Larry Bird’s Unheard Billion Dollar Battle With Donald Trump That Happened in the Celtics Legend’s Backyard

Larry Bird retired as a Celtics legend. After his retirement, Bird became the head coach of the Indiana Pacers in 1997. Three years later in 2000, Bird stepped down as the head coach, though in 2003 he was hired as head of Pacers basketball operations. Larry’s residence was in a town in Indiana.

French Lick, a county in Indiana was once Las Vegas of the Midwest. In the early 2000s, Donald Trump looked into buying a spot of land in French Lick county. Though little did he know, his competitor for the bidding would be Larry Legend.

Larry Bird had a strong advantage over Trump

This spot of land was sitting between two massive hotels, one spanning as large as 2,600 acres. This land could be used to build a casino that would generate approximately $60 million in gaming revenues, as reported by CNN. Though this was not an easy task, as it would require great inventory. This $50 million project included a 50,000 square foot casino with 1,200 slot machines and a museum highlighting Bird’s career.

092060 03: Basketball player Larry Bird sits during a basketball game February 15, 1991 in Chicago, IL. Bird played for the Boston Celtics, helped them to win three championships, scored 21,791 points and was named Most Valuable Player three times. (Photo by Jonathan Kirn/Liaison)

Not only this, but Larry’s partners also estimated 1,100 new jobs generated by the casino and would contribute $139 million economically.

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But Trump did not back down. Trump Hotels and Casino resorts planned to buy West Baden Springs Hotel and add inventory similar to Bird’s. Though Trump knew for a fact that even after these acquisitions and investment in inventory, Larry had an advantage in French Lick.

Trump and Bird were introduced to another competitor

The third competitor, which included the French gaming firm offered $65 million. This battle was mainly between the Celtics Legend and billionaire Trump. Larry looked to offer such an amount so as to introduce more jobs for the people around the county.

Whereas Trump wanted to expand his hotel chain and build another casino that would generate more income. For Larry, this was yet another battle but this time his competitor could shoot far better than him.

READ MORE: ‘I Don’t Know’: Larry Bird Refused To Acknowledge Stephen Curry as The Best Shooter

During the state hearing, Trump’s attorney managed to seal his pitch on why Trump should be given the license over the competitors. Donald got the license in the end, coming out as a winner. Larry had lost in his home ground for the first time.

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