Churchill Downs cleared to develop Terre Haute casino after Full House drops suit against regulator

Full House Resorts, which sued the Indiana Gaming Commission over a Terre Haute casino license late last year, arguing the commission violated Indiana’s open door law in a November meeting, has now decided to drop the lawsuit. Thus, the road for Churchill Downs, selected to develop the venue, has now been cleared.

"We are pleased that Full House has dismissed these actions and that Vigo County and the greater community of West Central Indiana will soon benefit from this significant economic development project,” the Indiana Gaming Commission said in a statement, retrieved by WTHI-TV10.

Indiana Gaming Commission officials were notified by Full House Resorts of its decision to drop the suit on Tuesday. In a letter, the casino company said it did not want to delay the project further, and that while the business disagreed with the characterizations made regarding the motives of their claims, Full House understood that even if the process was to be reopened the outcome would unlikely differ.

Churchill Downs Inc., which was selected by the IGC in November to receive the license, is now set to move forward with the development of the Queen of Terre Haute Casino. To cost $240 million, the casino resort will have 1,000 slot machines, 50 table games and a 125-room hotel. The development would create more than 500 jobs, according to the company.

"Churchill Downs Incorporated remains excited to move forward with our plan to develop the Queen of Terre Haute,” Churchill Downs said in a new statement. “We are committed to ongoing collaboration with officials in Vigo County and the Indiana Gaming Commission to deliver a valuable regional asset and a true destination casino resort for a community that has waited long enough."

What still remains to be announced is whether Churchill Downs will relocate from its proposed site in the western part of Terre Haute to the east side. The company hinted it was looking at alternative sites, which was protested by Full House late last year, as the company argued Indiana law required one location to be provided in the application. A spokesperson for Churchill Downs has now confirmed the company is “still open to exploring options” for the location.

Both Churchill Downs and Full House were chosen as the two finalists from an initial four bidders for the casino license. However, Full House filed a lawsuit after being left out of the race, arguing the IGC violated Indiana’s open meeting laws because the commission adjourned into an executive session to discuss the proposals in the middle of the hearing.

In their lawsuit, Full House asked the court to find that, in awarding the license to Churchill Downs, the commission violated the Open Door Law. Thus, the company said, the decision to deny Full House’s application and grant Churchill Downs’ application should have been voided, and the awarding of the license to Churchill Downs should have been prohibited.

Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett celebrated Full House’s decision to drop the suit and to see progress on the casino. "That happened a lot faster than I thought it would, and I applaud them for that; whatever happened to get them to do that and allow the project to move forward," he said.