ANDERSON — The slots and staff at Hoosier Park had their first run in with real gamblers Thursday during a 12-hour test run of the new casino.
“It’s a test day, but it’s been a lot of fun for us and our customers,” said Jim Brown, Hoosier Park’s general manager for gaming.
The test day began at 10 a.m., and by 5:30 p.m., Brown reported that more than 4,000 people had already filtered through the new casino in 2-hour shifts.
Brown said that after the last of the gamblers headed home around 10 p.m., the casino’s staff would begin reconciling every one of the site’s 2,000 gaming machines with revenue receipts for an accounting audit to ensure Hoosier Park complies with Indiana Gaming Commission regulations.
“If this is all completed successfully, sometime on Saturday, the Indiana Gaming Commission will give us the go-ahead and open on Monday,” Brown said.
Other than installing a few remaining table games and resolving small technical glitches, Brown said, the only things left to take care of before opening day were fine-tuning aspects of the casino such as music and air-conditioning.
Most of the guests for the test day were friends and family members of Hoosier Park employees. Sally Dunn, Anderson, received a pass from her granddaughter’s boyfriend.
“I probably lost about $30, but I had fun doing it,” Dunn said. “I’ve been to other gambling sites — the boats and stuff — and this is just as nice.”
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Hoosier Park Racing and Casino public opening
When: Monday, with official program with city and casino officials begins at 8:30 a.m., with ribbon-cutting at 9 a.m.
(pending approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission)
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BY THE NUMBERS
Some facts about the new casino, based on numbers:
550: Estimated new jobs
3,500: Number of parking spaces
$8 million+: Estimated annual revenue collected by city and county governments
$80 million: Estimated annual revenue collected by state
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