04.25.05
Westlake Securities
Press Release
“Westlake Securities is pleased to announce the sale of a Minority Interest in the holding company for MotorCity Casino, located in Detroit, Michigan. Westlake’s client in the transaction, Atwater Entertainment Associates, LLC, realized $106.4 million in the sale. AEA’s minority interest was purchased by Ilitch Holdings, which also bought the remaining equity in the holding company including the controlling interest owned by Mandalay Bay Group prior to its merger with MGM Mirage Resorts. Michael McAllister and Alex Klingelberger advised on the transaction for Westlake. . .“. . . Westlake examined both the alternative of buying out the other MotorCity owners, as well as selling the AEA ownership interests. After advising AEA in its discussions with several potential buyers, Westlake and Asher negotiated on behalf of and advised AEA's members to accept a sale of their interest to Illitch Holdings, another minority interest shareholder of MotorCity Casino. . .” (Full Release)
client said:
Vivian L. Carpenter, President
Atwater Entertainment Associates, LLC
Mike Ilitch is chairman of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. and the owner of the Detroit Tigers. Major League Baseball prohibits team owners, managers and players from any involvements with gaming. For a decade, Mike and Marian Ilitch have sworn Mike has no involvement or interest in MotorCity Casino or any of the other gaming ventures Marian Ilitch has become involved with in the past decade; and the pair also insists that Marian Ilitch has absolutely no financial interest or management role with the Tigers baseball team.
Mike and Marian Ilitch are co-owners of the Detroit Red Wings NHL team according to the team's official web site. Although news that Wayne Gretzky’s wife, Janet Jones, was involved in gambling escalated to national scandal early in 2006, the NHL does not have MLB-like prohibitions on gaming. Concurrent ownership of the Red Wings and MotorCity Casino or various other gaming interests might present public relations challenges but apparently not any regulatory or legal challenges.
You may also want to review these posts:
The Verifiable Truth: Detroit Tigers owner doubled his net worth gambling on casinos
The Verifiable Truth: Baseball and Casinos Don’t Mix, or Do They?
The Verifiable Truth: New York Times sports writer recognizes conflicts in Ilitch casino ownership
The Verifiable Truth: Notice of $625 million MotorCity offering lead by Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch states, Marian Ilitch is co-owner of the Detroit Tigers
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