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In Chicago mayor Richard Daley conferred with several Las Vegas for approving casino gambling was provided by the fact that several casino boats inβ.
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There's just one stop left for Hollywood Casino's former gaming boat: the scrap heap.{/INSERTKEYS}{/PARAGRAPH} The City of Lights II was dismantled in , while the larger City of Lights I remained docked for eight years, awaiting a new owner and use. The City of Lights I served as one of two Hollywood Casino riverboats from to and made as many as 18 daily Fox River cruises when Illinois' casino gambling was limited to boats. From a distance, the City of Lights looks much the same as it did during its s heyday. Workers operating skid steers removed drywall and insulation on one deck last week and pushed the debris into small piles for removal. You don't have a lot of buildings like this," said Karsten Pawlik, operations vice president at Alpine Demolition Services. A few hints at the boat's former use remained. Work is under way to dismantle the craft, an operation that a Batavia -based demolition company has carefully plotted out. But cruising days are over for the 22,square-foot craft, temporarily docked along the Fox River north of downtown Aurora. Walls and ceilings are being stripped, and electrical wiring hangs from above, along with some exposed heating and air conditioning ducts. You never know what the river's going to do. Demolition is expected to move swiftly through late summer until all that remains are the two barges the casino structure was built atop. The river comes up, down. Slot machines and gambling tables, chairs, carpets and decor are long gone. A closer inspection reveals fading colors, peeling paint and clutter on the decks. A proposal to turn it into a floating banquet hall and restaurant to anchor a riverfront park fell through last year. Kelli Pawlik, Alpine Demolition's president, found a small gold gambling token while walking on the deck, the only loose chip or token found so far. {PARAGRAPH}{INSERTKEYS}The keys are still in the ignition inside the dusty pilot house on the old City of Lights riverboat. The art deco frame around an entry to an elevator was visible along with gold elevator doors now dulled with dust. A sign for the Fairbanks Steakhouse beckoned patrons for Sunday brunch. Jack McCarthy, Special to the Tribune.