Cunning Cleveland Cavaliers Stunt From Sunny Group Casinos ?

Published: Friday, December 17, 2004 Online-Casinos.com

CUNNING STUNT FROM SUNNY?

Can Casino Fortune afford the Cleveland Cavaliers?

It seems that Sunny Group's Casino Fortune has joined the trend toward outrageous "guerilla marketing" tactics so successfully used by the Golden Palace group to achieve widespread publicity in the media.

Amid it's previous claims is an attempt to buy into Donald Trump's casino empire and an offer to purchase a seat on NASA's space shuttle. Both came to nothing. In the past, the casino has also claimed an Internet prominence not supported by statistical information available on the Web.

Now we have an Associated Press report which has achieved wide publicity but been labeled as a stunt. The report tells of an offer to buy the Cleveland Cavaliers in a multi million dollar deal and it will be interesting to see whether a sale is achieved and at what price, whether Casino Fortune really can afford the hundreds of millions involved or whether this will be just another failed attempt that nevertheless grabs a few cheap headlines.

The midweek report revealed that Casino Fortune was willing to outbid a Detroit businessman for the Cleveland Cavaliers in an apparent publicity stunt that could possibly open a bidding war for the NBA team.

Casino Fortune said it has submitted a letter to owner Gordon Gund that outlines its intent to buy the Cavaliers. Last week, Gund, who bought the Cavs in 1983 for $20 million, said he was in serious negotiations with a potential buyer.

That offer came from Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans, who reportedly offered Gund $375 million for the team and the operating rights to Cleveland's downtown arena.

Trinidad-based Casino Fortune claims it previously attempted to buy the Phoenix Suns for $380 million. It also sought a portion of Donald Trump's casino empire and tried to purchase a seat on NASA's space shuttle.

The company has not yet gotten a response from Gund's office or Cavaliers management.

Casino Fortune PR exec Kevin Mercuri 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."

Mercuri said the NBA has been resistant to 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.