The Indiana Gaming Commission will announce the recipient of the Vigo County casino license on November 17. Executive Director Greg Small said, “We have received four applications, so we are guaranteed a competitive process which I think will be to the great benefit of both the state and the local community, specifically because I think we have four known operators that are gaming professionals in other jurisdictions, so I think we have a good process ahead of us.”
The four applicants are Churchill Downs Inc., Full House Resorts, Hard Rock International and Terre Haute Entertainment LLC. Churchill Downs’ Queen of Terre Haute would offer 1,000 slot machines, 50 table games, a 125-room luxury hotel, TwinSpires sportsbook and a 500-seat entertainment space. Churchill Downs officials said the Innovation Group’s Gaming Market Assessment indicated the venue would attract more than 1.3 million gaming patrons annually.
Full House Resorts officials said if their proposal is selected, a temporary location would open by May 2022 at the former Macy’s site in the Haute City Center Mall for 18-24 months while the $250 million American Place is under construction. The gaming floor would offer 1,000 slot machines, 50 table games and a state-of-the-art sportsbook, plus a unique half-circle 100-room hotel and restaurants.
Hard Rock’s Rocksino Casino and Hotel would feature 850 slot machines, 35 table and poker games, six restaurants and bars, a 300-seat Velvet Sessions Showroom and a 1,000-square-foot Rock Shop retail center.
The proposal by Terre Haute Entertainment LLC and Premier Gaming Group would include a casino with 800 slot machines and 20 table games and an outdoor smoking patio, plus a sportsbook restaurant, fine-dining restaurant, café, feature bar and covered outdoor rooftop bar.
Previously, Lucy Luck Gaming LLC had received Terre Haute’s gaming license. Formerly named Spectacle Jack, Lucy Luck was the only casino license applicant in 2019. However, in June, the gaming commission denied an annual license renewal to Lucy Luck Gaming, due to having no executive team in place and incomplete financing. In July, Lucy Luck appealed the commission’s denial in July and Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Gamboa held an initial hearing in August. A follow-up could occur in December.
The casino was going to be branded a Hard Rock venue with Lucy Luck running everyday operations. But after the IGC’s license renewal denial, Hard Rock bought a majority ownership in Spectacle Entertainment, chaired by Terre Haute businessman Greg Gibson, and Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana and now is independently seeking the Vigo County license.
