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http://nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/articl..._medium=twitter

Gary land-based casino dead

Supporters could not pick up enough votes Wednesday for another try

INDIANAPOLIS | Supporters of a land-based casino in Gary could not round up enough House votes Wednesday to keep the idea alive.

"Fifty-one votes," said state Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, as she paced the hallways outside the House chamber all afternoon and into the evening looking for potential yes votes. "Fifty-one votes."

State Rep. William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, the sponsor of Senate Bill 405, placed the gaming measure last on the daily calendar to give Rogers and state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, time to try to pick up supporters. They ran out of time when the House adjourned just after 7 p.m. without acting on the legislation.

But Brown and Rogers were not the only elected officials working to win votes to their side. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. came to the Statehouse on Wednesday to ensure the three Hammond Democratic representatives who voted no on land-based gaming in Gary on Tuesday stayed no votes.

"I have a job to do as mayor of the city to protect my most valuable industry, which is Horseshoe Casino," McDermott said. "So that's what I'm doing. I'm doing my job."

Brown and Rogers were not exactly enthusiastic to see Hammond's mayor working representatives in the Statehouse.

"It's kind of discouraging. Mayor McDermott hasn't been around to know he only has what he has because of Gary," Brown said. Gary has been advocating for casinos in Indiana since 1989.

"That's hypocritical to me, knowing that we birthed you, and now you're saying, 'I want you to die,'" Brown said.

Rogers said she thought McDermott's lobbying against Gary could hurt his political career.

"For someone who at some point in time wants to run for public office outside of Hammond, I think that was not a wise move on his part," Rogers said.

Gary officials had hoped to win approval to relocate the Majestic Star casino from Lake Michigan to a land-based location adjacent to the Borman Expressway near Interstate 65. A state legislative report estimated that an inland Gary casino would add to state gaming tax revenue but would also divert players and revenue from other Northwest Indiana casinos.

The House voted down a land-based proposal Tuesday, but Brown and Rogers said they thought they'd be able to win over enough votes to gain passage Wednesday.

Crawford's decision to hold Senate Bill 405 means the other proposals contained in the legislation, including elimination of a requirement that permanently docked riverboats continue to maintain marine engines and a crew, are also dead.