Don Barden, Detroit businessman, dies

DETROIT -- Don Barden, a prominent Detroit businessman who sold vegetables from the road as a child before making millions in casinos, cable TV and real estate, died yesterday. He was 67.

Barden died from complications of lung cancer, according to Barden Companies.

"Don was a stalwart leader and businessman in this community, as well as a friend," Mayor Dave Bing said in a statement.

Barden made millions with cable TV franchises in Detroit and the suburbs, but lately the news about him was not flattering. His wife, Bella Marshall, went to court earlier this year in a dispute over his ability to manage his assets.

His Majestic Star Casino opened in 1996 in Gary, Ind. A year later, Barden launched a $50 million, three-deck gambling vessel to replace the Gary casino, according to spokeswoman Darci McConnell.

Barden's Majestic Star Casino LLC owns casinos in Las Vegas; Gary, Ind.; Black Hawk, Colo.; and Tunica, Miss., but the company has been trying to reorganize in bankruptcy court since 2009.

Barden grew up in Inkster, near Detroit, where he sold vegetables from the family farm. He dropped out of college in Ohio but stayed in Lorain, Ohio, for 20 years. He opened a record shop at age 22, started a weekly newspaper, the Lorain County Times, bought real estate and became the first black member of the Lorain City Council.

He rubbed elbows with the powerful, even teaching dance steps to President Bill Clinton after a state dinner with South Africa President Nelson Mandela in the 1990s.

"I'm on a mission to prove that a poor, young African-American from a very large family, from humble beginnings, can rise to the top in America in a free enterprise system," Barden said in 1997 when he was pursuing a Detroit casino license. Barden didn't get a license. -- AP