Experts predict success for Indian casino gambling in Michigan, but marketing needed

Malcolm Johnson

Thursday, March 9, 2000 | 3:31 a.m.

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Indian casino gambling is here to stay, but its success will depend on how well it's marketed and how well Michigan's tourism industry does as a whole, officials at a Michigan State University conference said Thursday.

"I think it's going to exist for many years to come," said Richard Bailey of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians.

But he expects the demand for casino gaming is likely to level off, probably in five or 10 years.

Don Holecek of the Travel, Tourism & Recreation Resource Center at Michigan State said casinos face strong competition for consumers' dollars from other areas and other attractions.

He didn't discuss how three Detroit casinos would affect Indian gaming. But he said he found the prospect of Internet gambling "very frightening," since it will take high stakes gambling into people's homes.

He also said casinos are not attracting younger people.

"We're getting growth (in tourism) ... but we're not replacing our customer base," he said.

While Indian casinos were once typically a pole barn with few amenities, "today we're much closer to a Las Vegas-type facility," he said.

But he noted that other areas were constantly updating their offerings, and said Michigan had to follow suit with coordinated marketing programs.

"Keeping up is really a challenge," he said, noting that Indian casinos depend on tourism as a whole doing well to bring in customers.

According to Michigan State, Indian gaming in the United States grew from a $300 million industry in 1991 to a $7.5 billion industry in 1999.

"The growth and development of Native American casino gaming in the United States and Michigan during the past decade has been unprecedented," said Nelson Westrin, head of the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

He said in Michigan, 18 existing tribal casinos provide nearly 500,000 square feet of gaming area and offer more than 11,000 games of chance.

The tribes net winnings exceed $625 million a year, he said.