Lakes Entertainment, Inc. Announces Filing of Petition for Casino Referendum with...

Lakes Entertainment, Inc. Announces Filing of Petition for Casino Referendum with Ohio Secretary of State

MINNEAPOLIS--(Business Wire)--
Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: LACO) announced today that it
has filed a petition with the Ohio Secretary of State containing over
750,000 signatures from the requisite number of counties to place a
referendum permitting one casino in Ohio on the November 4, 2008
statewide ballot. Ohio law requires at least 402,225 valid signatures
to place the referendum on the ballot. The Ohio Secretary of State
will forward the petition to the board of elections for each county to
verify that the signatures on the petition are valid. Typically, the
board of elections verifies the signatures within three to four weeks
following receipt of the petitions.

"We are pleased with the number of signatures that we have
obtained and believe it shows that a significant number of Ohio
residents want a casino in their state," said Tim Cope, President of
Lakes. "We anticipate that the Secretary of State will verify that we
have enough valid signatures to place the referendum on the ballot."

Under the current development plan, construction of the planned
casino would likely commence within 12 - 18 months after the
referendum is approved, and the casino would open approximately 18
months after construction commences. The casino is expected to employ
up to 5,000 people and could generate over $200 million in gaming tax
revenues that would be divided directly among all 88 Ohio counties on
a per capita basis.

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(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, obtaining a
sufficient number of signatures to place the Ohio casino resort
initiative on the November 4, 2008 Ohio statewide election ballot or
if the referendum is placed on that ballot, that the referendum will
pass 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.

Investor Relations:
Integrated Corporate Relations
William Schmitt, 203-682-8200
investorrelations@lakesentertainment.com
or
Lakes Entertainment, Inc.
Timothy Cope, 952-449-7030

Copyright Business Wire 2008