GARY | The Majestic Star Casino is threatening to withhold all revenues it pays to Gary until city leaders make good on what casino owners call promises to build a highway interchange and access roads to the gambling boats.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Marion County court, the casino alleges the city has failed to live up to its 1999 contract agreement -- which was reiterated in an updated contract in 2005 -- to build convenient access roads to the property from Cline Avenue.

During that time, the casino has paid the city more than $285 million in tax revenue and has invested $269 million in the construction of its two casino boats, the lawsuit says.

Monday's lawsuit claims the casino intends to place "the amounts that would otherwise be paid to the city" into an interest-bearing account so the city will have money to fulfill its obligations and pay any court-ordered damages for its breach of contract.

"This breach has put us at a significant disadvantage in the marketplace," said David Schugar, senior vice president and general manager of Majestic Star Casinos and Hotel. "Customers have found access to our casino inconvenient, cumbersome and inaccessible."

City Attorney Hamilton Carmouche, who received the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon, said the suit has no merit and the city is considering whether to cross-file its own complaint against the casino.

Carmouche said the 2005 agreement between the casino and then-Mayor Scott King was illegal and unenforceable because the contract was not approved by the Gary Board of Public Works.

The 2005 agreement came about after Detroit-based casino operator Don Barden, who already owned one of the casinos in Gary, bought out Donald Trump's ownership of the city's second gambling boat.