Full House Resorts notified Indiana Gaming Commission officials on Tuesday it would drop its legal challenges regarding the casino license for Terre Haute, a move that clears what is likely the last obstacle for the west central Indiana city to get its long-awaited casino.
In November, the IGC picked Churchill Downs Inc. to receive the license. The Louisville-based company plans to invest $240 million to build the Queen of Terre Haute Casino, which is slated to hold 1,000 slot machines and 50 table games. The development that would create more than 500 new jobs also includes a 125-room hotel.
Churchill Downs and Full House were the two finalists among the four bidders that vied for Indiana’s 13th casino license. The commission voted to select the Louisville-based gaming company to build the casino at its Nov. 17 hearing.
A month later, though, Las Vegas-based Full House filed a lawsuit in Indianapolis and a protest with the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings (OLAP). In its filings, the company claimed the IGC violated Indiana’s open meeting laws and said Churchill Downs’ proposal should be disqualified after its CEO Bill Carstanjen told commissioners the company would consider alternative sites from what it proposed.