And
the Oscar Goes to ... GoldenPalace.com? Internet Casino
Leases Academy Award for $30,000
Press
Release
LOS
ANGELES, California - GoldenPalace.com,
the Internet casino that has become synonymous with outrageous
and unusual advertising campaigns, has leased Morris Stoloff's
1960 academy award for scoring of the musical picture
"Song Without End" for 999 years. The privilege
of harboring the Oscar cost the gaming site $30,000.
"We've
been trying to buy an Oscar, but the academy's legal agreement
clearly states that most of them can't be sold, so we
had to think creatively," said casino spokesman Drew
Black. "The agreement says nothing about leasing."
For
years the Academy has prevented private sales and public
auctions of Oscars bestowed after 1951, when winners were
required to sign off that the statuettes were the property
of the Academy. Leasing the Oscars however, is a different
story, and has academy lawyers in a bit of a quandary.
GoldenPalace.com
originally offered $100,000 to Margaret O'Brien to lease
her honorary Oscar for Outstanding Juvenile Performer
of 1944. She played wisecracking, doll-burying "Tootie"
in "Meet Me in St. Louis."
"Many
former Oscar winners have their awards sitting on a mantle
collecting dust," continued Black. "Some of
them may want to use their awards to make some extra cash
or get themselves back into the spotlight. We're more
than happy to help."
GoldenPalace.com
has made headlines with their eccentric purchases before
and often used their media exposure to raise awareness
and money for charity.
"Being
in the public eye as a result of this campaign, we feel
obligated to mention the efforts of One.org," continued
Black. "We aren't formally affiliated with them but
we urge people to go to www.One.org and find out more
about this wonderful charity that seeks to 'make poverty
history.' Please take the time to check them out."
Although
O'Brien's statuette was bestowed before the 1951 cut-off,
which normally means its recipient may sell it, she promised
the academy she wouldn't.
"It's
a very rare Oscar because only a few were ever bestowed
to child stars like me, Judy Garland and Shirley Temple,"
O'Brien said. "I have a daughter who I plan to leave
it to after I go, but if she tells me she doesn't want
it, and if it's OK with the academy, I may decide to lease
it. We'll see. Maybe next year."
GoldenPalace.com
spokesman Black added, "Our offer to Ms. O'Brien
still stands and we'd like other Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and
Golden Globe winners to know that we're open to leasing
their statuettes, too. It's a great chance for them to
lease their awards to an organization that plans to put
them on public view so they can be shared with everyone."
The
Stoloff award will be added to a traveling museum that
the casino has developed to exhibit all their oddities
and unusual purchases, including William Shatner's Kidney
Stone, Britney Spears' Pregnancy Test, Virgin Mary Grilled
Cheese Sandwich, and others.
Wynn
sells Macau casino rights to PBL
As
Reported by the Associate Press
LAS
VEGAS - Casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. said Sunday
it had agreed to sell the right to build a casino resort
in Macau to Australian media and entertainment group Publishing
and Broadcasting Ltd. (PBL) for $900 million.
The
value of the deal, which is still subject to Macau government
approval, far exceeded analysts' forecasts.
"We
had expected a sale price of $200 million in our previous
target," Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. analyst Celeste
Brown wrote in a research note. "The $900 million
price even exceeds what we believed to be the high-end
of any sale range."
The
sale does not affect Wynn's plans to open casinos of its
own in Macau, but prevents Las Vegas rival Harrah's Entertainment
Inc., the world's largest casino operator, from breaking
into the Macau gambling market without a partner, Brown
said.
"What's
good for Macau is good for Wynn Resorts," CEO Steve
Wynn said in a statement.
Wynn's
subconcession was the last available Macau license until
at least 2009, she said. Wynn plans to open its Wynn Macau
resort on Sept. 5.
PBL
is one of Australia's largest entertainment groups and
owns and operates the Crown
casino in Melbourne and Burswood
casino in Perth.
It
said in a release it would split its economic interest
50-50 with new partner Melco International Development
Ltd. for all joint casino ventures in Macau.
Melco
will buy a $160 million, 40 percent stake in the subconcession
purchase, while PBL was to pay $240 million. The other
$500 million would be funded by debt, PBL said.