New Indiana Casino is Underway

Published August 8, 2005 by OCR Editor

French Lick Indiana, birth place to NBA legend Larry Bird is about to become home to a brand new casino.

Even though construction is only scheduled to begin in October, the city plans to hold a special ceremonial groundbreaking tomorrow, marking the newest addition to the state's casinos, and the first casino ever built in French Lick, Indiana. The company that is heading this project is Blue Sky Casino, a partnership between Cook Group, an affiliate of Bloomington-based medical-device maker, and real estate developer Lauth Group.

Casino gamblers are not the only ones scheduled to benefit from this new casino. The Blue Sky Casino group plans to share a percentage of the gambling related winnings with local communities in the county. The more the casino makes the more the local communities will receive. For instance, in the event that the casino revenue reaches $100 million annually, local official will receive a share of $4 million. In addition to French Lick, the communities that stand to benefit the most from the casino are West Baden Springs and Orange County.

Construction of the new casino is scheduled to be completed by late 2006. The casino will occupy a 70,000-square-foot area, containing 1,000 slot casino machines and about 30 tables for casino table games such as poker and roulette. Majestic Star Casino, the company that currently operates the riverboat casino in Gary Indiana, is also the one that is going to manage the new casino in French Lick.