The Indiana Gaming Commission filed a response Thursday in Marion Superior Court to a lawsuit filed last month by seven investors in Spectacle Entertainment, the parent company of two casinos in Gary and a casino under construction in Terre Haute.
Casino giant Caesars Entertainment Inc., which operates multiple properties in Indiana, is suing a long list of insurance carriers it accuses of balking at paying its business interruption costs.
The 53-day lag between when the commission ordered Spectacle to remove Rod Ratcliff from his role as an owner to when the company complied was unacceptable, according to Gaming Commission Executive Director Sara Gonso Tait.
The 25,000-square-foot expansion to the Shelbyville casino will provide space for more slot machines and additional gaming tables, plus upgrade its poker facilities.
Rod Ratcliff, the former chief executive for Centaur Gaming and Spectacle Entertainment, reached a settlement agreement with the Indiana Gaming Commission that requires him to sell his remaining casino ownership shares.
The Indiana Gaming Commission alleges longtime casino executive Rod Ratcliff funneled money from his former company into a personal gambling account and repeatedly concealed financial information from the commission that should have been disclosed.
The Indiana Gaming Commission is arguing that longtime casino executive Rod Ratcliff’s lawsuit should be dismissed because he has not exhausted all of his administrative appeal options.
The agreement finalized this past week would allow the addition of live table games such as blackjack and roulette, slot machines and sports betting.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, longtime casino executive Rod Ratcliff argues that the commission violated his right to due process and says he believes the commission is trying to force him to sell his interests in the new Gary casino to Hard Rock International, a partner in the project.
Caesars made the announcement just before a Dec. 31 deadline to divest from the casino operation, located in the Harrison County town of Elizabeth, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.
The Indiana Gaming Commission’s executive director said “issues of concern continue to emerge” as the agency investigates people associated with Spectacle Entertainment, which is building casinos in Terre Haute and Gary.
The project will add 26,000 square feet of gaming space including a live poker room to the Shelbyville casino.
Michigan casinos could launch online sports betting and gambling games in December once state lawmakers waive the remaining time they have to review proposed licensing rules.
The Indiana Gaming Commission has more than 10 people under investigation for possible financial misconduct that would violate state casino laws or regulations, said Sara Gonso Tait, the commission’s executive director.
An FBI spokeswoman confirmed the warrants but did not say whether they were related to an earlier federal investigation into a scheme that allegedly funneled corporate contributions to political candidates.
The Rocksino—a partnership between Hard Rock Casino and Terre Haute development firm Spectacle Jack LLC—will be the first in the state to have a smoke-free interior. Casinos are an exception to the state’s smoking ban.
According to a revenue report released Friday by the Indiana Gaming Commission, the sports betting handle more than doubled from July to August to reach its highest mark since February, before the pandemic hit the state.
The pandemic and efforts to fight it led to a nearly 79% drop in commercial gambling revenue for the second quarter of 2020, the industry’s trade association reported Thursday.
To say Indiana’s horse racing industry had concerns about Eldorado Resorts Inc. taking over the state’s two horse-racing casinos would be putting it mildly.
The deal, which affects five Indiana casinos, was approved by New Jersey regulators on Friday.
