kentucky.com
A casino in Orange County seemed like a certainty less than a year ago, but since then, the company chosen to build it, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, has filed for bankruptcy, leading some supporters to question the project's future.
Last summer, the Indiana Gaming Commission chose the company owned by billionaire Donald Trump to build and operate the casino in the economically depressed county. But the company filed for bankruptcy in November to try to shrink its debt.
Trump's bankruptcy proceedings are headed for a confirmation hearing scheduled for March 29. So far, more than $600 million worth of claims have been submitted by companies and individuals who say Trump's company owes them money, according to bankruptcy documents.
That includes a $23.8 million claim filed last month by the Indiana Department of Revenue for taxes owed to the state.
Gov. Mitch Daniels, who took office months after the contract was awarded, has expressed concerns about hiring a company with such financial woes - especially one that owes Indiana money.
He directed new gaming director Ernest Yelton, a former judge, to review Trump's selection to operate the state's 11th casino. Trump already operates a riverboat casino in Gary.
Four of the seven commission members resigned at Daniels' request, raising the possibility that their replacements could cancel the Trump contract, which still has not been signed while the bankruptcy case remains unresolved.
"People are getting restless in the county, no doubt," said state Rep. Jerry Denbo, the French Lick Democrat who led the decade-long push to build a casino in French Lick, about 50 miles northwest of Louisville, Ky.
Scott Butera, the Trump company's chief operating officer, was quoted last week in a New Jersey newspaper as saying the company might pull out of the Orange County project because the $108 million development might not fit Trump's plans after bankruptcy.
But in an interview with The Courier-Journal of Louisville Friday, Butera said that all he was meant was that company officials need to meet with new leaders in Indiana.
"We're still proceeding in French Lick," he said.
Denbo said the statements by Butera were consistent with other signals from the company. The local Historic Hotel Preservation Commission had been receiving weekly progress reports from Trump representatives, but those stopped in early December, he said.
Earlier this month, the gambling commission enlisted Michael Hile, an Indianapolis lawyer and bankruptcy authority, to study the documents in the Trump case and monitor the proceedings.
In addition to hiring Hile, the commission plans to contract with Charlene Sullivan, a Purdue University management professor, who will study the financial viability of Trump's company.
Uncertainty about Trump's finances did not deter 500 people who came to the county fairgrounds last week to learn about possible casino jobs, said Judy Gray, executive director of the Orange County Economic Development Partnership.
The delays do worry resident Diana Schiff, who shut down her nearby Paoli gas station and convenience store last week for lack of business.
"We voted this boat in for jobs," she said. "The delays are ... frustrating."
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A casino in Orange County seemed like a certainty less than a year ago, but since then, the company chosen to build it, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, has filed for bankruptcy, leading some supporters to question the project's future.
Last summer, the Indiana Gaming Commission chose the company owned by billionaire Donald Trump to build and operate the casino in the economically depressed county. But the company filed for bankruptcy in November to try to shrink its debt.
Trump's bankruptcy proceedings are headed for a confirmation hearing scheduled for March 29. So far, more than $600 million worth of claims have been submitted by companies and individuals who say Trump's company owes them money, according to bankruptcy documents.
That includes a $23.8 million claim filed last month by the Indiana Department of Revenue for taxes owed to the state.
Gov. Mitch Daniels, who took office months after the contract was awarded, has expressed concerns about hiring a company with such financial woes - especially one that owes Indiana money.
He directed new gaming director Ernest Yelton, a former judge, to review Trump's selection to operate the state's 11th casino. Trump already operates a riverboat casino in Gary.
Four of the seven commission members resigned at Daniels' request, raising the possibility that their replacements could cancel the Trump contract, which still has not been signed while the bankruptcy case remains unresolved.
"People are getting restless in the county, no doubt," said state Rep. Jerry Denbo, the French Lick Democrat who led the decade-long push to build a casino in French Lick, about 50 miles northwest of Louisville, Ky.
Scott Butera, the Trump company's chief operating officer, was quoted last week in a New Jersey newspaper as saying the company might pull out of the Orange County project because the $108 million development might not fit Trump's plans after bankruptcy.
But in an interview with The Courier-Journal of Louisville Friday, Butera said that all he was meant was that company officials need to meet with new leaders in Indiana.
"We're still proceeding in French Lick," he said.
Denbo said the statements by Butera were consistent with other signals from the company. The local Historic Hotel Preservation Commission had been receiving weekly progress reports from Trump representatives, but those stopped in early December, he said.
Earlier this month, the gambling commission enlisted Michael Hile, an Indianapolis lawyer and bankruptcy authority, to study the documents in the Trump case and monitor the proceedings.
In addition to hiring Hile, the commission plans to contract with Charlene Sullivan, a Purdue University management professor, who will study the financial viability of Trump's company.
Uncertainty about Trump's finances did not deter 500 people who came to the county fairgrounds last week to learn about possible casino jobs, said Judy Gray, executive director of the Orange County Economic Development Partnership.
The delays do worry resident Diana Schiff, who shut down her nearby Paoli gas station and convenience store last week for lack of business.
"We voted this boat in for jobs," she said. "The delays are ... frustrating."
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