ANDERSON — Fearing lawmakers might fail to produce a budget, Hoosier Park and other state gambling sites went to court Tuesday and got an order to prevent a state shutdown in such an event.
Marion County Superior Court Judge John F. Hanley issued an injunction that barred Gov. Mitch Daniels and state agencies from closing casinos and race tracks if a budget had not been approved. Hanley sided with casino operators who said the state had no grounds to close the sites amid the budget crisis.
Daniels had threatened Tuesday to close the gaming sites if a budget had not been approved by midnight. He had claimed that state gaming regulators were nonessential state employees who would be furloughed without a budget.
Hanley disagreed and ruled that closing casinos and race tracks would provide no benefit to the state and would irreparably harm the gaming sites.
“All costs associated with the enforcement of the Indiana Gaming Commission’s powers and duties are paid for directly by the casinos, including all the costs associated with gaming agents who are on site in every casino,” Hanley ruled. “No monies are expended by the state of Indiana to pay for gaming agents or the cost of enforcing regulations.”
The Casino Association of Indiana filed its request for an injunction against Daniels, the Gaming Commission and the Indiana Attorney General’s office. It sued on behalf of the state’s gaming sites, including Hoosier Park.
“I think we presented a very good case,” said Jim Brown, Hoosier Park director of gaming.
While approval of a state budget averted a possible shutdown, Tuesday’s ruling could set a precedent if the state finds itself in a similar future financial crisis.
Hanley’s order set a hearing of giving the state until July 8 to show why his injunction should not be made permanent.
For Brown, the ruling ended days of planning for the possibility of a state-imposed shutdown ahead of one of Hoosier Park’s biggest weekends.
“It was interesting,” Brown said. “I’m just extremely happy that we’re going to be open and celebrating an exciting Fourth of July weekend.”
--------
Indiana casinos by the numbers
$6.6 billion: Amount paid to state and local wagering taxes since legalized.
$1.2 billion: Admission taxes paid to state and local governments.
$3 million: State tax revenue collected per day.
16,000: Number of casino employees.
Local Business
Hoosier Park gets court order to stay open
- Local Business
-
-
Rivals back home, friends here
Football fans began arriving here for Super Bowl XLVI on Friday, bringing together complete strangers, families and old fraternity buddies.
-
Members accuse city union treasurer of stealing
Over $30,000 in dues is missing from a city union, according to two members.
-
Muncie business sells football-shaped windows
Small-business owner Pat Smith says she created the Sports Collection of Windows and Doors to give back to an organization that saved her son’s life.
-
Susan Miller: Big names contradict first-born advantage
Perhaps you’ve heard the stories about birth order and success in life. You know the stories that say first-born and only-children tend to rise to the top in life and in business.
-
Community Hospital to add building for robotic surgery
Community Hospital Anderson is planning an expansion to house more surgical rooms and equipment.
-
$126,000 contract approved for ED director
The Board of Public Work approved a 12-month contract to hire Greg Winkler as a consultant to serve in the position of interim economic development director.
-
Emmett Dulaney: Business education lacks taste of cookie
No matter how well I describe cookies, the history behind them, the recipe used, or anything else, it will never do justice to the taste of biting into one. You cannot appreciate the information about the cookie without doing so. The problem with a lot of business education is that it lacks the taste of the cookie.
-
Recycling collection moves to bigger bins, every other week
Per a contract with the city, Best Way Disposal is picking up recycling every other week, rather than weekly. Trash pickup continues to be collected on a weekly basis.
-
Poet, farmers: Little to no effects from subsidy's end
Poet officials and local farmers have said there shouldn’t be much, if any, effect felt locally from the recent expiration of two ethanol subsidies — a 45-cent-per-gallon tax credit to oil refiners for blending ethanol and a 54-cents-per-gallon tariff on ethanol imports.
-
Getting Together: Volunteers sew love into teddy bears
Churning out approximately 100 unique teddy bears a month, the Madison County Love Bears are reaching out to comfort anxious children in area hospitals with the gift of a new, fluffy friend.
- More Local Business Headlines
-
