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LV firm wins 90-day license

Thursday, Feb. 13, 2003 | 9:35 a.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Cole County judge has ordered the Missouri Gaming Commission to issue Las Vegas-based slot machine maker Sigma Game Inc. a 90-day license.

The judge said the 90-day license will give the parties time for a full hearing and due process.

At issue is a $20 million loan made about three years ago from Kazuo Okada to the owner of Sigma's parent company, Katsuki Manabe. Okada is one of Japan's richest men and chief executive of Aruze Corp., a Tokyo-based maker of gambling devices.

Manabe is a former director of Aruze Corp.

The Missouri Gaming Commission said it first learned of the loan last year and aimed to find out more about the relationship between Okada and Manabe.

Okada refused to submit to a background check, forcing the commission to refuse Sigma's license renewal based on rules requiring that key executives, investors and other "key persons" submit to background checks, the commission said.

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