ANDERSON, Ind. — Days after Hoosier Park Racing and Casino emerged from bankruptcy, Herald Bulletin Editor Scott Underwood and reporter Abbey Doyle sat down with Hoosier Park’s Chief Executive Officer Rod Ratcliffe and Chief Operating Officer Jim Brown.

Hoosier Park’s parent company emerged with about one-third of the debt it had when it filed for protection last year. The transfer of ownership from Centaur Inc. to the newly structured Centaur Holdings LLC of Indianapolis became official after approval from the state casino and horse racing commissions.

These are paraphrased excerpts from that conversation.



THB: How has the staff handled the bankruptcy process?

Ratcliffe: Our staff has been phenomenal during this whole thing. They didn’t get down. They kept their head up the whole time. We can’t thank them enough.

Brown: When the headlines first came out in June 2009 that bankruptcy was coming, you would have thought the doors were closing the next day. But after further education about the process the waters calmed. This was something new within the community and region. Five other casinos in Indiana have gone through or are going through bankruptcy.

By the time we filed for bankruptcy it was a nonevent.



THB: How did the community react during the bankruptcy process?

Brown: Our staff provided the same product and same service throughout the process. We are here for a long time. Patrons came and found the same team members, the same levels of gaming. I think everyone assumed quality would be reduced or slots would be tightened. We promised and delivered the same if not better service and to continue to have the loosest slots in the state. More than 1,000 team members are working strong to show we are still here and want their business.



THB: What were some of the rumors that you heard during the bankruptcy?

Brown: Everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop. They said 100 people would be laid off, we’d freeze wages, give pay cuts. That’s not us. We dismissed that approach, seeing it as the absolutely wrong approach. We continue to support our operations to ensure we gave our patrons a quality experience.



THB: What is the next step for Hoosier Park?

Brown: Our focus has been on completing the bankruptcy process so we could get on sound, stable financial footing.

Instead of making investments in expansions to the facility, doing things like constructing a hotel or additional entertainment venue, the focus will be on maintaining the financial footing.

Ratcliffe: The community support us big time. We definitely want to give back to the community. We don’t want to do things in a bad economy, though. We are going to be very cautious as we move forward. We want to stay on sound financial footing that we find ourselves in now after going through this thing.

Brown: Once we get to the point of creating new wows we want to make sure we have an audience for that. What we want to do now is keep the floor fresh and clean and add new slot machines. We are focusing on the fundamentals first and then look at ramping up the amenities.



THB: What’s the status of the off-track betting site in downtown Indianapolis?

Ratcliffe: It isn’t coincidental that we are opening the OTB before the Super Bowl. Hoosier Park’s Winner’s Circle Pub, Grille and OTB will open in mid-December.

Brown: The location has been chosen as a “Super Celebration Site” for the Super Bowl by the NFL. We are creating an opportunity for visitors in Indianapolis to conveniently visit Hoosier Park during the Super Bowl event.

THB: What are the new investors feelings about Hoosier Park?

Brown: Hoosier Park was always successful since opening. That was attractive to the investor community.

Ratcliffe: We have a great relationship with the new investors. We have been acquainted  for more than a year. They want us to continue doing what we are doing. They aren’t asking us to make changes.



THB: Was there anything you would have done differently?

Ratcliffe: I would not have agreed to the $250 million. (Hoosier Park agreed to pay a state licensing fee that allowed the company to add slot machines in 2007.

At the time, Centaur willingly borrowed toward it, despite its status as the largest such state fee in the nation at $250 million per year — Pennsylvania being second at $50 million. However, tax and licensing became a larger liability when revenues dipped in the economic downturn of 2008.)

I would have sold Pennsylvania early instead of holding it. (Centaur sold off gambling properties in Colorado and Pennsylvania as part of the bankruptcy settlement.)



Contact Abbey Doyle, 640-4805, abbey.doyle@heraldbulletin.com.