MINNEAPOLIS–(EMWNews)–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^® 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.

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