Casino says it will bid for Cavaliers

TOM WITHERS

Associated Press

CLEVELAND - An Internet casino operator said on Wednesday that it is willing to outbid a Detroit businessman for the Cleveland Cavaliers, possibly opening a bidding war for the NBA team.

Casino Fortune, which bills itself as the world's oldest online gambling company, said it has submitted a letter to owner Gordon Gund that outlines its intent to buy the Cavaliers, who have experienced a financial windfall since the arrival of LeBron James.

Last week, Gund, who bought the Cavs in 1983 for $20 million, said he was in serious negotiations with a potential buyer.

Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans, has reportedly offered Gund approximately $375 million for the team and the operating rights to Cleveland's downtown arena.

Trinidad-based Casino Fortune, which previously attempted to buy the Phoenix Suns, said it has not yet gotten a response from Gund's office or Cavaliers management.

Spokesperson said the casino company has proposed meeting with Gund and team executives next week.

"We will make it clear that we want this team, by outbidding Mr. Gilbert," Casino Fortune president Dennis Rose said. "Whenever we seek to buy a team, our efforts are repeatedly rope-a doped by the NBA. Today, we have our own bankers and backers. We are a global casino operation, we have the money and we want the team."

Cavaliers spokesman Tad Carper would not comment on the casino's proposals. The NBA did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

While Casino Fortune's bid for the Cavaliers could be little more than a publicity stunt, it could open the door for other suitors to approach the 65-year-old Gund, who in previous years denied that he wanted to sell the team.

Gilbert, 42, unsuccessfully tried to buy the Milwaukee Brewers in September. He has refused to comment publicly since reports surfaced that he was pursuing the Cavs.

Any sale of the Cavaliers would have to be approved by the league's owners, a process that could take several months.

Casino Fortune, which runs eight casinos in the Caribbean, Africa and Europe, wants to buy a professional sports team to raise its profile in the United States, where the majority of its clients live.

"We will buy this team and begin incorporating our brand into uniforms and perhaps the name of the team," Rose said. "We are one of the few online casinos that don't allow any wagers on sports events, and that is because our business model has always anticipated us buying a sports team in the U.S."

Mercuri said the league has been resistant of Casino Fortune's overtures into ownership in the past because of its association with gambling.

"The excuse is that our money isn't good enough for them," he said.