Playboy to Re-enter Gaming With BId for Greek Casino

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jun 27, 1995 by David Klein

Bloomberg Business News

CHICAGO _ Playboy Enterprises Inc. said it plans to re-enter the casino business after more than 10 years through a partnership formed with Greek investors to bid for a casino license on the island of Rhodes.

The Greek government this fall is expected to award a license that grants the winner exclusive rights to operate a casino on the island for 12 years. The Playboy group is one of several bidders.

Chicago-based Playboy said it hopes to install a casino with shops and restaurants in Rhodes' Hotel des Roses. The company also seeks to become a partner in other casino projects, said Martha Lindeman, a Playboy spokeswoman.

She declined further comment on the potential casino projects.

"We have been looking for the right opportunity to re-enter the gaming business, particularly in the fast-growing international market," said Christie Hefner, Playboy's chairman and chief executive. "We believe that gaming ventures, done in partnership with others, are a logical and potentially very profitable extension of our franchise.'

The company sold a casino in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s. It also sold its 45.7 percent stake in an Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino in 1984 because company founder Hugh Hefner was denied a gaming license. The hotel, now called the Regency, is currently owned by Donald Trump.

Playboy is a minority partner in the Rhodes project. It will provide marketing services, its name and its trademark rabbit-head logo to the casino.

Among Playboy's Greek partners are a construction company, a real estate developer, a commercial bank, and a hotel operator. The Greek government expects to grant permission for roughly 10 casinos throughout Greece. Last year it awarded licenses to Casino Magic Corp. of Bay St. Louis, Miss., and a group including Chicago's Hyatt Corp.

Playboy publishes Playboy magazine and the Critics' Choice Video and Collectors' Choice Music catalogs. It also creates programming for pay television, home videos, and markets its trademarks. Playboy also owned a few non-casino resorts. It sold them in the early 1980s.