Subpoena issued

Wednesday, March 27, 2002 | 11:43 a.m.

CHICAGO -- Federal officials have served a subpoena on the Illinois Gaming Board, demanding records relating to MGM MIRAGE's failed bid for a lucrative casino license in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, the Chicago Tribune reported today.

The March 12 subpoena seeks all records relating to contacts between gaming board personnel, Las Vegas-based MGM MIRAGE and Emerald Casino, which was denied in its attempt to transfer a casino license from a defunct Illinois casino to the Rosemont site.

MGM MIRAGE and Emerald reached an agreement with Board Administrator Philip Parenti to acquire Emerald for $615 million, with $160 million going to Illinois to settle the Emerald charges. On Friday, the board formally rejected this deal.

The subpoena also demands all cell phone and office phone records for Parenti and Mark Ostrowski, the board's chief legal counsel; internal security logs on visitors to the gaming board; and all transcripts and minutes of gaming board executive meetings while Parenti was administrator.

The subpoena is the second in the Rosemont investigation this year. In January, the board was subpoenaed by federal agents for records on the Emerald Casino, specifically those on the land where the casino was to have been built.

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