FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- A Steuben County council member tells Indiana's NewsCenter that consensus is building for a plan to vigorously pursue a casino for that community.

It’s a gambling enterprise that Steuben and Allen Counties could compete for.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry is pushing hard for a casino referendum to gauge public support for gaming in Allen County.

The Steuben County Council this week approved money to hire someone to lobby for a casino referendum in that locale.

Steuben County council members are trying to scrounge up a few thousand more dollars to pay former State Senator Bob Meeks to work the state legislature.

The campaign is revving up, because one of two gaming licenses in Gary could conceivably be moved to Northeast Indiana.

Council Member Paul Sparks says the first goal is to get a gaming study committee to favor the Steuben proposal.

Not everybody likes the idea.

Dana Thompson who owns a theater in downtown Angola says Steuben County should forget the whole thing.

But Sparks says a trip to Rising Sun, Indiana helped rally supporters, because officials found out a gambling operation there had not caused crime to go up.

Paul Sparks/(R) Steuben County Council: " That allayed a lot of our fears about what was going to happen, because we don't want to have something come to Steuben County that would create an economic benefit, but would also decrease our quality of life."

Dana Thompson/Business Owner: " It might bring a lot of $7.75 an hour jobs to town. What else is it going to do? It's going to put our community out of business."

Thompson’s main fear is that visitors would spend all their money at the casino, robbing other businesses in town of customers with cash.

In comparing Fort Wayne’s strengths and weaknesses to Steuben County’s in this process, Fort Wayne has a bigger population base with other attractions like professional baseball in its downtown.

Steuben County’s proposed site for a casino is near the intersection of Interstate 69 and the Indiana Toll Road, offering easy access.

Plus, many officials there are not only crusading for a referendum, they are actively pushing for a casino itself.

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