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Amid Timberlake flap, PR firm cuts casino ties

www.indystar.com
3.18.09

Justin Timberlake in Shelbyville? It seemed too good to be true -- and evidently it was.

A day after the pop star's publicist said Timberlake never agreed to attend Friday's ribbon-cutting ceremony for Indiana Live! Casino, the only business that's talking is the casino's local public relations firm.

Its message: We quit.

The reason: It can't even get its yearlong client on the phone.

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After the no-show involving actor and singer Justin Timberlake, Indianapolis-based Coles Marketing said it no longer would represent the casino because its officials would not return Coles' calls.

"We simply won't continue working with a client with whom we cannot communicate when it is our job to communicate for and with them," said President Barbara Coles, adding that she was just as surprised as anyone when Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel were no-shows.

Timberlake's publicist, however, told The Star on Monday night that the entertainer never made plans to attend opening festivities, which drew 8,000 customers to the casino. She did not elaborate.

So was it a hoax to draw large crowds to the opening? The mayor of Shelbyville says no.

"I guarantee it was not a (hoax). They thought he was going to be there," Mayor Scott Furgeson said. The mayor said David Cordish, president of Baltimore-based Cordish Cos., which runs the casino, is a friend of Timberlake's.

The casino hired 13 Shelbyville police officers to deal with the crowds the opening -- and Timberlake's supposed appearance -- would bring.

03.19.2009. 18:06

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