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Don King Wants Back in Atlantic City Ring

"The flamboyant promoter on Monday notified the Casino Control Commission that he wants to resurrect his vertical mane here for the purpose of staging a heavyweight bout between former champions Evander Holyfield and Hasim Rahman at the Boardwalk Hall.

"Before he can deal with casinos to sponsor the fight, Don King Productions Inc. needs commission approval to reapply for a casino service industry license. The commission is scheduled to hear the matter Wednesday.

"…`We've been working on Holyfield-Rahman for quite some time,' said Charles Lomax, general counsel for Don King Productions. `We're going to put it some place, and if we get the license in Atlantic City, we're definitely thinking of bringing it to Atlantic City.'

"…King last promoted a fight here in December 1998. That came four months after the casino commission lifted a four-year suspension of King's gaming license.

"The commission had suspended King in 1994, when federal authorities indicted him on wire-fraud charges. A 1995 trial ended in a hung jury. He was acquitted in a 1998 retrial, though jurors were unable to reach a verdict on charges against Don King Productions.

"…King's gaming license expired during the suspension period. He reapplied in 1998 but last year filed to withdraw his application, saying it wasn't worth the bother because there was no business to be done here.

"His request to withdraw came less than a year after he was implicated in the federal International Boxing Federation corruption trial in Newark.

"King was not charged, but prosecutors labeled him an unindicted co-conspirator who benefited when IBF founder Robert Lee Jr. allegedly manipulated fighters' rankings. Lee was acquitted on most charges…"

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