Lakes Entertainment, Inc. Announces Hiring of Peter Fordham as General Manager of...

Lakes Entertainment, Inc. Announces Hiring of Peter Fordham as General Manager of Red Hawk Casino

MINNEAPOLIS--(Business Wire)--
Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: LACO) announced today that
Peter Fordham has been named General Manager of the Red Hawk Casino,
currently being constructed near Shingle Springs, California and to be
managed by Lakes Entertainment and owned by the Shingle Springs Band
of Miwok Indians. Mr. Fordham has more than 30 years of experience in
the gaming and hospitality industry, specializing in the management of
large scale, full-service Native American owned casinos.

Mr. Fordham comes to the Red Hawk Casino from S & K Gaming, LLC, a
tribally chartered entity owned by the Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes of northwest Montana, where he served as principal
operating officer. He was responsible for managing operations for the
Tribe's gaming and hospitality facilities, including the KwaTaqNuk
Resort Casino and the Gray Wolf Peak Casino, also in northwest
Montana.

"I am very excited to be working with the Shingle Springs Tribal
Gaming Authority and Lakes Entertainment," said Mr. Fordham. "I
believe that the Red Hawk Casino will be the premier gaming
destination in northern California upon its opening later this year."

Mr. Fordham previously served as corporate senior vice president
of operations for Cascade Entertainment Group, LLC, a casino and
resort management company that partnered with Native American tribes
in California. During his four years with the company, Mr. Fordham led
the development and opening of Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in
Coarsegold, California.

Prior to joining Cascade, he held senior-level positions with
Grand Casino Coushatta in Kinder, Louisiana, including general manager
and assistant general manager, and at Grand Casino Hinckley in
Hinckley, Minnesota.

Tim Cope, President of Lakes stated, "Mr. Fordham brings with him
a strong history of gaming experience and overall casino resort
management expertise. I consider Peter a great choice as the General
Manager to open and manage the Red Hawk Casino."

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. We are 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 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(R) 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, need for
current financing to meet Lakes' operational and development needs;
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 WPTE's significant dependence on the GSN as a current source
of revenue, and the risk that GSN will not exercise its options to air
seasons of the WPT series beyond Season Six; 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.

Investor Relations:
Integrated Corporate Relations
William Schmitt, 203-682-8200
investorrelations@lakesentertainment.com
or
For Further Information:
Timothy Cope, 952-449-7030

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