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Former Iowa gambling boat arrives in Illinois

Posted October 21, 2014 1:01 am

Associated Press

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - A former Sioux City riverboat casino has arrived at its new home after a two-week journey hampered by temporary delays.

The Sioux City Journal reports the three-deck Argosy Casino replica of a 1920s-era paddlewheel boat pulled into a Wood River, Illinois, shipyard on Monday.

Owner Mike Marko says the steamboat completed the 13-day, 730-mile trip safely with no accidents or injuries. The crew overcame challenges such as electrical problems and high water levels at bridge crossings.

The riverboat casino closed in July after the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission ordered it to cease operations because it wasn't partnered with a state-licensed local nonprofit group as required by Iowa law. Its parent company fought the order, but the state's supreme court ruled that it needed to close.

Marko wants to sell the boat.

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