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Illinois Court Removes Obstacle to License Sale

CHICAGO, Illinois -- The Illinois Appellate Court on Wednesday upheld a change in state law that allowed a defunct East Dubuque riverboat license to move to Rosemont.

The ruling at least temporarily removes one obstacle the bankrupt Emerald Casino Inc. faced in its attempt to sell its license to Isle of Capri Casinos, which also wants to locate in Rosemont.

The lawsuit, filed by taxpayer Philip Crusius against the Illinois Gaming Board and others, alleged that Illinois lawmakers violated the state constitution in 1999 by amending the Riverboat Gambling Act to allow Emerald to move the license.

Crusius contended it was illegal "special legislation" designed to benefit only that one license.

The Appellate Court agreed with a lower court ruling that the act was not special legislation.

The gambling act amendment allowed riverboats that were not in operation on Jan. 1, 1998, to apply to the Gaming Board to relocate. While the court agreed the legislation favors a select class of riverboat gambling licensees, it said that classification was warranted, was not arbitrarily narrow and "does not appear to have been designed to benefit a particular group without a reasonable basis."

Copyright © Las Vegas Sun. Inc. Republished with permission.

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