• Motown stars, developer try their hand at online gambling

November 22, 2005 -- The Detroit News -- A group of Motown entertainers including The Four Tops and The Miracles have agreed to invest in and market an Internet gaming site that is expected to go live in February, even though the United States prohibits online gambling, an investor said. Detroit developer Herb Strather, who helped lead a successful ballot issue in the late 1990s that brought three casinos to the city, said the Internet gaming site will be called Motown Legends Casino. Gamblers will be able to place bets on the site in 64 countries that allow Internet gaming, including the United Kingdom. In the United States, gamblers can play the site for fun, Strather said. The U.S. version could generate revenue from advertisements. "Part of our motivation to create Motown Legends Casino is to provide a source of revenue for our Motown stars," said Strather, president of Strather & Associates, a development and investment firm. "We also felt Motown music transcends generations and is known around the world, so it would be a great vehicle for getting the word out." Strather declined to predict first-year revenue for the gaming site. "We're still working out all of the details," he said, "but the site will include popular games like slots, craps and roulette." The site is being developed as Internet gaming could generate $10 billion in profits this year, according to gaming analysts. One of the biggest markets for online gaming is the United States, where users access sites operated in other countries. The practice is illegal, but U.S. authorities don't actively track such activity because it is more focused on homeland security and other matters, analysts say. "Online gaming is a big growth industry because you don't need much money to get a site up and running," said Jake Miklojcik, president of Michigan Consultants, an economic development firm in Lansing that tracks the gaming industry. "But there are literally thousands of sites out there, so the competition is pretty fierce." Miklojcik estimates about 3 percent of U.S. adults have tried online gaming, and some gaming executives argue that online betting may be legal in states that allow casinos, such as Michigan, New Jersey and Nevada. "There are some religious concerns out there about online gaming, but there are lawyers out there right now arguing that intrastate online gaming is legal," Miklojcik said. "That's up to our legal system to work out, but they could be on to something." Strather has partnered with Atlantis Internet Group, a gaming management and software company in Nevada, to operate Motown Legends Casino. Atlantis' online technology allows wagers to be placed on most computers and hand-held digital devices where allowed by law. The company also provides software for "play for fun" gaming sites. "The amazing thing about Motown artists is that they are known around the world," said Donald Bailey, chairman of Atlantis. "We believe that gives us a major advantage over the competition." Other artists that have agreed to invest in the site include the Contours and the Dramatics as well as Freda and Scherrie Payne, Strather said. Not all of the entertainers recorded under Motown Records, which was founded in Detroit by Berry Gordy Jr. The site will be formally announced next month. A kickoff party is set for Feb.4 at the Masonic Temple in Detroit. The concert will coincide with several other parties in Detroit planned around Super Bowl XL, the National Football League's championship game, which will be held the next day at Ford Field. Strather said a four-month international tour will be launched in April by a host of entertainment-related investors to help market Motown Legends Casino. Scheduled concerts will be held in Paris, London, Tokyo and Shanghai. Many of the entertainers involved in the project could not be reached for comment Monday because they are currently on a European tour. Charles Davis, a vocalist for the Contours, said he was looking forward to the gaming site. "We feel the casino is a great idea and we're looking forward to the tour," Davis said. "It's another way for us to generate revenues." "The tour will include the Four Tops, the Miracles, the Contours and many more," Strather said. "We're calling it Motown Music Fest and we hope it will draw a lot of fans and a lot of attention to Motown Legends Casino." You can reach R.J. King at (313) 222-2504 or rjking@detnews.com.

> Read the full story here Source: DetNews.com

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