Riverboat owner getting a hard look from state officials

Monday, July 10, 2000 | 10 a.m.

The Indiana Gaming Commission let Binion's company, Horseshoe Gaming, buy the Empress Casino in Hammond last summer. He also won approval in Illinois to buy its sister ship in Joliet in a deal valued at more than $600 million.

But the Illinois Gaming Board approved the purchase before a required background investigation had been completed, and controversy has swirled around the deal since. In an internal report last fall, Illinois state investigators said Binion appeared to view gaming laws, rules and guidelines in other states as "obstacles to circumvent rather than standards he is obligated to follow." The result, the report said, has been "a trail of poor business practices, regulatory violations and financial malpractice."

Although the precise reasons for the Illinois Board's unanimous vote declaring Binion unfit to operate casinos has not been made public, gambling foes in Indiana say state regulators should take heed.

"We feel that the Indiana Gaming Commission is under fire here," said the Rev. John Wolf, Indiana coordinator for the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. "Indiana is just going to have to face up to the fact that they have not done a thorough job" of investigating Binion.

But Indiana Gaming Commission Executive Director Jack Thar said while the commission continues to investigate Binion, many of the allegations raised in Illinois were known. Indiana regulators conducted their own investigation last year before granting Binion a license to operate the Hammond riverboat.

"A very high percentage of what's contained in that report we've already looked at. What we're waiting for is anything new . . . anything we were unaware of," he said.