A man at Bally’s Evansville casino allegedly hurled obscenities at and assaulted Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) officers during a drunken tirade on Saturday night. He also bit one of them, police said.
Colter Burk in a mug shot,. He allegedly assaulted, swore at, and bit gaming police at Indiana’s Bally’s casino. (Image: Vanderburgh County Jail)
The officers were trying to escort the man, later identified as Colter Burk, 35, of Pennsylvania, out of the Indiana gaming property, WEHT, a local TV station, reported. He had gotten into a dispute with another casino player.
Later, he was charged with two counts of battery on a public safety official, as well as single counts of disorderly conduct, public intoxication, criminal trespass, and resisting law enforcement, the report added.
He was placed in Vanderburgh County Jail. Later, he reportedly was released from custody.
The confrontation began when one of the officers asked Burk for identification. But instead of cooperating, he allegedly went on an argumentative tirade while on an escalator. He barely was able to hold his beer in a cup. He also was unsteady on his feet.
Burk yelled at officers he did not want to leave the casino and eventually refused to budge, police said.
I told him he had 2 seconds to start walking again or he would go to jail,” an officer recalled in an arrest report. “He said ‘One Two’ so I went to take him into custody.”
Officer Struck in Face
As the officer tried to bring him under control, Burk allegedly hit him in the face with his forearm, the report added.
The impact came close to tossing the officer’s glasses to the floor. Then, a few officers were able to restrain Burk on the floor. A struggle ensued, when Burk allegedly bit one of the IGC officers on a finger.
The finger was bloody. An EMT treated the injury.
No word on how much the man had to drink that night and if any servers tried to cut him off from further drinks.
The Bally’s casino is located on the Ohio River. It is about 120 miles west of Louisville, Ky. It is near the Indiana-Kentucky border.
Casino Transaction
It was in June 2021 when the former Tropicana Evansville got a new owner. Caesars Entertainment and Bally’s Corp. closed the transaction which let Bally’s take over gaming operations at the southern Indiana casino.
An entity called Gaming & Leisure Properties purchased the real estate, which it now leases to the Rhode Island-based gaming company for at least $28 million a year. The total purchase price was $480 million, with Bally’s portion at $140 million.
Upon the closing of deals, Bally’s operates gaming venues in Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
Controversial Pennsylvania Location
It also wants to build a controversial casino in State College, Pa., the home of Penn State University.
But after receiving hundreds of letters in opposition to the $123 million Bally’s casino project — and a petition signed by more than 1,000 local community members voicing their disapproval of the project — local councilmembers responded that they will investigate their legal options to halt the development. The College Township Council doesn’t have much legal recourse to withdraw its candidacy as a mini-casino host.
If constructed, the Bally’s venue would be less than five miles from the iconic Beaver Stadium and the scenic Penn State campus.
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