Detroit Casinos Taking Shape

... head to head for business against the MotorCity Casino and MGM Grand Detroit Casino.

There are serious dollars at stake here. Currently all three casinos have temporary venues open, which raked in about $1.2 billion in 2005 alone. MotorCity Casino pulled in the most with $432.2 million, while the MGM Grand Detroit Casino emptied gamblers pockets of $460.7 million while the Greektown Casino, which was the last entry in the market, earned nearly $100 million less with just under $335.6 million.

Now Greektown is in a serious game of catch-up and is months behind the other facilities in starting construction. The property’s owners have already dumped $275 million into the project to open the temporary facility and will invest another $200 million for a hotel, parking garage and a 25,000 square foot expansion of the gaming floor to bring it up to 100,000 square feet. The total project budget is $475 million, which includes $275 million already invested in the current Greektown Casino and $200 million for a new hotel, parking garage, gaming floor expansion. 1,500-seat entertainment venue, meeting and convention room space, spa and more dining options.

MotorCity started work on its $275 million permanent facility late last year and expects to open by late 2007 or early 2008 while MGM started earlier this year on its from the ground up property, a $765 million project expected to open in early 2008. Each casino will feature thousands of slot machines.

The major differences between the city’s permanent and temporary casinos are expanded casino floor space and hotel rooms. By law, each casino must contain a hotel of at least 400 rooms.

Now speculators are postulating this delay will set back Greektown’s ability to ever dig its way out of last place in the market’s battle for bucks.

Roger Martin, spokesman for Greektown Casino, which is owned by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians told the Detroit Free Press acknowledged this delay will inevitably be costly. "There is no doubt the delay will cost Greektown money. But it's a lot more difficult from a process point to get moving in a downtown business district like Greektown. There are so many people affected by what we are doing. We're moving a big thing into a business district. Everyone has to feel comfortable with it," said Martin.

Some of the delay was attributed to the Sault Tribe choosing late last year to expand the temporary casino rather than start from the ground up in a separate location. This decision required new plans to be drawn up but did save the Tribe about $200 million since the brand new facility would have cost about $450 million to build. 

When complete the MotorCity Casino will contain a 17 floor, 400 room hotel tower featuring spa, retail outlets, restaurants and a lounge together as well as a parking structure. MGM Grand Detroit Casino's permanent facility will include a 401-room hotel, convention space and a 100,000 square foot casino. The MGM Grand Detroit is the largest construction project in Michigan and will be styled as an art deco palace

"MGM recognizes that the city of Detroit is on the verge of being a destination location," said Jamaine Dickens, MGM spokesperson. "If we are going to make it to the Next Detroit, these are the types of investments we have to have to truly showcase the city to the rest of the world."

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