SEARCH NEWS:

 

Isle of Capri Boss's Past Clouds Illinois Deal

ILLINOIS – As reported by the Chicago Tribune: "Former Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Mort Friedman said Friday that he determined 11 years ago the head of the company selected this week to put a new casino in Rosemont was unfit for involvement in Illinois gaming.

"Bernie Goldstein, who now runs the Mississippi-based Isle of Capri riverboat chain hoping to build in Rosemont, was fined $255,000 by the Illinois Gaming Board in 1993 for improper activities at an East Peoria riverboat he had managed. He then left the state. The formal declaration of punishment contained no reference to Goldstein leaving Illinois gaming. But Friedman, who is retired from the board, told the Tribune in an interview that Goldstein's departure was critical to reaching a settlement of the matter at the time.

"…'That is not accurate,' said Les McMackin, senior vice president of marketing for the Mississippi-based firm.

"…Goldstein and his wife, Irene, had owned a firm called Casino Cruises Inc., which managed East Peoria's Par-A-Dice Riverboat.

"The board accused Goldstein's firm of helping Par-A-Dice buy overpriced gambling equipment from an unlicensed vendor owned by Goldstein's relatives.

"…Friedman said Goldstein left the state as a gaming manager because of the violation.

".. The license that Isle of Capri is hoping to buy is currently held by the bankrupt Emerald Casino, which also had hoped to build in Rosemont. However, the Gaming Board in 2001 blocked Emerald from doing so because it concluded that officials of the firm had lied to regulators and sold shares to individuals with ties to organized crime…"

< Gaming News