\u201cMr. Ratcliff, in fact, would remain a significant stakeholder in the project. In fact, he would become its largest individual creditor potentially,\u201d<\/strong> said Lorne Cantor, a Jones Day attorney representing the Florida-based gaming company.<\/p>\nIn June, the IGC asked Ratcliff to come in for an interview for the investigation. On June 16, a day before that was to take place, an attorney contacted the agency and said he would not attend. The following day, the IGC received a letter apologizing for the late cancellation. It noted Ratcliff would make himself available upon request.<\/p>\n
The IGC took Ratcliff up on the offer on Nov. 30, requesting an interview on Dec. 10 regarding potential violations of the Indiana Riverboat Gambling Act. Again, the day before that, Ratcliff\u2019s attorney notified the commission that he would not sit for an interview.<\/p>\n
Small told the commissioners it\u2019s believed to be the first time a Level One license holder has refused to appear for an IGC interview, and McMains said he found Ratcliff\u2019s decisions to be \u201ctroubling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The IGC also requested interviews with three of Ratcliff\u2019s associates. All three refused, with two claiming their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination can be claimed, the Commission may draw an adverse inference from an individual\u2019s refusal to testify before the Commission,\u201d the IGC stated in the order.<\/p>\n
Spectacle Equity Transfers Not Reported<\/h2>\n Spectacle officials who have cooperated with the investigation reported to the IGC last month that an audit uncovered Ratcliff had transferred an unspecified number of Class A shares in the company to executives Keeler, Rich Zeigler, and Matt Whetstone. IGC regulations stipulate that license holders must inform the commission when such transfers take place.<\/p>\n
The IGC order does not indicate when those transactions occurred.<\/p>\n
According to his LinkedIn page, Zeigler is a former Centaur employee who joined Spectacle in March 2019 as vice president of development. Prior to that, he served as a consultant for nearly eight months, and worked with Spectacle officials on site selection for the land-based casino in Gary. Zeigler states he \u201cidentified a preferred location and secured purchase agreements for the selected location.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whetstone, identified by the Times of Northwest Indiana<\/em> as a former state representative, currently serves as principal of 1816 Inc., a lobbying firm. He also serves as a county commissioner in Hendricks County, an Indianapolis suburb, and on the board of the Indianapolis Airport Authority.<\/p>\nAccording to his biography on the 1816 website, Whetstone \u201ccurrently works in-house with 1816 LLC\u2019s client, Spectacle Entertainment Group, as executive vice president. He assists the CEO in the strategic direction of the organization and helping maintain relationships with key business, investment, and government leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition, the IGC said Ratcliff also made an equity transfer of 3,000 Class B shares in August 2019, and neither he nor the company informed the commission on that transaction.<\/p>\n
The commission also noted that Ratcliff signed a \u201csettlement and release agreement\u201d in late February, a month after the investigation started. However, the company did not notify the IGC of it until nearly eight months later. That deal included a monetary settlement and a grant of an unspecified amount of Class B shares.<\/p>\n
Ratcliff a “Self-Made Man”<\/h2>\n In a brief opening statement, Dan Webb, one of Ratcliff\u2019s lawyers, called him a \u201cself-made man\u201d who, despite not earning a college degree, worked his way into a successful career in the gaming industry. He also stated that he was not charged in any of the federal investigations, nor had he been alleged in any cases.<\/p>\n
Despite that, Webb said Ratcliff was willing to walk away from gaming if the commission approved the deal with Gibson. He also indicated that Ratcliff\u2019s Spectacle shares have been placed in trust.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on these developments, there is no longer any emergency suspension basis under Indiana law to suspend his license,\u201d Webb said. \u201cThere is no possible emergency. His shares are completely gone from his control.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, McMains cited Ratcliff\u2019s refusal to cooperate for interviews as a reason to move forward with the suspension.<\/p>\n
We’ve had a lot of experiences with Mr. Ratcliff, good experiences, and that’s why I was hopeful that we could resolve this with a voluntary surrender and not force us to make a decision on an emergency basis,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Commissioners unanimously agreed to approve both measures against Ratcliff.<\/p>\n
Ratcliff\u2019s suspension is technically effective for up to 90 days, but it can be renewed. In addition, Small said that after the 90 days, commissioners could contemplate revoking his license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Indiana Gaming Commission took severe action on Wednesday against one of the founding fathers of the state\u2019s gaming industry. It suspended Rod Ratcliff\u2019s license and also ordered him to surrender his ownership stake in Spectacle Entertainment. The IGC also ordered former Spectacle executive John Keeler to sell his stake in the company by Jan. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":159472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,60,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Rod Ratcliff Has Gaming License Suspended by Indiana Regulators<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n