Donald Trump's casino company has pledged to provide Orange County residents with $108 million casinos with marble floors, carved stair banners and sparkling chandeliers.
However, the company that was struggling financially could not deliver.
On Wednesday, six months after the acquisition of Indiana's 11th casino by Trump Hotel & Casino Resort, state gambling regulators announced they needed to find another company to build the French Rick casino. Trump did not meet the state-imposed deadline.
"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure your dreams come true," Ernest Yelton, the new executive director of the Indiana Gaming Commission, told residents at a meeting in French Rick on Wednesday.
And Yelton convinced the audience in orange shirts promoting the casino that they would get one.
"I have never received any indication that this ship will be moving out of Orange County," he said.
Residents of Orange County, which suffers from high unemployment but is blessed with two historic hotels, rely on casinos to bring jobs and money to their towns of French Rick and West Baden Springs.
On Wednesday, Trump officials said they should back down, including the prospect of more competition, because Indiana's gambling market could change.
Scott C. Butera, the company's president and chief operating officer, said in a statement that the tax climate for casinos in Indiana has become "more onerous." He also said the prospect of additional gambling in Indiana "looks imminent."
More gambling facilities, such as the possibility of slot machines being installed at two racetracks in the state, could reduce Trump's profits.
Another development since Trump was approved -- which Butera did not mention -- was filing for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey.
Yelton said the gaming committee could resume the bidding process or narrow it down to the group that lost last year. The two companies that lost to Trump said they were still interested in building casinos.
"The Orange County Development, which is affiliated with basketball legend and Frenchman Larry Bird, is still interested and looking for a new casino partner," Lu Mais said. And Bird is still interested, Mais added.
Lowe's Property Group lawyer Vernon Back, who was Trump's runner-up, said Lowe's was "ready to move very quickly to bring this casino to Orange County." The company would have been a partner in French Rick's Lost River Development Casino project.
Negotiations between the state and President Trump began unraveling on Feb. 17, when gambling regulators delivered a list of requirements to the company. The state wanted full details on how to finance the project and a strict timeline for approval.
Yelton, blessed by Gov. Mitch Daniels, hired bankruptcy lawyers and casino experts to help review the deal and compile a list of requirements.
Trump told gaming officials on Monday he could not meet the requirements and needed more time. Yelton did not extend the deadline.
Greg Hahn, Trump's Indianapolis attorney, said the company was considering re-applying to the French Rick project.
But members of the local historical committee accused of recommending companies to states said it would be hard to recommend Trump again.
Adina Cloud, chair of the Historic Hotel Preservation Commission, said her panel recommended Trump last year because it promised Orange County the most.
But she said her committee, which did not have access to Trump's detailed financial information, relied on the Indiana Gaming Commission to ensure the company had the money to carry out the project.
In July, the Gaming Commission voted 4-2 to award the project to Trump, who made the most ambitious offer. Trump's casino company offered a larger facility with more gambling revenue than the two competing bids.
The committee awarded Trump the project despite the company's involvement in a financial overhaul to get out of debt of less than $1.8 billion. In addition, Trump did not provide specific information on how he would pay for the project.
A significant portion of the committee that approved Trump's nominee is gone, and four of the seven seats are vacant.
Less than a month after the project was awarded, the company said its ability to carry it out was "uncertain," according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 바카라사이트 추천
The compounding issue for Trump was the Indiana Tax Court's decision in April to order him to pay back taxes paid on the state's 10 steel lines (which was later upheld by the Indiana Supreme Court). The issue has to do with whether steel lines can deduct carriage taxes from their income tax bills. Trump, who runs steel lines in Gary, owes about $20.9 million.
In a public statement to New Jersey's bankruptcy court last month, Trump acknowledged he had received an offer from an unidentified party to buy Gary Riverboat and said he was considering it.
