July 29, 2025, 2:47 PM ·
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-92-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. To keep up to date with more theme park industry news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider’s weekly newsletter.
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