ANDERSON - More than 600 people attended the much anticipated grand opening Monday for the new casino at Anderson's Hoosier Park.
An outdoor ceremony featuring track and city officials started at 8:30 a.m., and the doors opened to the crowd at 9 a.m. The crowd began assembling outside the casino entrance shortly after 6 a.m. By the time the ceremony began, the line of hopeful gamblers had stretched far into the newly paved parking lot. Jim Brown, Hoosier Park's general manager of gaming, welcomed the crowd to the opening of the entertainment venue. Brown was followed by Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon and Rick Moore, general manager of racing at Hoosier Park.
All three men drew cheers from the crowd during the ceremony. The men spoke briefly about the entertainment aspects of the new casino, as well as the economic effect the local community would experience as a result of the casino's opening.
Brown said Hoosier Park Casino and Racetrack would provide more than $200 million in salaries, tips and benefits "that come back to the local community."
The local government will collect an estimated $8 million annually from the venue, along with $1.6 million in property taxes.
The officials also spoke about the hard work that had been put into the new casino not only by Hoosier Park employees, but also by members of the surrounding community.
Moore thanked the people of Anderson, located less than 30 minutes from Muncie, for their hard work and support. The local community would finally be able to enjoy the benefits of years of work the community had put into the creation of the casino, he said.
"Today, folks, Anderson has become a destination point," Moore said to the cheering crowd.
The newly completed casino project cost more than $100 million. The casino features 2,000 slot machines, 66 multiplayer electronic games and a high-limit room. Along with the 54,000 square feet dedicated to gaming, the casino also features nine bars and restaurants.
Members of the Ball State University community had varying opinions of the casino's opening.
Sophomore Stefanie Casada said although she was not old enough to go to the casino, members of her family were very excited about it.
"My parents and sister, they've wanted to go, just to see what it's like," she said.
Ball State senior Sam Cronk said while he was not a gambler, he had no issue with the new casino's opening, as long as the gamblers realize the risks of their behavior.
"It's a personal thing, but you should know the problems if you get involved too heavily," Cronk said.
The casino has brought an estimated 550 new jobs to the area, and that number is likely to grow higher as the restaurants in the casino will likely expand their hours in the coming months, Jason Fruits, marketing manager, said.
Hoosier Park offers live racing at the track weekly between April 5 and Nov. 23. The track plays host to Standard bred horse racing Wednesday through Sunday between April 5 and July 12. Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse races will be between Aug. 29 and Nov. 23.
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