French Lick Casino Partnership on the Rocks

The public release of court documents on July 31st in Orange County reveal a falling out in the partnership of two companies developing the casino at French Lick, Kentucky.

William Cook, a billionaire businessman from Bloomington, is intimately involved in the control of $382 project although he doesn't have an ownership stake.

One of the partners in Blue Sky Casino LLC is the Lauth Property Group who have stated that they want William Cook out. They claim Cook is spending lavishly without any authority to do so.

William Barret, Indian Gaming Commission Chairman of Greenwood, confirmed yesterday that they assigned two top investigators to look into thr dispute.

Ernest Yelton, the commission's executive director, is confident that the casino in French Lick will open in November as scheduled. The construction is proceeding despite the dispute.

Lauth and Cook Group announced their partnership a year ago, shortly after the Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts backed out of the project.

The lawsuit has been kept confidential until now. The hearing yesterday, led by the State Attorney General and intersted media organizations, argued that the records should be opened to the public since it serves the public. This time Blanton agreed.

As agreed upon, the documents were released yesterday with the details of the dispute. Yelton said, "We're saddened that the relationship between the two entities that formed Blue Sky is not as amicable as it started. We are hopeful the two of them will reach a mutual agreement on the issue."


 

ADVERTISEMENT