Casino News

Costner 'dances with money'

2006-10-06 09:00:00

Actor and director Kevin Costner is in legal trouble over an investment he made in a casino in South Dakota.

Costner filmed his Academy Award winning film Dances with Wolves near the casino's site in the late 1980s.

In 2004 Costner fired his business partners, Francis and Carla Caneva, who claim that the casino was under valued when they were paid out.

A personal accountant of the actor valued the business at £1.64 million when the deal was going through.

However, to keep ownership of the casino, Costner may have to pay £3.9 million, which has been determined as its new worth.

A manager for a competing casino in the nearby town of Deadwood told the court that he would double the original price that Costner claimed for ownership of the casino.

The judged agreed with the larger figure and ordered that Costner was to pay that amount or the casino would go on sale on the open market.

Costner is appealing the case, as he claims that the £3 million figure was set without official financial documents.