FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Pam Colbert
Indiana Live! Casino
317-421-8975
Pam.Colbert@indy-live.com
CLICK IMAGE BELOW FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION VERSION
Indiana Live! Casino creates economic jackpot
SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)—Indiana Live! Casino is celebrating its one-year anniversary this weekend, March 12 through 14. Since opening the permanent facility, the casino has made a significant economic impact as a major source of revenue and support for Shelby County and the state of Indiana, paying out approximately $104 million in taxes and fees.
“The economic impact of Indiana Live! Casino is far reaching,” said Indiana Live! Casino Chief Financial Officer Fred Burford. “Not only does the casino pay millions in taxes each year, we also employ more than 800 people and purchase products and services from many businesses, a large number of which are local.”
Approximately 850 employees and an extensive list of vendors including family-owned businesses and car dealers are among those that benefit financially from Indiana Live! Casino, which is celebrating its first anniversary at its permanent facility on March 12 through 14. The festivities on March 12 will include a special carrot cake cutting by Indiana Live! Casino General Manager Richard Kline and Shelbyville Mayor Scott Furgeson that takes place at 6PM at Center Bar.
“We’re going to have fun and celebrate our accomplishments together. We want to show our appreciation for all the support we’ve received from our customers, from the government and from area businesses,” Kline said. “Mayor Scott Furgeson is such a great supporter of what we have done here at the casino. We’re excited to have him and a number of his staff here to help us celebrate. This is just going to be a ‘wow’ time where everybody at the end of the day can walk out of this facility saying Indiana Live! is the best.”
Indiana Live! Casino opened its 233,000-square-foot Las Vegas-style gaming facility on March 13, 2009. The casino was previously housed in a 70,000-square-foot temporary facility that opened in June 2008.
Owned by Indiana Downs LLC and managed by Baltimore-based developer The Cordish Company, Indiana Live! Casino is the closest casino to Indianapolis and is conveniently located on Interstate 74E, Exit 109, approximately 20 minutes from downtown Indianapolis.
Indiana Live! Casino has an annual payroll of more than $24 million, which includes wages and a wide range of benefits offered to all eligible employees. The list of vendors that Indiana Live! Casino has done business with includes more than 1,800 names.
“Numerous individuals, organizations and communities have directly benefitted from their association with Indiana Live! Casino,” Burford said. “It’s a win-win proposition that benefits everyone involved.”
The casino paid out more than $6.5 million to Shelby County. More than $32.8 million has been dedicated to the Indiana Horse Racing industry to supplement live racing purses and to fund various horsemen’s associations. Money from the casino is also used by the Division of Mental Health to fight problem gambling.
Indiana Live! Casino also paid out more than $60.7 million in jackpots in 2009.
“Nothing beats the thrill of being a winner at Indiana Live! Casino,” Burford said. “One trip to our establishment can be a life-changing experience, which is evident by the number of winners we’ve paid.”
Built at a cost of more than $250 million, the casino’s permanent structure is an ideal tourist destination that features approximately 2,000 Electronic Table Games and Slot Machines and a state-of-the-art Poker Room offering Texas Hold’em. Three restaurants and three bars also provide guests ample opportunities to enjoy a festive atmosphere that includes a wide variety of entertainment and dining options.
“It brings people to our community and lets them see what we offer,” said Julie Metz, Executive Director of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce. “It also brings those revenues that are going to be used for economic development and improvements here in Shelby County.”
Indiana Live! Casino’s interior features dramatic lace ceilings, a 50-foot clearstory feature over the center of the gaming floor with skylights providing natural lighting and a 4,500-square-foot Center Bar with a sculptural free-form back bar dramatically lit with plasma screens. The exterior of the casino is equally dramatic with dynamic lighting, beautiful ponds and fountains and an eye-catching digital billboard.
“Indiana Live! has invested hundreds of millions of dollars,” Metz said. “Anyone who has gone out there and seen what we have is just awestruck the first time you walk in. It’s beautiful the way it is put together.”
As part of its anniversary celebration, Indiana Live! Casino is giving away two new Volkswagen Rabbits—one on Friday, March 12 and one on Saturday, March 13. Numerous car dealerships have benefitted from the car giveaway promotions in the past at Indiana Live! Casino. Lucky winners have driven home a Pontiac Solstice, a Dodge Avenger, a Ford Fusion, a Cadillac CTS, a Smart Car and a Ford F-150 truck. Additional winners chose a cash option instead of a vehicle.
Shelbyville-based hotels located approximately five minutes from Indiana Live! Casino have also benefitted from an increase in business since the casino opened. At the Hampton Inn, General Manager Kylie Barnes said Indiana Live! Casino patrons book on average between 20 to 25 rooms per night. Location and discounts offered to Indiana Live! Casino patrons draw the customers to the hotel, Barnes said.
“It’s more weekend business,” Barnes said. “We’re pretty full during the week anyway.”
Metz expects Indiana Live! Casino’s impact on area businesses to increase in the future.
“I’m not aware that we have felt a total impact from it yet,” Metz said. “For many years, people were heading right by that location. Now, it’s very convenient to stop.”
A hotel that is attached to Indiana Live! Casino is a definite possibility in the future. Other future additions may include a spa, a fitness center and a multi-purpose room that could be used for everything from meetings to conventions and concerts.
Kline also wants to see Indiana law changed to allow Racinos to have live dealers for table games.
“Having all of those things together will really make us a full-service casino—one that everybody can not only be proud of but will be extremely successful for the surrounding community as it will bring more people here,” Kline said. “It would also be a huge success story for the state.”
# # #
ABOUT INDIANA LIVE! CASINO
Indiana Live! Casino is central Indiana’s premier entertainment destination. Located approximately 20 minutes from downtown Indianapolis on Interstate 74E, Exit 109 at Indiana Downs in Shelbyville, Ind., Indiana Live! Casino opened its 233,000-square-foot facility in March of 2009, offering approximately 2,000 of the most popular high-tech ticket-in/ticket-out machines. Guests enjoy a variety of the newest themed reel and video slots offering denominations from a penny to $100. Also, players can enjoy a wide selection of electronic table games, including blackjack, roulette and three-card poker. Additionally, the new Indiana Live! Casino features an expansive state-of-the art poker room offering the best in Texas Hold’em.
Complementing these unparalleled gaming experiences, Indiana Live! Casino also features six unique dining and entertainment venues under one roof, which offers all patrons the area’s best in elegant and casual dining, vibrant nightlife, live entertainment and much more. Indiana Live! Casino is open 24 hours a day and seven days a week to visitors age 21 and older and is located adjacent to Indiana Downs race track, a 200-acre venue that conducts live racing and simulcasting for standardbreds, thoroughbreds and quarter horses throughout the year. For more, visit www.indianalivecasino.com.
Indiana Live! Casino is owned by Indiana Downs LLC and managed by Baltimore, Md.-based developer The Cordish Company www.cordish.com.
ABOUT THE CORDISH COMPANY
The Cordish Company (www.cordish.com), now in its fourth generation of family ownership, is a multi-billion dollar conglomerate including one of the leading real estate development companies in the United States. The company has diverse development expertise with divisions focused on Entertainment and Mixed-Use, Gaming and Lodging, Sports Anchored Districts, Shopping and Lifestyle Retail and Office and Residential. The Cordish Company also owns and manages a diverse group of operating businesses, ranging from gaming and leisure, restaurants and clubs, live music promotion and film and media distribution. The company values itself on the quality of its operations, its long-term relationships and high level of integrity in all of its endeavors. The Cordish Company is the largest and most successful developer of entertainment districts and concepts in the United States. In particular, the company has unparalleled experience in creating and revitalizing high-profile destinations in urban core locations. Many of the Cordish Company's projects involve public/private partnerships and are of unique significance to the cities in which they are located. Prime examples are the company's prominent role in the redevelopment of highly successful projects in Baltimore's world-famous Inner Harbor; Atlantic City, N.J.; Hollywood, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.; Houston, Texas; Louisville, Ky.; and Tampa, Fla. The company currently has over $1 billion in construction focusing primarily on Sports Anchored Districts. The Cordish Company has received the highest possible national awards in its various areas of expertise. In real estate, The Cordish Company has received an unprecedented six Urban Land Institute Awards of Excellence.
Indiana Live! Casino - 4300 N. Michigan Road - Shelbyville - Indiana 46176
www.indianalivecasino.com