Greektown partners give documents to state regulators

Thursday, June 22, 2000 | 9:49 a.m.

Wednesday was the Michigan Gaming Control Board's deadline for receiving the documents from Ted and Maria Gatzaros and Dimitrios and Viola Papas.

Problems discovered during background checks forced the two couples to put their stake in what would be Detroit's third temporary casino up for sale in January.

They announced earlier this month that they planned to sell to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which already owns 50 percent of Greektown Casino. Detroit-area investors own the remaining 10 percent.

Nelson Westrin, the gaming board's director, said regulators by Wednesday required the two couples and the tribe to provide details of the proposed sale for review by the agency's financial advisers.

The Papases and Gatzaroses said when announcing the sale that they hoped it would allow the casino to open late this summer. But it was not known whether the information supplied Wednesday was detailed enough to meet the gaming board's requirements.

A message left Thursday morning at Westrin's Lansing office was not immediately returned.

But if regulators are satisfied with the sale agreement, then the gaming board would vote on it at its scheduled July 11 meeting, followed one week later by a public hearing, The Detroit News reported in Thursday editions.

If approved, Greektown Casino this summer will begin hiring the first of more than 2,000 employees, spokesman Roger Martin said earlier. The casino is to feature 2,500 slot machines and 96 table games in a new, 75,000-square-foot building in the Greektown entertainment district.