As reported by: The Courier-Journal
Saying they are a commission independent of politics, state gambling regulators declared yesterday they will work to complete plans for a French Lick casino despite Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels' request that they hold off until he takes office.

The Indiana Gaming Commission's executive director, Glenn Lawrence, said he plans to sign a contract with Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts if final agreements are reached among the state, the company, local officials and two historic hotels that will be adjacent to the casino.

However, the contract might not be ready to sign before Daniels' inauguration on Jan. 10, regulators acknowledged during a public meeting yesterday in Rising Sun.

At the meeting, Lawrence denied that he ever agreed to hold off signing the contract until the Daniels administration has a chance to review it.

If all the parties "reach agreement, then my commission has directed me to execute the contract and I think if it's in the best interest of the state of Indiana, that's what I'll do," Lawrence said after the meeting.

On Thursday, a Daniels official said the Republican had sought and received assurance that Lawrence wouldn't sign a contract with Trump because there were "serious unresolved issues about the solvency of the company."

Also, Harry Gonso - Daniels' transition director and incoming chief of staff - wrote in a letter to the gaming commission that Lawrence had agreed in a meeting not to execute the contract.

"I did not do that," Lawrence told the gaming commission members and about 70 people attending the meeting at the Grand Victoria Hotel and Casino. "I have to state publicly that several of the allegations stated in that document are inaccurate," referring to Gonso's letter.

At a press conference in Indianapolis yesterday, Daniels would not elaborate on the issue of the letter.

Indiana Gaming Commission Chairman Donald Vowels said, however, that Daniels may get his wish for a delayed contract simply because several details necessary to complete an agreement remain unresolved.

Still, he said Lawrence has the authority to sign a contract if an agreement is completed.

"We have to stay the course," Vowels said. "It may be quite realistic that nothing will occur before Jan. 10 anyway."

Lawrence plans to resign, effective Jan. 9.

Speaking yesterday in Indianapolis, Daniels said that he believes his administration should get to review the contract, especially given Trump's current financial woes. The company is awash in debt and has filed a reorganization plan in bankruptcy court.

Gaming commission officials maintain that the bankruptcy should not derail the project and Lawrence said yesterday that Trump has obtained almost all the permits necessary for construction.

Still, Daniels said that "one unelected bureaucrat" shouldn't be making the final call on a contract this large with so many financial questions.

"This thing needs a lot more of a look and I assume that all parties would agree that that is entirely proper," Daniels said.

The gaming commission picked Trump to develop the casino - the state's 11th - after months of review and two days of public hearings. The vote was 4-2.

Members said then that they believed Trump's namesake - celebrity real estate developer Donald Trump - would help to draw gamblers to tiny French Lick. And the local Historic Hotel Preservation Commission recommended Trump to state regulators in part because they said the company had the grandest vision for the project.

However, one of the bidders - a group headed by French Lick native and former professional basketball star Larry Bird - announced it had reorganized and remained interested in the project if Trump can't complete it.

"We have been following the lack of progress made towards starting the gaming operation in Orange County," the group's attorney, Michael Messaglia said in a statement. "These delays are depriving the local community of much-needed taxes and other financial incentives which are desperately needed to revive the local economy.

"We are willing to step in and help the local community achieve its dream of having a destination resort which will include two operating historic hotels and a casino."

The third bidder - led by Indianapolis developer Lauth Property Group - also has said it remains interested in the project.

State Rep. Jerry Denbo, a French Lick Democrat who pushed the project through the General Assembly, said yesterday he has no problem with the Daniels administration's request to postpone a contract decision until after he takes office.

He said he welcomes Daniels' review of Trump's financial situation to ensure that the deal can be completed.

But state Sen. Johnny Nugent, R-Lawrenceburg, said the commission should be allowed to continue its work unabated.

"The Indiana Gaming Commission is an independent body that operates in a bipartisan atmosphere," he said. "I would think we would want them to continue on with their business."

The gaming commission's executive director is appointed by the governor but is responsible to the commission members.

Pointing to the commissioners, Lawrence said yesterday, "These are my bosses."

Commission members are appointed by the governor and serve four-year terms. Under state law, the governor can't remove a member from office unless he finds the member has neglected his duties or has committed a crime or fraud.

That makes the gaming commission different than some other state boards, whose members serve at the will of the governor.

"It has always been my belief, my understanding, that the commission is an independent commission," Lawrence said.

Jon Laramore, chief counsel to outgoing Gov. Joe Kernan, yesterday reiterated that independence.

Under state law, "it is the gaming commission that has the duty to select an operating agent for the riverboat in Orange County," Laramore's letter said. "Neither Gov. Kernan nor anyone in the governor's office participated in the process of selecting or negotiating with Trump."

Lawrence said the commission - which has Republican and Democratic members - has always worked free of politics.

Vowels, who has served on the commission since its inception in 1993, said he doesn't know Kernan, a Democrat, and had only briefly met former Govs. Evan Bayh and Frank O'Bannon.

He said the request by Daniels to review the Trump contract would be the most intervention the commission had received from the governor's office in its history.

"We're kind of in new territory," Vowels said. "We'll do the best that we can."