There are currently 5 boats and an Indian casino along the shore of Lake Michigan. There have been a number of changes in ownership over the years.

Two of the boats are side by side at Buffington Harbor in Gary. They were the first in Indiana. One was owned by Donald Trump and the other by Don Barden (Fitzgeralds downtown).

About 5 years ago Trump sold out to Barden who thus owns both side by side boats in Gary.

Overall, the 5 boat casinos are huge money makers clearing about $100 million a month. But the two Gary boats only make about $10 combined and there has been some agitation to take one of the Gary licenses and move it somewhere else.

I believe the Barden organization has suggested the same thing.

This has panicked the local politicians and hangers-on in Gary and so they put on their thinking caps.

They now have gone down to Indianapolis with their proposal.

They want to build a combination land-based casino and medical school at the junction of I-80 and I-65. Thats right medical school! The proposal is that the money from the casino would cover the cost of the medical school.

This whole proposal reminds me on one of my favorite incidents in Las Vegas. It was about 7 am and my father and I were going through the Golden Nugget casino on the way to breakfast. There was a commotion off to the side. Paramedics had their equipment spread out and were trying to get the EKG leads on this very ashen man sitting by a slot machine. The guy had a grip on the slot handle and they could not get him to let go.

Eric