Cigar lounges, data centers + casinos in Fort Wayne: Here's what to know

Hey Locals,

In recent weeks, three controversial issues have paid an untimely visit to City Council: cigar lounges, a casino, and the Google data center. Today we’re unpacking a few key considerations about each in a Christmas Carol-themed breakdown with the ghosts of Fort Wayne’s past, present and future.

The Ghost of Fort Wayne’s Past: Cigar Lounges

Last week, City Council unanimously voted to amend the City’s smoking ordinance (per Mayor Sharon Tucker’s approval), allowing indoor smoking at businesses that meet certain criteria as cigar lounges. Lest you think this is a random and bizarre move, there are a few key points to consider rooted in the history of local cigar lounges.

Here are quick things to know:

• Fort Wayne already offers places where you can smoke cigars indoors, but the demographics of cigar smokers are shifting. Riegel’s, Rudy’s and Copper Canyon are exempt from the city’s smoking ordinance, and looking closely, there’s an important distinction about these businesses: They’re all owned and frequented by white men. Meanwhile, since the pandemic, more people of color have turned to cigars as a means of stress release and social connection, giving rise to dozens of Black-owned cigar brands and a burgeoning $9.4 billion cigar market. Perhaps this is what Dawn Moore of Pop’s Cigar Lounge was referring to last week when she thanked council for the cigar amendment, saying it will level the playing field for people like herself to enter the market, and support her community in Southeast.
• Still, there are serious health consequences to consider about smoking indoors. While the amendment requires special ventilation at new cigar lounges, the research is clear that “no amount of ventilation” can prevent the health risks associated with secondhand smoke, and people of color are particularly vulnerable to these risks. So there is legitimate reason to be concerned about opening cigar lounges and/or promoting tobacco use of any kind, especially in parts of town lacking healthy alternatives for recreation.
• At the same time: similar, more lax cigar legislation already exists in places, like Indianapolis. So Fort Wayne is not necessarily rolling back protections on tobacco use in Indiana so much as it is aligning with state precedent. It’s also difficult to argue with the logic that, if some folks can operate cigar lounges locally, others shouldn’t be able to, as well.

The Ghost of Fort Wayne’s Present: Google data center

Last week was a big one for Fort Wayne's Google data center. Greater Fort Wayne Inc. and the project team hosted a (lackluster) public forum about it – conveniently hours after Google announced its data center was already operational in Fort Wayne. City Council also stalled an ordinance by City Utilities, seeking to progress a cost-share plan that would update a portion of the city’s water infrastructure needed to accommodate the data center’s demands. So let’s better understand this Ghost of Fort Wayne’s present, shall we? 

Here are quick things to know:

• AI data centers – like Fort Wayne’s – have probably already raised your utility bills. While data centers have powered computers and modern technology for years, The Federalist reports that AI data centers (like ours) are a different animal, primarily because they consume roughly eight times the electricity as “regular data centers,” meaning power providers like I&M have to massively upgrade their capacity to provide for them, and you’re probably already paying for these upgrades in your monthly bills. In July, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported that I&M’s consumer bills rose $6 per month (3.9%) from 2024-2025 – though still below the statewide average increase of a whopping $28 per month. Analysts attribute this to monopoly pricing and grid modernization – no doubt with data centers in mind. 
• Things are likely to become even less regulated at the state level. In July, Director of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) Kerwin Olson spoke with the Chronicle about rising utility bills for Hoosiers, saying: “Rhetoric regarding affordability emanating from the Statehouse appears to be nothing more than lip service,” and “Something must change, soon.” Last week, something did change: Gov. Mike Braun completed a “near-remake” of Olson’s five-member Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, naming three new appointees who might be, let's say, more favorable of the state's "business friendly" data center outlook.
• Locals may stall data center progress, but also might get caught in the crossfire. Last week at City Council, when City Utilities introduced a slew of updates for Fort Wayne’s water system, including one specifically related to the data center, Councilman Russ Jehl called the move “political malpractice” for preceding Google’s public forum on the data center that week. Booker also called attention to the value of citizen advocacy, and noted that while Council gave the data center its early approvals in 2023, there is more they might do to impede progress in the future. They will reconsider the water infrastructure request on Jan. 13. But, of course, delays to deteriorating infrastructure affect citizens, too, and just how much of a strain a behemoth user like Google will have on local water systems (compared to upgrades that would be needed anyway for an aging and growing city) is anyone’s guess.

The Ghost of Fort Wayne’s future: A casino

In recent weeks, news about another controversial economic development opportunity has taken center stage in Fort Wayne: moving or opening a casino here. Looking at examples of what’s happening in other places with casinos might offer a glimpse into Fort Wayne’s future, too.

Here are quick things to know:

• Advocates say casinos often get a bad rap, but the benefits outweigh the consequences when you look into the data and communities that have embraced them. While there hasn’t been – and won’t be – a public referendum to gauge support for a casino in Fort Wayne, a 2024 poll of Allen County residents showed mixed enthusiasm, which slightly increased among those the surveyors deemed “informed” about a casino’s benefits. Still, former skeptics like New Haven’s Mayor Steve McMichael say they came around to casinos after examining data from the Indiana University School of Public Health and the Indiana Council on Problem Gambling. McMichael also went on a self-funded tour of 12 Indiana casinos, noting: “I haven’t been able to talk to any community in Indiana that has a casino that hasn’t said they’re good partners…. Not a single one has said they wish they would go away.”
• But if other states are any indication, casinos might detract from state lottery revenues. In states, like Nebraska, as casino gambling revenue has grown, lottery sales have declined by more than 16% in the July 2025 fiscal year, resulting in the need for – you guessed it – more funding sources (like taxes) to support what lotteries are lacking. (In Indiana, lottery revenues primarily fund police and firefighter pensions, the Teachers' Retirement Fund, and the Build Indiana Fund largely used to offset local motor vehicle excise taxes.)
• Bypassing citizens to bring a casino to Fort Wayne might affect future elections, too. Following our recent report on Fort Wayne’s casino gamble, several citizens reached out to us, voicing concerns about feeling left out of the process, which might have consequences for the mayor and county commissioners in future elections. This week, Mayor Sharon Tucker discussed the move – along with other controversial city developments – with WANE 15.

Whew. These are some complicated topics that could reshape Fort Wayne, and expecting citizens to keep up with all the developments amid the usual holiday rush is a tall order. (Perhaps the timing is no coincidence?) Regardless, in the spirit of Scrooge, we hope this brief visit with the ghosts of Fort Wayne’s past, present and future provides you with more perspective on these issues.

Now, what did we miss? There’s a lot to process here, so hit reply to this email, and let us know what you’re seeing.

Until next time, Locals.

Your Editor,

Kara Hackett