Exhibit 99.1
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| | NEWS RELEASE
Lakes Entertainment, Inc.
130 Cheshire Lane, Suite 101
Minnetonka, MN 55305
952-449-9092
952-449-9353 (fax)
www.lakesentertainment.com
(NASDAQ: LACO) |
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
William Schmitt — Integrated Corporate Relations
203-682-8200,investorrelations@lakesentertainment.com
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Timothy Cope — 952-449-7030
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 7, 2008
LAKES ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES DIVIDEND OF WPT
ENTERPRISES, INC. COMMON STOCK
MINNEAPOLIS — October 7, 2008 — Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: LACO) announced today that on October 1, 2008, its Board of Directors declared a stock dividend of all of the Company’s shares in WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: WPTE). The record date for the dividend will be 5:00 PM Central Daylight Time on October 24, 2008. The record date establishes the shareholders of record entitled to the dividend and will be used to determine the ratio of WPTE shares to be distributed per Lakes share. The date of distribution will be November 21, 2008. Lakes currently owns 12,480,000 shares, or approximately 61 percent, of the outstanding common stock of WPTE.
“The spin-off of WPTE shares to our shareholders provides an option for them to monetize the value of WPTE shares if they so choose,” said Tim Cope, President and Chief Financial Officer of Lakes. “In addition, Lakes will benefit in that we will no longer be required to consolidate WPTE’s financial and business information in our SEC filings. This will enable us to provide greater transparency of Lakes’ operations and financial results to our shareholders and the public.”
The number of shares of WPTE common stock that each holder of a share of Lakes common stock will receive will be based on the actual number of shares of Lakes common stock outstanding on the record date. Based on the approximately 26.0 million shares of Lakes common stock outstanding as of October 7, 2008, the distribution ratio would be approximately 0.4795348696 shares of WPTE for every share of Lakes.
An information statement will be mailed to Lakes shareholders of record after October 24, 2008. The information statement will include the final distribution ratio, as well as general information on the taxation of the distribution.
About Lakes Entertainment
Lakes Entertainment, Inc. currently has development and management or financing agreements with four separate Tribes for casino operations in Michigan, California, and Oklahoma, for a total of five separate casino sites. Lakes is currently managing the Cimarron Casino for the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Four Winds Casino Resort for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. Lakes is also involved in other business activities, including possible development of a Company owned casino resort project in Vicksburg, Mississippi and the development of new table games for licensing to Tribal and non-Tribal casinos. The Company also owns approximately 61 percent of WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: WPTE), a separate publicly held media and entertainment company engaged in the creation of internationally branded entertainment and consumer products driven by the development, production and marketing of televised programming based on gaming themes, including the World Poker Tour® television series, the operation of an online gaming website, the licensing and sale of branded products and the sale of corporate sponsorships.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by Lakes Entertainment, Inc.) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to plans for future expansion and other business development activities as well as other capital spending, financing sources and the effects of regulation (including gaming and tax regulation) and competition. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the company. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, passage of the Ohio casino resort initiative on the November 4, 2008 Ohio statewide election ballot or if the referendum passes, that it will not subsequently be challenged or that other developments will not prevent or delay the project; need for current financing to meet Lakes’ operational and development needs, including financing needs related to the Ohio casino resort initiative; those relating to the inability to complete or possible delays in completion of Lakes’ casino projects, including various regulatory approvals and numerous other conditions which must be satisfied before completion of these projects; possible termination or adverse modification of management or development contracts; Lakes operates in a highly competitive industry; possible changes in regulations; reliance on continued positive relationships with Indian tribes and repayment of amounts owed to Lakes by Indian tribes; possible need for future financing to meet Lakes’ expansion goals; risks of entry into new businesses; reliance on Lakes’ management; and the fact that the WPTE shares held by Lakes are currently not liquid assets, and there is no assurance that Lakes will be able to realize value from these holdings equal to the current or future market value of WPTE common stock. There are also risks and uncertainties relating to WPTE that may have a material effect on the company’s consolidated results of operations or the market value of the WPTE shares held by the company, including the risk that WPTE may not obtain sufficient sponsorship revenues for Season Seven programming of the WPT series; difficulty of predicting the growth of WPTE’s online gaming business, which is a relatively new industry with an increasing number of market entrants; reliance on the efforts of CryptoLogic to develop and maintain the online gaming website in compliance with WPTE’s business model and applicable gaming laws; the potential that WPTE’s television programming will fail to maintain a sufficient audience; the risk that WPTE may not be able to protect its entertainment concepts, current and future brands and other intellectual property rights; the risk that competitors with greater financial resources or marketplace presence might develop television programming that would directly compete with WPTE’s television programming; risks associated with future expansion into new or complementary businesses; the termination or impairment of WPTE’s relationships with key licensing and strategic partners; and WPTE’s dependence on its senior management team. For more information, review the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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