A $2 billion theme park in rural Oklahoma? Sounds like a crazy idea, right?
Turns out, it was. But just how crazy the whole project turned out to be might rank American Heartland as one of the all-time, jaw-dropping theme park stories.
To bring you up to speed, here is our story about the park's announcement two years ago: New $2 billion theme park pitched in rural Oklahoma.
I want to thank TPI reader Mark for the latest update, pointing me to Thomas Pablo's story from Oklahoma's KOSU: Man who funded Vinita theme park concept sues developers, claiming fraud.
Folks, that headline should be in the Hall of Fame for understatement. Gene Bicknell, who lives in Florida, filed a lawsuit in United States District County in Oklahoma, claiming that the developers of the American Heartland theme park defrauded him out of $60 million. How did they - allegedly - do it?
By impersonating God.
I found a copy of the lawsuit filing, which you can read here. The case is Gene Bicknell v. Richard M. Silanskas Jr., Larry K. Wilhite, and Stephen D. Hedrick.
"Silanskas and Wilhite executed a predatory conspiracy of psychological manipulation—convincing Gene, through fraud and impersonation, that God himself was commanding him both to finance the park’s construction and to grant Silanskas and Wilhite two-thirds ownership over the completed venture, which was to be worth $2 billion," the complaint said.
"To commit this fraud, Silanskas and Wilhite embarked on a years-long campaign of psychological and spiritual abuse. Silanskas and Wilhite tricked Gene by impersonating God and religious figures purportedly communicating 'God's' directives in hundreds of electronic messages targeted at Gene. Silanskas and Wilhite made Gene believe that God Himself was commanding Gene to infuse ever more cash into the Project and to trust them completely with its management. For years, those electronic messages preyed upon Gene’s devout Christian faith and admonished Gene to obey 'God's' will without doubts or second-guessing."
According to the filing, the relationship began when Bicknell invested in Branson's Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts. Wilhite was a local preacher who, eventually, managed the theater, which grew into the Mansion Entertainment Group, with Silanskas pitching business expansion plans, including the theme park.
The relationship ended when Bicknell ran out of money. The lawsuit alleges that the now-91-year-old Bicknell not only lost $60 million, but also his health and his relationships with his family. The proposed theme park site in Vinita, Okla. got some signs, a gravel road and a fence.
And, oh yeah, a bunch of other claims from unpaid designers and contractors seeking the money they are owed.
Of course, a lawsuit filing presents only one side of the story. But given the obvious failure of this project, there is no doubt that it all went south. It's only a question of how.
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HAHAHAHAAHA- a predatory conspiracy of psychological manipulation..
Man, I can't wait until this project is done and we finally have a new Theme park to enjoy....
"constructed nothing more than a fence and a gravel road"
Sounds Like a Trump project. HAHAHAAH
And It will be done in Two weeks.....
Stupid is as stupid does. Maybe Mr. Bicknell will have better luck recouping his investment by selling this crazy story to Hollywood.
There has to be a Netfix documentary on this soon.
Robert, i believe most of us knew this park would be a major stretch. terrible location, unpopulated area and their numbers claimed 4.9 million visitors a year, making it the 10th most visited park in north america with only the 6 Disney and 3 Universal with higher attendance. yeah, right. what did not see coming was the manipulation of the old man from the mansion guys (who i thought were pretty shady in the press conferences) and to make it even crazier, they preyed on his faith, which is obviously quite strong. it's a shame but as the saying goes, "a fool and his money are soon parted" and a whole town and surrounding area got screwed over too. as Mike W said, Netflix needs to get on this!
"...the now-92-year-old Bicknell"
Without knowing the complete picture, this smells like elder abuse...
Well, I look stupid now. I thought this had a chance if opening - not at #10, mind you, but if Lost Island could be successful enough to open an RMC this year, maybe this could've worked.
"Why does God need a theme park?"
I feel bad for all of the designers who got duped into working on this thing. Highly doubt any of them have seen a dime for their work, but I hope I’m wrong.
@VelocicoasterFan, I'm from central OK but know that area somewhat and it could support a small seasonal park but they were trying to sell a Disney resort in NE Oklahoma. Robby Bell would be a better fit than these guys.
But it can’t be a con job! They sponsored two closing performances at the Rose Parade!
For $60 million, they could have at least given the key to the gate, a folding chair, and a cooler full of his favorite adult beverage…
From the state that brought you Oral Roberts and Ryan Walters...
Here is a Nice video of the story....
https://ktul.com/news/local/investor-sues-developers-for-alleged-fraud-in-failed-oklahoma-theme-park-project-lawsuit-disney-world-entertainment-group-rv-park-offline-money-plans-funding-american-heartland
i'm reading the lawsuit. it's absolutely insane! the one guy was part of that Dream Vision project so he's already got experience ripping people off via a theme park scam.
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Thanks for the update. I hadn't heard any news since that big announcement and thought it had faded away. But apparently there's a juicy story underneath.