Boilers to stay, not
play, at Las Vegas casino
From Staff and Wire Reports
After Las Vegas tournament promoters received pressure
from the NCAA, the 22 teams, including Purdue, that will play in tournaments
in Las Vegas will not play games at a casino hotel.
However, the players will be staying at casino
hotels.
"This solution is a win-win for our program and
our fans," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "We take the games out of the
casino area, but our fans can still have the Las Vegas holiday that
so many were excited about."
Purdue plays in the Las Vegas Classic Dec. 20-22,
along with Cincinnati, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Richmond, Southwest
Missouri State, Illinois-Chicago and Louisiana-Monroe. The classic is
the third of three tournaments that will take place in Las Vegas this
season. The other two are the Las Vegas Tourney, which runs from Nov.
19-21, and the Las Vegas Invitational, which goes from Nov. 22-24.
The NCAA gave approval earlier this month to move
the three tournaments from the Paris Las Vegas casino hotel ballroom
to Valley High School, which is four miles from the famous Las Vegas
strip. The high school seats 2,000 and has a court that can accommodate
college games.
The NCAA was more concerned with the site of the
games than the site of the teams' stays, said Chris Spencer, one of
the tournaments' promoters.
The NCAA does not have a policy prohibiting the
teams from staying at gambling establishments. But in July, NCAA president
Cedric Dempsey said teams were "wrong" for playing in tournaments at
casinos. Some participating teams also disapproved of the venues.
"We have moved. We've been approved to move. I
guess we are happy that this chapter is over," Spencer said.
Spencer, of Worldwide Basketball Inc. in Cincinnati,
said he had contracted for rooms at the Paris where the casino is separate
from the hotel. Therefore, teams will stay at the originally planned
location because it is still legal.
"That's the prerogative of the schools," said NCAA
spokeswoman Jane Jankowski. "That is not to say that at some time it
is not an issue that will be addressed, but that is not the current
policy."
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