6:42 a.m.: Indiana Downs races to opener

May 20, 2008 07:43 am

— SHELBYVILLE, Ind. — Indiana Downs is racing to open a new temporary casino by sometime next month.
“Even though it’s temporary, we want everything to be a wow,” said Mark Hemmerle, general manager of Indiana Live Casino.
The 70,000-square-foot casino will feature 1,900 slot machines, eateries with food by catering company Wolfgang Puck and a bar. It is expected to open no later than June. A 270,000 square-foot permanent casino that is being built near the track’s grandstand will open next year.
“As nice as this is and as cool as this is, that one is going to be that much nicer,” Hemmerle said.
The Shelbyville track and rival Hoosier Park at Anderson both plan to open casinos this summer. Hoosier Park’s casino is expected to open June 2, pending approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission.
Both horse tracks expect to draw more than 3 million visitors in the casinos’ first year of operation. Hoosier Park is promoting its 92,000 square-foot casino with television commercials, while Indiana Downs is using billboards.
Indiana Downs expects to draw much of its business from nearby Indianapolis. “Just from the sheer economics of gas prices,” Hemmerle said. But he predicted most casino-goers will visit both tracks.
Jim Brown, general manager of gaming for Hoosier Park, believes there should be enough business for both casinos.
“I believe there is room in the market for both,” he said.