Full House Resumes Waukegan Casino Construction After Lawsuit

Posted on: February 3, 2025, 06:08h. 

Last updated on: February 3, 2025, 06:08h.

Las Vegas-based casino developer Full House Resorts has resumed work on its $400 million American Place Resort and Casino in Waukegan, a north Chicago suburb.

Waukegan casino, American Place Resort and Casino, Full House Resorts, Potawatomi, lawsuit
A computer-generated image of the future casino floor Full House Resorts’ American Place Resorts, which has resumed construction following the uncertainly brought by the Potawatomi lawsuit. (Image: Full House Resorts)

When finished in late 2027, the resort will comprise a 20-suite, five-star luxury hotel, complete with a helipad. The adjoining casino will boast 100 table games, 1,640 slot machines, and a 1,500-seat entertainment venue, according to planning documents.

The resort has been on hold since 2023 when a legal challenge by the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe of Wisconsin sought to derail the project.

The Potawatomi, a losing bidder for the Waukegan casino license, sued the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) in a state court in 2021, claiming the selection process was crooked.

The challenge was unanimously dismissed by the Illinois Supreme Court late last month, paving the way for the project to continue.

We can now get back to working with our architects and engineers to complete construction plans,” Alex Stolyar, Full House’s senior vice president and chief development officer, told The Chicago Tribune.

Stolyar said his company was working to an August 2027 deadline for completion, and that a temporary on-site casino, “The Temporary by American Place,” would remain open throughout the construction process, as it has during the legal challenge.

Conspiracy Lawsuit

The Potawatomi tribe operates the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wis., one of the biggest entertainment destinations in the Midwest. The tribe first sued back in 2019, shortly after the Waukegan City Council rejected its casino proposal while moving its three competitors forward in the process.

In its lawsuit, the tribe claimed the rejection was partially based on a flawed third-party report that undervalued its proposed contribution. More controversially, it claimed that then Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham pressured Waukegan City Council members about which bids to approve.

The suit demanded the council vote be voided and the “rigged” licensing process started afresh.

In a separate federal lawsuit against the city of Waukegan, the tribe still claims Cunningham favored the ultimately unsuccessful proposal by video gambling machine operator Michael Bond. The latter, a former state senator, had donated to Cunningham’s campaign via his company, Tap Room Gaming.

Lawyers for the city called these claims “factually suspect” while noting that Bond’s bid was ultimately rejected in favor of Full House.

Day in Court

The Potawatomi lawsuit was initially dismissed without a hearing for lack of standing but was revived by the Illinois Court of Appeals in 2023, shortly after Full House opened its temporary casino. The appellate panel determined that the tribe deserved its day in court.

But Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder Wright reversed the decision and reemphasized that the tribe “lacked standing to bring its declaratory and injunctive suit against the City and the Board,” adding that “the appellate court’s finding to the contrary was erroneous.”

Full House has received the owners’ license that the legislature allowed with its June 2019 amendment,” Holder Wright wrote. “The Potawatomi Casino’s complaint essentially seeks to stop the licensing process before the Board, which is already complete, and redo the City’s certification process, which is not possible because the licensing process is complete and not subject to collateral attack.”

In a filing to the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on Friday, Potawatomi lawyers noted that “the Illinois Supreme Court pointedly refrained from addressing the propriety of the City’s conduct.”