The mayors of Peoria and East Peoria aren’t saying much about the possibility of Boyd Gaming abandoning the region’s current riverboat casino in favor of a land-based operation on the other side of the Illinois River.
The Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino opened in East Peoria in 1993, and the Nevada-based gaming and hospitality company purchased the venue from local investors three years later.
A four-year casino license extension granted by the Illinois Gaming Board in March included a provision for Boyd to develop a plan for a new casino gaming facility over the next two years.
Speaking at the unveiling of a new downtown mural Tuesday, Peoria Mayor Rita Ali declined to speak at length about the city attempting to persuade Boyd to relocate the casino.
“There’s an agreement that was signed many years ago that if land-based casinos were to come to this area, that they would be in Peoria. That's basically all I have to say about that,” Ali said.
That 1991 intergovernmental agreement called for the two cities to evenly split tax revenue levied on gambling on the riverboat. Meanwhile, East Peoria gets all of the sales and real estate taxes generated from the casino.
In an interview with WCBU, East Peoria Mayor John Kahl said Boyd has been a fixture in his city for nearly three decades and the entire region has benefitted.
“Boyd is a private business, and I think I've been pretty clear as the mayor of East Peoria on where I stand with private business and their rights and their ability to make the best decisions for themselves,” he said.
Kahl said he’s aware Boyd has expressed a desire to expand its operations in the region, and he confirmed he emailed Ali to express disappointment over Peoria discussing a possible land-based new location.
“I can't speak for the folks on the Peoria side of the river; I don't know what they know or don't know. But Boyd doesn't answer to us; they don't answer to Peoria, they don't answer to East Peoria," he said. "They answer to the Illinois Gaming Board.”
Kahl said much has changed since the cities entered the intergovernmental agreement, most notably with Illinois having since legalized slot machines and video gaming terminals outside of casinos.
“At the end of the day, should Boyd come to me and say, ‘Hey, we're going to relocate the Peoria,’ I'd support them in their decision,” Kahl said. “That's their decision to make, and I'll respect it one way or the other.”
