Report: Gov. Holcomb Got Private Flights From Casino Magnate

Associated Press

Gov. Eric Holcomb will have final say over Spectacle Entertainment's plans to move two Gary casinos to more lucrative locations.
*FILE PHOTO: Brandon Smith/IPB News*

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A newspaper reports that a casino magnate treated Gov. Eric Holcomb to two private jet flights last year and made big donations to Holcomb's largest 2016 campaign donor while he was pushing for changes to Indiana law that would benefit his business.

The Indianapolis Star reports Spectacle Entertainment's CEO and chairman, Rod Ratcliff, flew Holcomb to Colorado and Arizona meetings hosted by the Republican Governors Association.

Those chartered flights were among $500,000 Ratcliff and his companies contributed last year to the Republican Governors Association, which largely funded Holcomb's 2016 campaign.

The flights gave Ratcliff and his business partners exclusive access to Holcomb, who will have final say over their plans to move two Gary casinos to more lucrative locations.

Holcomb's campaign treasurer called the flights "perfectly legal and customary."

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