A bomb threat phoned in to Horseshoe Southern Indiana on July 10 was determined to be an exercise by its security vendor. But Ken Surface of Bloomington, who was playing poker at the casino when the threat supposedly was phoned in from his room at Horseshoe’s hotel, has retained attorney Larry Wilder to notify the Indiana Gaming Commission that he intends to file a lawsuit in Harrison County.
According to a statement released by Wilder, Surface was confronted by law enforcement and casino security sometime after 11 p.m. while playing Texas Hold ‘em. “Surface was handcuffed at the table in front of everyone and paraded through the gaming area, off the boat and through the lobby and into the casino holding area. He was informed that several hours earlier a phone call was received by the hotel from his room.” The caller told hotel staff a bomb was in room 118, Surface’s room, and would be triggered if the door was opened.
Surface was questioned for several hours. Eventually, said Wilder’s statement, “Surface was informed that the call was apparently a ‘hoax’ perpetrated on the hotel-casino and the police.” However, the call was determined to be not a hoax but a training exercise conducted by Horseshoe Casino’s security company in the Philippines, where the call actually originated.
Surface later found out the call was not a hoax by reviewing police records of the incident. “This is amazing. A multi-million dollar business with a multi-million dollar security system couldn’t figure out how to conduct a bomb drill. They called in their own bomb threat and allege no one knew about it,” Wilder’s statement said.
Horseshoe Casino General Manager John Smith apologized for the incident, saying the vendor called in the bomb threat without notifying the casino. He said, “We are as surprised and disappointed as anyone that this occurred, but are very proud at the way the matter was handled. We are vigorously investigating the facts surrounding this occurrence and are reviewing our options with respect to the vendor who initiated this without notification.”
