Tuesday, March 04, 2008

NEWS RELEASE March 4, 2008

Contact: Fred Karger 949-494-4750

Basketball Stars Send Post Cards to Steven Udvar-Hazy
Hope to Get Billionaire to Help SAVE the BOOM!!!


LAGUNA BEACH, CA – SAVE the BOOM!!! www.savetheboom.com today announced that it mailed off its 500th yellow post card to Coast Inn and Boom Boom Room property owner Steven Udvar-Hazy.

Two of the yellow cards were signed by basketball greats Dennis Rodman and John Amaechi. They are the latest celebrities to voice their support to save the landmark gay bar in Laguna Beach. Actresses Florence Henderson and Fran Drescher earlier had signed and mailed in post cards to help save the landmark gay bar.

Fred Karger, Founder of SAVE the BOOM!!! said, “we are incredibly excited about the outpouring of support for our cause. On behalf of all of us involved in the effort, I want to thank Dennis Rodman and John Amaechi for their help. They are two of professional basketball’s greatest players ever, and we are so happy to mail in our 499th and 500th post cards to Mr. Udvar-Hazy signed by these two American Heroes. “

Rodman led the NBA in rebounds for a record seven consecutive years. He played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks. He was a 5 time NBA Champion (1989 & 1990 -- Detroit, 1996, 1997, 1998 -- Chicago) and now lives in Newport Beach, CA.

Amaechi, 6 ft 10 in, 270 lb played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and then played in Europe before signing with the Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz, New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. In February 2007, Amaechi publicly announced that he is gay and became the first player associated with the NBA to come out. Since then he has been very active in many gay organizations and causes. Amaechi lives in Los Angeles, CA.

“We will fight for our 61 year old landmark and hope that Mr. Udvar-Hazy do the right thing and reopen these businesses. The postcards are addressed to the Airplane Tycoon at in Los Angeles office and ask him to help us by either reducing his asking price or consider donating the building that he owns to the City of Laguna Beach or to a newly created trust,” said Karger. The Coast Inn and the Boom Boom Room are located at 1401 S. Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, CA. “He could donate the property and we could keep it as a gay bar, hotel and restaurant and even include a gay and lesbian community center in the historic building. We have an operator all lined up if Mr. Udvar-Hazy is willing to do this. And If the building were remodeled it could become the finest gay resort destination in the world and become a huge money maker for its owner,” said Karger.

Steven Udvar-Hazy is the CEO of International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) in Los Angeles, and he was ranked the 83rd richest American on the 2007 Forbes list with a net worth of $3.1 billion. ILFC is a wholly-owned division of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG), the world's largest Insurance and Financial Services Company.

The yellow SAVE the BOOM Post Cards are in stores around Laguna Beach and have been signed by hundreds of people both gay and straight from all over the world. Anyone interested in getting post cards should email savetheboom@aol.com or call 949-494-4750

“We are going to keep up our campaign to save our landmark bar for as long as it takes,” concluded Karger.

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