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Cavs buyer downplays gambling arrest
The man buying the Cleveland Cavaliers said Tuesday he doesn't think a gambling-related arrest when he was in college will affect the deal.
Gilbert said the gambling involved a weekly football pool that he likened to a weekly poker game. He said that several students were involved and that he was one of the few arrested.
According to a story in the Lansing State Journal, Gilbert was arrested with three other students in 1981 on charges of operating a bookmaking ring at Michigan State that handled $114,000 in bets on football and basketball games.
Gilbert said Tuesday the pool was only related to football and that dollar amounts listed in media reports have been exaggerated.
"If this is relevant to the purchase of an NBA basketball team, maybe you guys can answer that," Gilbert said. "If I was concerned, I wouldn't have gone through this process. No, I am not concerned."
Gilbert, founder of the nation's largest online mortgage company, agreed to buy the Cavaliers for $375 million from Gordon Gund.
The deal is pending approval from the NBA.
Gilbert said he told the league about his arrest. He also said he has been personally investigated by nearly all 50 states as an officer of a mortgage lending institution.
He is chairman of Quicken Loans Inc., a $12 billion Web-based mortgage lender based near Detroit.
The NBA said Monday it was just beginning to review Gilbert's application.
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