DETROIT (AP) — A plan by veteran gambling figure Tom Celani to take a stake in Detroit’s Greektown Casino isn’t going forward.

The casino announced earlier this year that Celani planned to buy a 22 percent stake from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which owns about 75 percent. He was to become president of Greektown’s casino operations.

But casino spokesman Roger Martin said Monday that terms couldn’t be agreed upon.

A message seeking comment was left for Celani.

Celani is a former investor in Detroit’s MotorCity Casino and has developed and managed casinos in California, Nevada and Oklahoma.

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  ·        Virgin Poker players given the chance to win free flights and accommodation for this summer’s WSOP in Las Vegas ·        Guaranteed online satellites at Virgin Poker will be running from March - May 2008  London, Wednesday 5^th March 2008 – Virgin Poker is enlisting the help of its Virgin sister companies to send players to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this summer - for free! Every player winning a WSOP main event seat through a Virgin Poker satellite will be flown direct from London Gatwick to Las Vegas by Virgin Atlantic. Ensuring supreme comfort for the duration of the trip, players will also be put up in a top Vegas hotel courtesy of Virgin Holidays.  Joe Legge, poker manager for Virgin Poker, said:  “Virgin Poker is the only poker room in the world which has its own airline and holiday company so it made perfect sense to offer our players the chance to win the ultimate poker package for this year’s World Series. With costs often spiraling out of control to attend the biggest and best poker tournaments around the world, we wanted to give our players the opportunity to spend all their winnings on simply enjoying themselves. We are proud to be the only poker room that can offer this exciting opportunity.” Virgin Poker will also be running a series of guaranteed WSOP satellites during March, April and May 2008 to add even more value to its WSOP offering. Tri-weekly €275 finals will each have one €8,500 WSOP prize package, including €1,500 spending money. Guaranteed satellites will run daily in the run up to the finals – offering players plenty of opportunities to win the poker trip of a lifetime. Joe Legge commented: “Virgin Poker’s comparatively small site means there is likely to be overlay in most of the daily satellites and finals. Add this to the extra €2,000 worth of free flights and accommodation and our WSOP promotion offers huge value for anyone attempting to get to the World Series this summer.” Virgin Poker’s WSOP satellites: €8,500 Package + €2,000 Virgin Bonus

• $10,000 (€7,000 equiv) Main Event seat
• €1,500 spending money
• Return Virgin Atlantic flight from London Gatwick to Las Vegas
• Hotel accommodation for the duration of your stay

 There will be FOUR Virgin WSOP Finals:

• €250 + €25 buy-in
• One package per 34 players entered
• One package guaranteed per final
• Wednesdays 19^th March, 9^th April, 30^th April and 21^st May at 8.30pm (GMT)

 Virgin WSOP Satellites will run daily from Monday 3^rd March:

• €25 + €2.50 freezeout everyday at 8.30pm (GMT)
• €10 + €1 rebuy every Saturday and Sunday at 5pm (GMT)
• One WSOP Final seat for every €250 in the prize pool
• One WSOP Final seat guaranteed in every satellite

 For more information on Virgin Poker, please visit http://travis.bosscasinos.com/re.asp?name=POK&camp=vpnewspr&go=http://www.virginpoker.com- Ends - About Virgin GamesVirgin Games (http://www.virgingames.com), a subsidiary of Virgin.com Ltd, launched in July 2004 and has quickly established itself as one of the leading gaming websites in the UK. Virgin Games comprises three distinct offerings:  

• Virgin Poker, part of the Boss Media network, offers a huge array of games and content for beginners through to experienced pros – as well as the most generous loyalty scheme in the industry
• Virgin Bingo, part of the St Minver network, offers cash prizes worth thousands of pounds in the progressive jackpots, as well as featuring regular celebrity guests in the Virgin chatroom  
• Virgin Casino, part of the Wagerworks network, brings consumers classic casino offerings like blackjack and roulette, as well as great feature slots like Elvis, MegaJackpots and The Wheel of Fortune

 For media enquiries please contact: Alison WallaceNelson Bostock CommunicationsT: +44 (0) 20 7229 4400E: virgin@nelsonbostock.com

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Black Hawk and Central City, two of the three mountain gambling towns in Colorado, will hold a dog-and-pony show Thursday in Denver to spotlight how much the industry has generated in tax revenue for the state. The industry’s count is $1.1 billion. The money has gone to the state general fund and for historic preservation of more than 600 sites in Colorado. The industry says the state historical fund, armed with gaming money, has issued 3,000 grants to historic sites such as the Colorado State Capitol, Daniels & Fisher Tower, Grant Humphreys Mansion and Central City Opera House.
Thursday’s PR extravaganza is part of a “public awareness campaign” the towns are launching to inform the public that “when people visit Black Hawk and Central City to play, dine or attend local attractions, everyone in Colorado wins.”
The biggest winners of all, of course, are the casino operators and the towns themselves.
I can only guess that this PR move is a precursor to a push for higher bet limits and longer operating hours, which may come through a referred measure sponsored by Rep. Al White or a ballot initiative to put the issue on November’s ballot. The industry could also be setting itself up for a big PR battle against a possible push for slot machines by the state’s dog and horse track operators.

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