Students Against Casino Expansion, an organization fighting the creation of a Ho-Chunk casino in Southeast Madison, held a conference Wednesday to convince students that a casino would drain money from the downtown area.

The group contends adding a casino will result in layoffs and bankruptcies along State Street if it is not voted down in a referendum next Tuesday. The question will be on the same ballot as the Democratic presidential candidates.

UW seniors Steven Singh and Danika Sorenson have been hired by the Ho-Chunk Nation to lead the opposition, in what Ald. Austin King characterized as a “horse race” for the student vote. Their organization, Students for Fair Indian Gaming & Revenue Sharing Agreements, believes the casino would bolster Madison’s economy with a $91 million revenue-sharing agreement already negotiated with the city. Singh also noted the estimated 600 jobs created by the casino.

King attended Wednesday’s meeting with City Council President Mike Verveer. Both officials oppose the casino, and say their stance is shared by a majority of the city council.

“It’s hard to reach people,” King said. “I think our strength is going to be in word of mouth.”

UW senior Joe Shumow is leading the group’s effort to gather votes before Tuesday’s referendum.

“I’m not inherently against a casino, but I am against a casino in Madison,” he explained in Wednesday’s meeting, adding that he was not paid for his efforts, in contrast to the compensation Singh and Sorenson both received.

SACE has delivered campaign literature to university housing and mailboxes, and run a radio advertisement citing both economic and social reasons for voting against the casino. In the one-minute spot, a child’s voice warns of “a huge drain on our local economy — [and] people laid off at stores, restaurants, theatres and other local businesses.”

Shumow characterized SACE as a “grass-roots effort.”

“All we have is passion and a lot of love for Dane County,” Shumow said.

Students for Fair Indian Gaming & Revenue Sharing Agreements has also been operating on what Singh calls a “person-to-person” basis.

“We’re doing a lot of chalking, a lot of flyer-ing,” Singh said. “The number one thing we’re doing, though, is we’re just talking to everyone we know; every friend, every person in our classes.”

The student group’s parent organization, Coalition for the Fair Indian Gaming and Revenue Sharing Agreements, has also run both television and radio ads.

“There’s no question that the largest block of voters will be students,” King said.

Singh agreed, telling students, “This is one instance in which [they] can show their power.”