Owning Suns interests Web gambling site
Hey, Hall of Famer Jerry Colangelo says he wants to sell the Suns, and if he thought Charles Barkley was an unlikely suitor listen to this:
Casino Fortune, an internet gambling company (Casinofortune.com), has sent a letter of intent to Colangelo and contacted Lehman Brothers to discuss purchasing the team.
Suns spokeswoman Julie Fie said there is bound to be a lot of speculation regarding the sale, but team officials won't comment.
Our club spies tell us the team isn't taking the Casino Fortune offer seriously at this point.
But Kevin Mercuri, a spokesman for Casino Fortune, assures us that the company is very serious about its offer.
"Right now, this is about who has the wherewithal to buy an NBA team," he said. "We've been thinking about it for a long time, longer than you might think.
"It was part of our business plan long ago, and in light of that, we never engaged in sports betting so there is no conflict of interest."
Mercuri points out that a precedent exists for such an ownership arrangement. Joe and Gavin Maloof, who own the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, also own the Sacramento Kings.
"They don't have sports books, so they don't have a conflict," Mercuri said.
Internet gambling is a $6.3 billion a year business, according to Mercuri. Casino Fortune, which has been around almost eight years, is the oldest operating internet gambling business and the third largest such operation.
"Almost 70 percent of our clientele is American," he said. "For all intents and purposes, we are an American company - although most attorneys general don't see it that way."
That would include Arizona's. We are among the eight states which have specific laws on the books prohibiting internet gambling.
Mercuri said a recent opinion by the World Trade Organization that attempts to suppress online gambling is a violation of trade pacts the United States has signed and "emboldened" the company to approach Colangelo.
Now, we might sniff at this and assume that Colangelo will dismiss the idea.
But Colangelo has been searching for an investor who will buy in now with the option to purchase a controlling interest at a future date.
"We'd be amenable to that," Mercuri said. "Jerry has had almost 40 years service in this area. He's definitely an asset that should not be discarded.
"As a matter of fact, we'd probably like that. To start from scratch when you have such a valuable resource already there would be foolish if not foolhardy."
