Southeast Indiana update: the region's top business stories.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT: SOUTHEAST

WITH A $550 MILLION Honda plant taking shape, a $460 million power plant improvement project under way, three casinos luring millions of visitors and their bets each year, and longtime manufacturers holding steady, there's a lot of money flowing in southeast Indiana.

Honda update. Production is slated to begin this fall at Honda Manufacturing of Indiana LLC in Greensburg, where the final structural steel beam was placed in October for the 1.7-million-square-foot, $550 million facility. Construction began in May 2007 at the 1,700-acre site.

When it reaches full capacity, the plant will employ 2,000 and roll out 200,000 Honda Civics a year.

What it has already meant for Greensburg and Decatur County is phenomenal, especially its "enormous impact on the economic environment," says Vicki Kellerman, executive director of the Greensburg/Decatur County Economic Development Corp. "It's generated some exciting times. And there is much anticipation of announcements of further industrial developments in the near future."

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This is Honda's seventh North American plant. The Greensburg operations will include stamping, welding, painting, plastic injection molding, sub- and final assembly, testing, quality assurance and shipping.

Casinos a win. Three casinos are bringing continued investments, outright contributions to their communities, visitors and their discretionary income to southeast Indiana.

The largest, the 78,000-square-foot Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg--which reported $480.7 million in total wins last year, the highest in Indiana--is about to be replaced by a casino with 125,000 square feet of gambling space on one level. The $310 million project also includes a 1,500-space parking deck that opens in May. Employment of 1,990 is expected to increase by 200 when the new casino opens by mid-2009.

"The real action here is Argosy Casino. It's a huge, huge investment," reports Mike Rozow, president of the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce and interim president of the Economic Development Initiative.

Meanwhile, the Belterra Casino, Resort & Spa in Vevay has put an announced $45 million expansion of its 40,200 square feet of gaming space on hold. "They shelved it until they can see what kind of damage the slot machines at race tracks will do to them," says Jonathan Bond, director of Vevay-Switzerland County Economic Development. "They're doing well, though. Those guys always make money," he says of the casino that employs 1,155...