Madferret
7-06-05, 11:32 AM
Online casino wants to buy the Blues
TSN.ca Staff
An online casino group has submitted a letter of intent to purchase the St. Louis Blues of the NHL. Casino Fortune, which is headquartered in Trinidad, says it notified Blues owner Bill Laurie and the NHL about its intention to purchase the team but has yet to hear back from anyone.
This is not the first time Casino Fortune has attempted to buy a sports team. Previous offers to purchase the Cleveland Cavalier and Phoenix Suns were dismissed as irrelevent by NBA commissioner David Stern.
The online gaming company previously offered developer Donald Trump $400-million for a share of his casino company and they once tried to buy a seat on the space shuttle from NASA.
Company president Dennis Rose tells the St. Louis Post Dispatch he can understand people's skepticism about their offer. "Occasionally we've had problems," said Rose of his past failed attempts. "Some years ago people were a little bit cynical about the revenues with online gaming. Now they're convinced how big it has become."
Even if the offer is legitimate, it's hard to see the NHL agreeing to sell one of its teams to a company whose primary income is gambling, especially since it takes a negative view towards betting on NHL games.
But Rose says his company does not accept wagers of any kind on sporting events.
"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.," Rose says in a prepared release.
TSN.ca Staff
An online casino group has submitted a letter of intent to purchase the St. Louis Blues of the NHL. Casino Fortune, which is headquartered in Trinidad, says it notified Blues owner Bill Laurie and the NHL about its intention to purchase the team but has yet to hear back from anyone.
This is not the first time Casino Fortune has attempted to buy a sports team. Previous offers to purchase the Cleveland Cavalier and Phoenix Suns were dismissed as irrelevent by NBA commissioner David Stern.
The online gaming company previously offered developer Donald Trump $400-million for a share of his casino company and they once tried to buy a seat on the space shuttle from NASA.
Company president Dennis Rose tells the St. Louis Post Dispatch he can understand people's skepticism about their offer. "Occasionally we've had problems," said Rose of his past failed attempts. "Some years ago people were a little bit cynical about the revenues with online gaming. Now they're convinced how big it has become."
Even if the offer is legitimate, it's hard to see the NHL agreeing to sell one of its teams to a company whose primary income is gambling, especially since it takes a negative view towards betting on NHL games.
But Rose says his company does not accept wagers of any kind on sporting events.
"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.," Rose says in a prepared release.