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Casino Scheduled To Open On Time Despite Legal Dispute

(INDIANAPOLIS) -- A casino and hotel renovation project in southern Indiana was expected to be completed on schedule despite a legal dispute between partners in the venture, the Indiana Gaming Commission was told Thursday.

"We have very ambitiously moved this schedule along," said Chris Leininger, general manager of the casino in French Lick in Orange County.

He said the 1,200-slot casino would be open for Gaming Commission inspection on Oct. 31, and if things went smoothly, could be open to the general public by Nov. 3. Renovations to the historical French Lick Springs Resort hotel next to the casino also will be completed by Oct. 31, he said.

The $382 million project also includes a golf course that already has opened, and a parking garage and event center on schedule to be completed by November. Renovations to the nearby, historical West Baden Springs Hotel, which are part of the resort project, were scheduled to be finished by June.

Orange County Holdings LLC, run by the son of Bloomington billionaire William Cook, and Indianapolis-based Lauth Property Group formed Blue Sky Casino LLC last November and signed a long-term contract with the Gaming Commission to open the casino by late this year.

The partners have waged a bitter legal dispute about spending, ownership interests and the role of William Cook -- CEO of medical device maker Cook Group -- in the project. An Orange County judge recently ordered the partners to resolve their disputes through arbitration, and the process of selecting a panel of three arbitrators is under way.

The judge still must sort out three temporary restraining orders the partners have filed against each other, and the Gaming Commission is investigating the dispute and William Cook's role in the project.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)