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NBA OWNERS VOTE WEDNESDAY ON BETTING RESTRICTION

October 20, 2008 - 8:35 am
 

NBA owners are voting Wednesday on whether to allow the Palms race and sports book the opportunity to book NBA bets, excluding Sacramento Kings games.

The Maloof family, who own the Palms and the Kings, have been attempting to get the league to permit league bets at a casino controlled by an NBA owner.

"It has puts us at a competitive disadvantage," said Palms co-owner George Maloof.

The Maloofs have sought the change since purchasing the Kings in 1997. They have been in the gaming business since 1994, when they opened the Fiesta casino in North Las Vegas. The NBA applied the restrictions in 1997 and kept it in place when the Palms opened in 2001.

Maloof family members met with all the owners in the spring and "they seemed pretty receptive to it. It's a major thing for them because they've never allowed a company that controls a team and a casino to allow NBA betting."

The restriction goes back to when the former owners of Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and NHL Rangers also owned Caesars Palace.

The vote takes place in New York at the annual owners meeting.

-- NORM CLARKE, Vegas Confidential

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