Governor seeks resignations of Indiana gaming officials

Deanna Wrenn

Monday, Jan. 10, 2005 | 9:06 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels said last week that he will ask members of the Indiana Gaming Commission to resign from the panel that oversees licensing and regulation of casinos.

Daniels' comments came just hours after a top lawmaker grilled the outgoing executive director of the commission, Glenn Lawrence, on why the state licensed Donald Trump's casino company to operate a casino in southern Indiana's Orange County.

Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc. recently filed for bankruptcy protection, although company officials say the reorganization will not hinder the Indiana casino project. The company has operated a riverboat casino on the shores of Lake Michigan in Gary for several years.

Daniels has said previously that he wanted to review the Orange County deal before a final contract with the state is signed. He reiterated that Thursday in response to reporters' questions during a news conference that touched on many issues.

"There are big unanswered questions," said Daniels, who will be sworn in today.

Daniels said he hoped the seven voting Gaming Commission members would offer to resign, although he had not yet asked them to do that. Commission members serve four-year terms, and under current law, a governor cannot remove members unless they had neglected their duties or committed a crime or fraud.

Daniels also said he hoped members of other boards and commissions would tender resignations, although he likely would allow many to keep their posts anyway.

Messages seeking comment from Donald Vowels, the chairman of the Gaming Commission, were left at his office Thursday and a number listed for his home in Evansville. Efforts by the Associated Press to reach several other commission members were unsuccessful.

Earlier Thursday Rep. Robert Alderman, R-Fort Wayne, questioned state officials and others involved with the Orange County casino project. Alderman, chairman of the House Public Policy Committee, said it was "extraordinary" the state chose Trump's company given its financial situation.

"We need to do it right," Alderman said. "It should have been done right all along."

Two other groups, including one led by French Lick native and former NBA star Larry Bird, had sought the license and have said they would pursue a casino in Orange County if a Trump deal falls through.

But Lawrence, the outgoing executive director of the commission, defended choosing Trump's company and said the project was moving forward.

"We believe that when they come out of restructuring, they will be a stronger company," Lawrence said.

Greg Hahn, an attorney for the Trump project, said the restructuring leaves enough money to pay for the Orange County project.

Alderman plans to push a bill that would remove all seven members of the commission so Daniels could appoint his own panel. Two members have served since 1993, when lawmakers authorized riverboat casinos, and all were appointed by Democratic governors.

Alderman said he expects the bill to pass.

"There's a lot of people here that would like to see some fresh blood," Alderman said.

Alderman has raised concerns about the Gaming Commission in the past. He questioned a decision by the commission in 1996 that awarded a casino license to a group of East Chicago developers despite dogged, unproven rumors of a political fix. The group was the only applicant, and Alderman said others may have been bulled out of competing for the license.

Alderman proposed a temporary moratorium on riverboat licensing in 1996 that would have nullified the East Chicago license, but it failed to pass.