BACKER'S CASINO MAY POSE HURDLE TO FOOTBALL TEAM.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer

Developing a $240 million sports arena for downtown Los Angeles isn't the only financial gamble the minority owner of the Los Angeles Kings is taking. He now owns the Boomtown Casino just off the Las Vegas Strip.

The usually high-profile Edward Roski Jr. kept a decidedly low one when he bought the casino, a transaction initiated through his holding company, Majestic Resorts LLC. The deal was struck in April and closed last month with little fanfare.

Roski's ownership of the casino does not conflict with his professional hockey operations, and probably will not have any impact on a possible future ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers pro basketball team.

But it could complicate plans to bring a National Football League team to Los Angeles and the arena to downtown because of fallout that could result from this politically sensitive issue.

Roski, owner of a 30 percent stake in the Kings, was returning from Paris on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. The Kings majority partner, Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, does not have any stake in the casino, his spokeswoman said.

Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs, one of the biggest critics of the proposed sports complex backed by Roski and Anschutz, heard about the casino ownership for the first time Tuesday and declined to comment.

Wachs was informed of the deal shortly after he and two other council members introduced an initiative requiring voter approval of the use of any tax money for sports facilities.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, the downtown complex's most strident proponent, said he has known about Roski's casino ownership for some time and doesn't think it's a big deal.

``This is not something that has been concealed. Why it becomes news all of a sudden is beyond me,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``He's a businessman and it's not illegal or inappropriate, so what's the issue?''

But the councilman acknowledged that divulging Roski's casino ownership will put more pressure on the arena's developers.

Roski and Anschutz have proposed a 20,000-seat, $240 million arena on the site of the North Hall of the Convention Center that would be home to the Kings and Lakers. The city has agreed in principle to raise $70.5 million through revenue bonds to help pay for the project.

Although Roski and Anschutz said last week they would guarantee the city loses no money by repaying the bond issue, Wachs said he's skeptical of their offer until it's in writing.

Roski and Anschutz are also bankrolling a possible $500 million investment to lure a National Football League team back to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

What impact Roski's casino ownership will have on those plans is unclear.

``Certainly (Roski's casino ownership) would be an area of interest,'' NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. ``There has to be a clear separation between a team and any gambling interests. It does present a potentially troublesome issue.''

Aiello noted that at this point Roski is only offering financial help to get a stadium ready for a professional team so it is premature to talk about dual ownership of a franchise and gambling establishment.

Roski and Anschutz hold a year-old option to buy a 25 percent stake in the Lakers during the next year.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss issued a statement through a team spokesman Tuesday saying Roski and Anschutz can still buy the minority stake, but he has no intention of selling the remainder of the club. And Lakers attorney James Perzik said Roski and Anschutz have not indicated when or if they will exercise their purchase option.

In any case, both the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League have similar policies to deal with owners who have interests in gambling operations: If a team owner's casino has a sports book, it can't take bets on any professional basketball or hockey games, respectively.

That's the policy now being enforced at Boomtown, said Dan Reichartz, president of Majestic Resorts. No one can place a bet on an NHL team.

``The agreement approved by the NHL is no hockey bets,'' he said.

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