Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Bill Ratifyting Compact to Allow up to 5,000 Class III Slots at Red Hawk Casino

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNS BILL RATIFYTING COMPACT TO ALLOW UP TO 5,000 CLASS III SLOTS AT RED HAWK CASINO

MINNEAPOLIS – September 30, 2008 – Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: LACO) announced today that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed the bill ratifying the amended compact between the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians and the State of California, which will allow for Class III gaming to be offered at the Red Hawk Casino located in Shingle Springs, California. The casino is currently under construction and will be managed by Lakes Entertainment.
“We are pleased that the California legislature has ratified the compact and that Governor Schwarzenegger has signed the bill,” said Lakes’ President and Chief Financial Officer Tim Cope. “With the ratification complete, the amended compact will now be submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for its approval. We expect to receive BIA approval prior to the opening of the Red Hawk Casino, which remains on schedule for the end of this year.”
The new compact runs through 2029 and allows for a maximum of 5,000 Class III electronic gaming devices (slot machines) at one gaming facility. In addition, the Shingle Springs Band will share revenues with the state based on a sliding scale percentage of net win – ranging from 20 percent to 25 percent – from the operation of the slot machines. The Tribe will also contribute $4.6 million per year to the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund, which pays up to $1.1 million each year to non-gaming tribes in California.
Subject to receiving all final approvals, upon its opening, the Red Hawk Casino plans to feature approximately 2,000 Class III slot machines, 75 table games, a high stakes gaming room, as well as 10 food and beverage outlets, enclosed parking and other facilities. The Tribe estimates that the casino will generate approximately 2,000 new jobs.

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® television series, the operation of an online gaming website, the licensing and sale of branded products and the sale of corporate sponsorships.