'I wanted to keep the license because there are still other operators out there who know how to make money with a gambling boat,' said Zillig.Ĭounty Board Chairwoman Judith Gratton voted against campaigning for the license, but she acknowledged she has had second thoughts. The decision stunned many residents who still hoped that a properly run boat could generate local jobs and revenue. On July 8, the County Board voted 10-7 against campaigning to keep the gaming license. Those hopes apparently were dashed early this month when the County Board ignored the recommendation of its own executive committee and effectively turned thumbs down on any new gambling boats. Zillig and many other area residents said they had hoped to keep the gaming license in Jo Daviess County with a more aggressive boat operator. The Silver Eagle's owners, hoping to keep their license and move elsewhere in Illinois, have appealed the board's decision. The Silver Eagle operator's state gaming license is to expire Thursday. It voted against renewing the Silver Eagle's license, citing its poor performance as well as a lack of effort by management to turn around the boat's fortunes.

In June, the Illinois Gaming Board appeared to agree. You can't make money if people don't know you are there,' said Jack Zillig, a member of the Jo Daviess County Board. If you saw three buses a week there it was a lot. 'I think the boat failed because they didn't market it. These changes led some to charge that the Silver Eagle's owners had given up on this location and that they were allowing their business to decline in hopes of winning state approval to move to a less competitive region. The casino reopened five months later with a scaled-down operation featuring only about 140 employees and a much smaller leased boat, which suffered by comparison with the sleek original. The Silver Eagle became the first floating casino in Illinois to shut down temporarily, in December 1995, laying off all of its 340 employees without notice just as the holidays began.

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