Editing Kevin Costner (section)

===Business interests===
[[File:Kevin Costner - Stella nella Walk of Fame - Hollywood - USA - agosto 2011.jpg|thumb|upright|Costner's star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]]]
In 1995, Costner bought a company that was developing [[oil separation]] machines based on a patent he purchased from the [[US government]]. The machines developed by the company were of little commercial interest until the [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill]], when [[BP]] took six of the machines from a company in which Costner owned an interest, Ocean Therapy Solutions, for testing in late May 2010.<ref>{{Cite news | url = http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/if-you-build-it/?dbk | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | title = If You Build It ... | first = Liz | last = Robbins | date = May 19, 2010}}</ref> On June 16, 2010, BP entered into a lease with Ocean Therapy Solutions for 32 of the oil-water separation devices.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.reefrelieffounders.com/drilling/2010/06/11/examiner-kevin-costner-sells-32-oil-spill-machines-to-bp-to-recycle-6-million-gallons-of-water-a-day-photos | title = Examiner: Kevin Costner sells 32 oil spill machines to BP to recycle 6 million gallons of water a day (photos)| date = June 11, 2010}}</ref> Although Spyron Contoguris and [[Stephen Baldwin]] had previously sold their interests in Ocean Therapy Solutions in mid-June to another investor in the company, they filed a lawsuit in Louisiana District Court claiming $10.64&nbsp;million for securities fraud and misrepresentation. The suit claimed that Costner kept a meeting with BP secret from them, and the secret meeting resulted in an $18-million down payment on a $52&nbsp;million purchase, and that after the down payment, but before any announcement, another investor used part of the down payment to buy out their shares, thus excluding them from their share of the profits from the total sale.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/12/23/stephen-baldwin-kevin-costner-lawsuit-bp/?hpt=T2 | title = Stephen Baldwin spills lawsuit on Kevin Costner | author = Kate Ward}}</ref> The suit claimed that, despite public statements by Costner, Ocean Therapy Solutions, BP and others to the contrary, Baldwin and Contogouris were told that BP was still testing the machines and had not yet committed to lease the machines from Ocean Therapy Solutions and that the other investor in Ocean Therapy Solutions purchased their shares for $1.4&nbsp;million to Baldwin and $500,000, to Contogouris.<ref>Detroit Free Press, Friday, December 24, 2010, page 3C</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2018}} In June 2012, a federal jury in Louisiana deliberated for less than two hours before rejecting Baldwin's and Contogouris' claims in the multimillion-dollar oil-clean-up case, and the court ordered Baldwin and Contogouris to reimburse Costner and the other defendants in the case for their costs.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}

On June 6, 2004, Costner opened ''Tatanka: The Story of the Bison'' one mile south of [[Deadwood, South Dakota]], on [[U.S. Route 85]], saying he hoped it would be an educational and emotional place for people to learn about America's westward expansion. Promoters stated in a news release that the $5-million attraction had a new, 3,800-square-foot interactive center featuring exhibits, retail, and food and beverage areas, as well as offices and a small theater. The visitor center features graphics and text about the bison and the relationship of the [[Plains Indians]] to the animals - historically hunting and now raising them for food and clothing, among other things. The centerpiece is a bronze sculpture depicting a [[buffalo jump]] by [[Hill City, South Dakota|Hill City]] artist [[Peggy Detmers]], depicting 14 bronze bison in the act of running from their pursuers and three bronze [[Lakota people|Lakota]] riders on horseback. Three of the massive bison are posed in midair, cascading over the face of a cliff. Costner commissioned the work in 1994 from Detmers. The five-fourths-scale bronzes, each weighing between 2,500 and 8,000 pounds, were cast at Eagle Bronze Foundry in [[Lander, Wyoming]].<ref>Rapid City Journal, June 6, 2004</ref>{{full citation needed|date=May 2018}}

Costner opened the Midnight Star Casino and Restaurant in Deadwood, S.D., in 1991.<ref name="jh">{{cite news |last=Holland |first=Jim |url=https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/deadwood-s-midnight-star-sold-to-reopen-in-july/article_81752b78-1b1e-5380-99f3-a1c1910c1998.html | title=Deadwood's Midnight Star sold, to reopen in July |date=February 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217212832/https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/deadwood-s-midnight-star-sold-to-reopen-in-july/article_81752b78-1b1e-5380-99f3-a1c1910c1998.html |archive-date=February 17, 2020 |access-date=May 9, 2021}}</ref> He hired Francis and Carla Caneva to manage the establishment and gave each of them a 3.25 percent ownership and paid them salaries and bonuses. He terminated their employment in July 2004 and asked to agree to an amicable disassociation. When they declined, Costner dissolved the partnership and hired an accountant who determined its fair market value to be $3.1 million. The Canevas sued Costner to buy their shares based on twice that amount or sell the company on the open market. They won in the lower court but, on Costner's appeal, lost in the South Dakota Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/court-rules-costners-favor-casino-dispute-1C9428197 |title=Court rules in Costner's favor in casino dispute |agency=[[Associated Press]] |via=[[Today (American TV program)|''Today'']] |date=November 9, 2006 |access-date=May 9, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite case |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/sd-supreme-court/1451770.html |title=IN RE: the DISSOLUTION OF MIDNIGHT STAR ENTERPRISES |via=[[FindLaw]] |date=November 8, 2006 |access-date=May 9, 2021}}</ref> Costner closed the establishment in 2017 and sold it in 2020.<ref name="jh"/>

In 2020, Costner joined Woody Sears's new audio entertainment travel app, HearHere, as a co-founder, podcast narrator, and investor. Costner narrates some of the audio stories provided by the iPhone subscription app for travelers on road trips across the United States who want to hear about the people, places, and histories they are encountering on their travels.<ref>{{cite web|title=Want to take a road trip with Kevin Costner? Investors are betting you will|url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/02/want-to-take-a-road-trip-with-kevin-costner-investors-are-betting-you-might/|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=TechCrunch|date=April 2, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>