Don H. Barden is one of the most important African American entrepreneurs in the history of the United States, but a lot of people do not know much about his massive accomplishments.
Barden was the first-ever black casino owner in America and his legacy lives on despite the fact he passed away in 2011 after experiencing some financial issues with his businesses.
It’s a pity he will miss the explosion currently unfolding in the USA with the regulation of sports betting and online casinos in many states – Barden would have been all over it for sure.
While it is hard to quantify the impact, Barden had on the African American entrepreneurial world, here we take a look at the massive effect he had on the casino industry.
Barden tried various industries before casinos
While his name will go down in casino industry history, Barden first tried his hand in a range of other sectors after dropping out of Ohio’s Central State University after a single year.
Cash flow issues meant Barden was unable to continue his studies, so he quickly set to work using his business brain to make money instead, working in manual jobs such as plumbing.
Barden was always destined for more glamorous things, though, and he bought a small record shop in Ohio after noticing a gap in the market, with the music scene taking off in the 1960s.
That endeavour was a popular one as Barden became a known figure in the state’s music scene, booking bands and putting on shows to help get his name out there in the community.
Barden even ran his own record label for a time, while a public relations company was one of the other firms he set up around the same era – he had his fingers in a lot of different pies.
Real estate move proves lucrative
While Barden had carved out a reputation as one of the most promising African-American entrepreneurs in Ohio, he wanted to make more cash, so he made his move into real estate.
The idea Barden had was to buy up buildings for a cheap price, then lease them to the government to make a profit. The idea proved to be a good one and helped Barden to rack up a lot of cash, while he spotted another opportunity to make money in the cable television market.
By now, Barden was starting to think about his legacy and he had a determination to have his very own casino – but it would be a long road he had to walk down in order to achieve his dream.
Barden’s goal was to return to his home city, Detroit, and own a casino there. But his initial attempts were rebuffed as acquiring the license needed was not possible, so instead Barden chose to run a riverboat casino in the Indiana town of Gary, which he ran for many years.
Eyes on the prize – Vegas
The riverboat casino in Gary was a starting point but Barden wanted more, with his new goal being to set up in Las Vegas.
First, however, he again saw plans to start a casino in Detroit rejected, even though he enlisted celebrity support from Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. Barden’s idea was to use Jackson’s hit album Thriller as the basis for a new theme park at his new Detroit casino.
It was in 2003 when Barden saw the chance to move up the casino chain when three Fitzgerald’s casinos, which were struggling financially, were snapped up by his company. One of them was in Vegas – the big prize for Barden – with the others in Mississippi and Colorado.
Barden became the first African American entrepreneur to own a Vegas casino as a result, with thousands of people directly employed by the businessmen. He then came up with big plans to head to the Turks and Caicos Islands to set up a new luxury hotel and casino complex.
The success enjoyed by Barden saw his business named Company of the Year by Black Enterprise Magazine at the peak of his operations.
But after a few years at the top of the casino world, Barden’s businesses started to fail and he eventually had to file for bankruptcy.
Barden died just a couple of years after that, but there is no doubt he is one of the most important African American entrepreneurs in the country’s history.
