Regulators order review

Friday, Jan. 24, 2003 | 10 a.m.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The state gambling board has refused to immediately approve a $21 million settlement to end the long dispute over Bally's riverboat casino, instead deciding to hold a special meeting next month.

Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Hillary Crain said he didn't believe the board should approve the settlement until state police investigate the parties involved and review the proposal.

"I do not recommend and will not recommend, but it's up to the board, that we approve the transfer without the state police report in front of us. We have never done that before," Crain said.

Norbert Simmons, whose Metro Riverboat Associates Inc. owns 50.1 percent of the New Orleans dockside casino, signed an agreement Dec. 20 to sell his share to a subsidiary of Park Place Entertainment Corp. of Las Vegas, which holds the other 49.9 percent and runs Bally's casino. The two companies need gambling board approval for the deal.

Metro and Bally's Louisiana Inc., the Park Place subsidiary, have been involved in a five-year dispute, including numerous lawsuits, over the riverboat's operation.