The city of Peoria will drop its lawsuit against Boyd Gaming, the Illinois Gaming Board, and the city of East Peoria after Boyd altered plans for a new Par-A-Dice Casino development.
Peoria’s decision follows Boyd’s move to abandon plans for a 29,000-square-foot land-based casino in East Peoria and instead pursue a casino built on a permanently moored barge on the Illinois River, according to a city news release.
The lawsuit had challenged Boyd’s earlier proposal on the grounds that a land-based casino in East Peoria would violate Illinois law and a 1991 intergovernmental agreement between Peoria and East Peoria, which requires any such casino to be built in Peoria.
The revised barge-based proposal does not breach state law or the prior agreement, prompting the city to withdraw its legal action. Peoria added that it would reinstate the lawsuit if Boyd were to return to plans for a land-based casino.
The shift comes just days after Peoria’s City Council rejected a proposed settlement from Boyd in a tied 5–5 vote, with one council member absent. Under that offer, Boyd would have paid Peoria 2.25% of gaming revenue estimated at about $1.8 million annually in exchange for dropping the lawsuit.
Instead, the council opted at the time to proceed with litigation, arguing that Boyd’s land-based design, which was to be labeled a “riverboat,” violated both state law and the intergovernmental agreement.
Boyd’s revised barge plan caught city officials off guard, arriving shortly after the City Council rejected the proposed settlement. The Illinois Gaming Board is scheduled to vote on the revised proposal on February 26.