Michael Jordan Check Made Out to Former Trump Casino Comes to Auction at Just the Right Time

Amid renewed interest in the life and times of Michael Jordan and new scrutiny of the basketball icon’s gambling habits, a check signed by the star made out to an Indiana casino formerly owned by President Trump is on the auction block.

As the image below indicates Jordan visited the Trump Riverboat Casino in Gary, Indiana in February 1998, and that he owed the venue $15,000 for a marker, which he made good on after visiting the gaming property. On Feb. 15, 1998, Jordan’s Bulls played in Detroit and had an open date the following day. That’s when Jordan went to the Hoosier State gaming property prior to returning to Chicago for a game on Feb. 17.

This is the first casino marker of Michael Jordan to ever hit the market. This offered $15,000 check was made out to ‘TRUMP INDIANA, INC.’ on February 16, 1998. Jordan visited the casino that was owned by current President of the United States Donald Trump,” according to New Jersey-based Goldin Auctions, the company conducting the bidding for the check.

President Trump’s Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts owned the riverboat casino from 1996 through 2005. The venue would later change ownership and take the Majestic Star name. Spectacle Entertainment bought it last year and plans to move it ashore while taking the Hard Rock name.

Fueling Interest

With sports fans and bettors suffering limited options in the wake of the coronavirus, interest in Jordan is being refreshed by ESPN’s multi-part series “The Last Dance,” which is rapidly gaining acclaim as a seminal sports documentary.

“This piece (the check) is a one-of-a-kind item whose value will surely outweigh the amount of this check by several folds and should easily rival the aforementioned rookie cards in terms of significance,” said Goldin Auctions.

Goldin’s website indicates three bids are in on the check, the highest of which is $6,000. There are five days left in the auction.

Renewed Gambling Speculation

“The Last Dance” is also reminding viewers that Jordan, widely viewed as the greatest basketball player ever, enjoys gambling…a lot.

The basketball star and current owner of the Charlotte Hornets NBA franchise famously said he has a “competition problem” when pressed in an old interview about possibly being a problem gambler.

However, the ESPN documentary also puts to rest a long-running conspiracy theory that when Jordan retired for the first time in 1993, that he did so because then-NBA Commissioner David Stern was suspending him for gambling.

“I didn’t retire because the league kicked me out or they suspended me for a year and a half. That is not true. There’s no truth to that,” said Jordan.

Stern, who passed away in January, said it was “urban legend” that he forced Jordan to retire for issues related to wagering. The former commissioner was opposed to sports betting for most of his tenure at the helm of the association, but would later change his view on the matter.