Article Publication Date: 12/16/2004
Stern scoffs at latest bid

Cavaliers Notebook...

Trinidad-based casino promises to make another try to enter NBA;
Gilbert to buy Cavaliers
By BRIAN WINDHORST

Akron Beacon Journal

CLEVELAND — In what appears to be purely a publicity stunt, an online casino has made a public purchase offer for the Cavaliers.

Casino Fortune, a Trinidad-based casino known for its outlandish public bids, issued a news release stating its intention to outbid Michigan multimillionaire Dan Gilbert for ownership of the team.

The nature of the bid, in addition to the fact that Gilbert is very close to a deal to purchase the team from principal owner Gordon Gund, believed to be in the neighborhood of $375 million, appears to soil its legitimacy. At least, that is the NBA’s view on it.

“I don’t know what relevance it has... it’s irrelevant,” NBA commissioner David Stern said when asked about the bid Wednesday.

When asked if he thought it was a publicity stunt, Stern said “Those are your words, not mine.”

This is not the first time the casino has made news with such a public offering. Last spring, the company tried to buy the Phoenix Suns when they were for sale, offering $380 million. The offer, perhaps conveniently, came up $21 million short as real estate magnate Robert Sarver and his investors closed the deal for $401 million.

In the past, the casino has released what it calls “letters of intent” to purchase a seat on a space shuttle flight from NASA and tried to buy 30 percent of Donald Trump’s casino business for $400 million. The hook in that deal is that they hired a former cast member of Trump’s TV show The Apprentice to be their spokesman.

When the casino announced its intention to buy the Suns, it said its first order of business would be to retire Charles Barkley’s number. Only Barkley’s No. 34 was already retired. Now the casino’s president, Dennis Rose, is saying, “We will buy this team and begin incorporating our brand into uniforms and perhaps the name of the team.”

The NBA bars any corporate branding on uniforms, logos or names. But give them credit for trying.

“We fully intend to outbid Mr. Gilbert and will present our offer (today),” casino spokesman Kevin Mercuri said. “The NBA is sometimes run like more of a cartel than a company, but we’re going forward with our plans.”