From the Shelbyville News:
Shelbyville's local legislators continue to hope the diluted gaming bill passed by the Indiana House 73-17 on Monday will end up looking more like its original Senate version than it does today.
Senate Bill 528 included provisions for riverboat casinos to build onto land and allowing live dealers at the state's two racinos.
The House public policy committee removed the live table games feature and the ways and means committee amended it to include the racinos pay $10 million in revenue to support the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Rep. Sean Eberhart, R-Shelbyville, said he voted to pass the bill both on the House floor and in the Public Policy Committee, of which he is a member.
Although he opposed the amendments, he supported its passage to keep the bill moving, as did many of his fellows, he said.
"It's important we let this bill move forward and take it to conference committee and get it right," he said. We're all hopeful it will come out of conference committee in a completely different form and that we'll have a good bill to vote for."
Eberhart said he voiced his opinion that the bill as presented on the House floor was "not acceptable" that he wanted to see live gaming tables reinstated.
"I also said that I will reserve the right to speak against the bill if it doesn't come out in an acceptable form," he said.
State Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenberg, co-author of the bill, believes the amendment added by the House Ways and Means Committee requiring the racinos support the speedway won't make it through the conference committee, but isn't so sure live table games will be reinstated.
"It won't be voted on in the Senate the way it is now," she said. "Of that I am positive."
She said she would support the bill without the live dealers if the two racinos believe other features in the bill would be worthwhile.
She's referring to tax credits for new capital expenditures and free play options for all state casinos that were in the original bill.
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http://www.shelbynews.com/articles/2013/04/17/news/doc516dbdd2bb40a476156842.txt
