- The city of Peoria spent nearly $50,000 on legal fees between July and December in its effort to relocate the Par-A-Dice Casino.
- In total, Peoria has paid over $108,000 to a law firm since December 2024 for legal assistance regarding the casino.
PEORIA — As part of its now ill-fated quest to lure the Par-A-Dice Casino to Peoria, the city spent more than $40,000 on attorneys between July and December, according to invoices obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
Peoria paid the law firm Elias, Meginnes and Seghetti $49,952.60 between July and December of 2025 to consult with them about how the city could potentially bring Boyd Gaming’s new casino to its side of the river.
In December, however, Boyd Gaming controversially announced it would be keeping its casino on East Peoria’s side of the river and showed plans for a new casino building that it would attempt to use a legal loophole to build on land while calling the nearly 50,000-square-foot facility a “riverboat.”
State law and a 1991 agreement signed between Peoria and East Peoria dictated that any land-based casino in the area had to be built in Peoria.
