PALMS CASINO TO ALLOW NBA BETTING

The NBA Board of Governors voted to allow the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas to accept bets on league games, even though the Maloof family owns both the casino and the Sacramento Kings, owner George Maloof Jr. said Thursday. Maloof told The Associated Press the unanimous vote Thursday means that for the first time the Palms will be allowed to take wagers on all NBA teams, except the Kings. The arrangement is similar to a deal between the NBA and casino company Harrah's Entertainment Inc., whose chief executive, Gary Loveman, owns a 2.4 percent stake in the Boston Celtics. Harrah's casinos accept wagers on all NBA games except those involving the Celtics."The Celtics kind of opened the door a little bit," Maloof said. "We just thought it would be fair to do the same thing with us." Maloof said he had talked to the league for some time about such an arrangement, but began a formal push about six months ago.