Full House Resorts Inc. on Tuesday released designs for its proposed $500 million New Haven Casino and Resort.
The first of two phases would include about 1,400 slot machines, 50 gaming tables, a poker room and a sportsbook in a 90,000-square-foot casino, according to a news release.
Initial plans also call for a prime steakhouse and a celebrity-chef upscale casual restaurant. Both restaurants would use ingredients grown in the onsite greenhouse. A food hall across from the casino would include offerings by local restaurateurs, the release said.
Additional entertainment venues would include a lounge with live music, a center bar and a rooftop speakeasy cocktail bar, officials said.
A five-story, luxury 200-room hotel with a premium spa and salon is included in the proposed second construction phase. Additional amenities include a rooftop pool, a live event and concert venue, and additional dining and entertainment venues, the release said.
Full House has to clear at least one hurdle, however, before a groundbreaking.
State lawmakers would have to approve moving the gaming license from its Rising Star Casino in southeastern Indiana to New Haven. Full House representatives have been meeting with local officials and state lawmakers to make their case, according to Zach Sand, whose Fort Wayne public relations firm represents the Las Vegas-based company.
Although at least one local official favors a countywide referendum on whether a proposed casino should be allowed to open in New Haven, that second hurdle won’t happen unless legislators pass a bill that requires a referendum as part of a gaming license transfer, officials say.
The proposed casino and resort’s fate could be uncertain until the General Assembly session’s end, which is scheduled for April 29.
Full House’s marketing push for the casino includes a website that notes no tax incentives would be part of the investment’s financial package. The gaming company would pay the full development price.
The website also provides an annual gaming tax estimate of $16.4 million, which would be paid to the city of New Haven. Of that, 20% would be allocated to property tax rebates that would translate to about $685 for every New Haven homeowner, the company says online.
An economic impact study paid for by Full House and released this month shows the proposed casino would generate more than $80 million in annual state and local taxes and spark creation of more than 2,400 new jobs.
The estimated breakdown would be $53.5 million in state taxes, $18.3 million in city taxes and $11.1 million in taxes for other local stakeholders, including Allen County and East Allen County Schools.
The project could create 2,760 construction and construction-related jobs in the first of two phases. The initial phase in New Haven would generate an estimated 2,426 new jobs, including more than 1,200 positions at the casino and entertainment resort, according to the study performed by international consulting firm CBRE.
Full House officials initially proposed building near Interstate 469 and U.S. 24. But after hearing traffic congestion concerns from neighboring landowners and city officials, the company optioned property at the intersection of U.S. 30 and I-469, next to the Flying J Travel Center, Sand said.
New Haven, a city with about 16,000 residents, is already preparing for a major development on Minnich Road. Fields of Grace would include outdoor fields, retail, restaurants, entertainment, a Harvester Homecoming Museum and more. Its estimated annual economic impact is $50 million.
To view more design renderings and learn more about the project, go online to AllInOnNewHaven.com. The website also allows the public to show support for the project.
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