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Illinois Denial Comes as Horseshoe Seeks Second Louisiana Casino9 July 2000July 9, 2000 - As reported by Associated Press: "As Louisiana gambling regulators consider the state's final and 15th riverboat license, which played a role in the recent conviction of Edwin Edwards, a major applicant enters the competition with a black eye. "On June 30, the Illinois Gaming Board declared that key owner Jack Binion of Horseshoe Gaming was unfit to hold a license for a riverboat casino in that state, a potentially disastrous finding for any gambling company. "Although casino gambling is regulated on a state-by-state level, a finding that a company should not hold a license in one state can boomerang into other states where the company operates. "Louisiana gambling board chairman Hillary Crain has said the state is awaiting the detailed findings of the Illinois investigation, which have not been made public. He would not speculate on possible action. The state already is conducting a suitability investigation of Binion for license renewal of his Bossier City riverboat and for the 15th license. "Horseshoe wants to add a second boat in the lucrative Shreveport-Bossier City market where it already, on a routine basis, wins the most money from gamblers monthly against three other casinos. "…There have been unsuccessful legislative proposals to do away with the license. Horseshoe is competing with Isle of Capri, which owns two boats in Lake Charles and wants a casino in the New Orleans suburb of Chalmette; and Pinnacle Entertainment, which proposes a fifth boat for Lake Charles." |