilly and Anthem -- combined.\nIn a recent report that estimated tax collections for the coming two years, state officials predicted that taxes on riverboat wagering would reach $607 million, $26 million more than would be generated in corporate taxes, by the 2005 budget year.\nThe shift means that a state that traditionally has depended on the dollars raised through the sweat of assembly-line workers and farmers will become increasingly reliant on the roll of the dice or the spin of a roulette wheel.\nLawmakers legalized riverboat casinos in 1993, when they were touted as one of the most significant economic-development initiatives in decades. Ten riverboats operate in six counties along Lake Michigan and the Ohio River, employing more than 16,000 workers. An 11th license could be awarded this spring.\nA new revenue forecast due Thursday by state budget officials likely will shed more light on just how dependent the state has become on gamblers.\n"This validates that we have become an integral part of the economy -- just like any large business," said Casino Aztar general manager Jim Brown, whose riverboat was the first to open in 1995.\nFor single mom Denise Shane-Cheaney, Casino Aztar's arrival in Evansville meant more than the chance to win a jackpot.\nShe came to Aztar as a ticketing agent, then worked her way up to director of special events. Before that, the 37-year-old supported three children working at a bowling alley and temporary agency, with minimal health insurance or other benefits.\n"This job has allowed me to be financially successful and continue my education," said Shane-Cheaney, who received a bachelor's degree from the University of Evansville and is pursuing a master's in management.\nAnd the explosion of casino gambling has helped the state's treasury stay afloat during the recession.\nPat Kiely, president of the Indiana Manufacturers Association, said gambling undoubtedly is a growing part of the state's finances.\n"It used to be the big three -- sales, income and corporate. Now it's the big four," Kiely told The Indianapolis Star.\nFactor in the money casinos send to local communities -- $125.6 million in the 2002 budget year -- and riverboats are already the biggest taxpayers in the state, said Joe Domenico, general manager of Harrah's in East Chicago.\nDespite growth in wagering taxes, gambling revenue still is dwarfed by money poured into state coffers from sales, individual income and gasoline taxes. In fiscal year 2002, those taxes totaled more than $8 billion.\nBut riverboats are not offered the same tax breaks as other businesses. And they are taxed at higher rates. The Indiana General Assembly raised riverboat taxes last year when it allowed the floating casinos to stay dockside. Now, their profits are taxed at up to 35 percent.\nCasinos warn that the state cannot keep raising taxes on gambling to make money for Indiana's coffers.\nKeeping taxes stable "is important for the growth of Indiana casinos," said Larry Kinser, general manager of Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg. Essentially, he said, casinos don't want to be taxed out of business.\nSen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, a longtime proponent of the gambling industry as an economic-development tool, said it's time for the industry to be viewed not as a vice but a virtue.\nIndiana, she said, has a "love-hate relationship" with gambling. "They hate the industry. They love the money"