The commission said casino operator Lucy Luck Gaming has yet to form an executive team or prove that it can fully finance the project.
The Terre Haute license will now be open for bidding. Lucy Luck will be allowed to reapply.
The west central Indiana casino project is collaboration between Lucy Luck and Hard Rock International. The two sides reached an operating agreement in May 2021, several months after an initial November 2020 groundbreaking was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lucy Luck – formerly known as Spectacle Jack – anticipated an early summer 2021 groundbreaking with a fall 2022 launch. Those plans have temporarily been shelved after the IGC’s vote.
“We’re now a year and a half into this process and still talking about things that are prospective in nature,” said IGC executive director Sarah Tait according to the Associated Press.
The AP reports that a Lucy Luck attorney told the commission that the company had negotiated project financial commitments with five Indiana banks that expire at the end of June.
Lucy Luck Chairman Greg Gibson said he was “deeply disappointed” in the IGC’s decision.
“The news we received today, although it wasn’t what we had anticipated or hoped for, isn’t the end of the journey,” said Gibson. “Lucy Luck Gaming has been prepared to begin construction on this project for months. We have worked tirelessly alongside many to bring this project to the Terre Haute community. We have developed our team, our finances, and detailed our operations to secure our license.”
