he following month Gin was named to the board of trustees of De Paul University,
Calvin's alma mater. She was one of only seven women on the 45-member
board. "I think that Sue fits the urban mission of De Paul University,"
said board president Richard Heise.
By now the accolades were coming
fast and furious. Notably, in March of 1994 Gin was named one of three
businesswomen to receive the Women of Achievement awards from the Anti-Defamation
League. A woman of the stature to receive such dignified honors, one
could suppose, would have to think hard before letting herself be profiled
in a decidedly non-solemn magazine like Face.
Ironically, this brand of political
respectability--which is becoming Gin's stock in trade--is most valuable
in exploiting business opportunities that could strike the body politic
as being of questionable morality. Like riverboat gambling. In 1992
Illinois governor Jim Edgar had let on that he was in favor of introducing
riverboat gambling in the Chicago and Cook County area. The potential
for $200 million a year in gross profits proved an irresistable lure
to the pillars of the community. Once the dollar signs started whirling
through people's heads, there was frantic positioning to take advantage
of any minority set-aside provisions the proposed gambling legislation
would likely contain. Former Chicago mayor Eugene Sawyer formed Caravan
Inc to "ensure there is African American equity ownership" in one or
more riverboat casinos. Former federal judge Susan Getzendanner brought
together five other women to form Women's Investment Strategy Enterprises
Inc. "All prior licenses have gone to all men with very, very few minorities,"
was Getzendanner's story. "It energized me to put together a group of
women interested in participating."
Gin shared their enthusiam for the profit potential of riverboat gambling. What's more, she had already
polished the minority set-aside approach in landing FFF's airport, prison
and school district contracts. This was her element, her modus operandi.
She joined with several other minority entrepreneurs to form All Chicago
Entertainment Inc. to operate a riverboat in case it turned out to be
one of the lucky ones to land a license.
[CONTINUED BELOW]
Waiting in the wings to partner
with the handful of local entities that will win a license are bigtime
casino operators like Caesars World, Circus Circus, Hilton Hotels, ITT
Sheraton, Mirage Resorts, Sahara Resorts and Promus. Since these casino
companies would likely put up all the money and management, the license
applicants are essentially just local representatives who put a publicly
acceptable face on the encroachment of legalized gambling. That means
that to maximize her chances of being licensed, Sue Ling Gin must go
all out to present an image that is 100% sober and respectable. No appearances
in magazines like Face. This conjecture is amply supported by
Gin's business history and her own statements to the Sun Times
in late November of 1993 that "contacts made through professional and
non-profit organizations help her business and vice-versa."
By October, 1993 FFF was far enough on the road to
recovery for Gin to take a three-week pleasure trip to China with her
extended family.
"We went back for 25 days to China," Richard recalls. "My wife and my daughter and
her husband and my son went. We had about 30 people. My uncle and cousins
were with us from San Francisco and we had our own bus and tour guides
that would cover certain areas of various cities. This was an Asian
tour, not an American tour. They really try to give you your money's
worth. They push push push! We were a week into the tour, and my son
and Sue Ling met us at Beijing."
Upon her return home in November,
Gin was comfortable enough with her Chicago operations to resume spending
weekends in the home she once shared with McGowan, overlooking the Potomac
in Washington D.C.
"There are [management] people in place here for the businesses," she told the Sun Times. "So
I think, why not take a few months away and do some things in Washington?
PAGE 12
he following month Gin was named to the board of trustees of De Paul University,
Calvin's alma mater. She was one of only seven women on the 45-member
board. "I think that Sue fits the urban mission of De Paul University,"
said board president Richard Heise.
