“Initially, the commission stuck by Trump. Joe Kernan, as well as gaming commission Executive Director Ernest Yelton, kept close tabs on Trump’s finances,” Joe Webb wrote in the Evansville Courier & Press. “Less than a month after nabbing the French Lick license, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts announced plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The New Yorker claimed the license and handed Bird a rare defeat. Open champ Fuzzy Zoeller, to help redevelop the local golf courses.” There was also a third contender, but that camp lacked the star power of Bird or Trump.Īnd while you’d think Larry Legend would have an edge - the NBA legend pledged that he’d donate his share of the profits to the town, Trump was even quoted as saying, “In French Lick, Larry has the advantage” - that wasn’t how things panned out. One consisted of Larry Bird, French Lick’s most famous son, plus “local businessmen, the former governor of Nevada, and Barbary Coast casino owner Coast Casinos.” His main rival was Donald Trump, who promised to “spend $123.5 million to buy the West Baden hotel, install 1,000 slot machines, a 12-table poker room, and–take this, Bird!–bring in another Southern Indiana native, U.S. In more modern times, there was an attempt to tap back into the latter part of that list.Īs documented by a 2004 Fortune Magazine story that’s preserved through CNN Money, a gaming license was made available to operate a casino in the town. There was golf, luxury, and illegal gambling. Thanks to local sulfur springs, spas and resorts sprung up in the region. While French Lick is most widely known, at least among sports fans, as the home of Larry Bird, the town used to be on the map for another reason. | Maddie Meyer/Getty Images, Joe Raedle/Getty Images When it came to bringing a casino to French Lick, Donald Trump outdid Larry Bird Larry Bird and Donald Trump were on opposite sides of a battle for a gaming license. Sound like a Mad Lib that someone happened to shoehorn some wacky nouns into? Let’s head back in time to check it all out. The man who ended up claiming victory? None other than Donald Trump. Bird was part of a big-time bid but ultimately lost out. There, in the early 2000s, the state was set to issue a gaming license within the town.

That may have come away from the hardwood, but it did take place in French Lick, Indiana. There was, however, one showdown he lost. Even in retirement, Larry Legend proved to be a capable coach and executive. In the professional ranks, he won three NBA championships and countless other individual honors. He didn’t win an NCAA title, but he did his part and carried Indiana State to the brink of history.

While no one can be perfect, Larry Bird did pretty well for himself on the basketball scene.

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