State grants license to third of Detroit’s three casinos

Jim Suhr

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000 | 9:35 a.m.

DETROIT - State gaming regulators approved a license Wednesday night for Greektown Casino, Detroit's third temporary gambling hall, despite concerns over parking issues.

The casino in downtown's Greektown entertainment district is to open Friday night, with 2,400 workers, about 2,416 slot machines and 103 game tables in 75,000 square feet of Mediterranean-themed space.

"We're ready to go," Bernard Bouschor, chairman of the Upper Peninsula's Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians that owns the majority stake in the casino, said briefly after winning licensure from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

Nelson Westrin, the board's director, told the panel that an inspection of the casino Monday found the site materially ready to open and compliant with state requirements. He recommended licensing the casino with various conditions attached to ensure future compliance with the city's development deal and with state regulations.

Though Westrin said the inspection showed adequate parking, several holders of government jobs near the gambling hall shared parking horror stories during Wednesday night's public comment portion.

Complaining that downtown parking spots already are too scarce and pricey, they told the board the problem could only worsen when the newest casino opens, with prospects that opportunistic operators of nearby private lots could hike up prices.

"We are begging you please, adjourn the vote until there's an investigation about this vital aspect," said Lynnette Aranow, who said she now pays $10-$15 per day to park.

Uneasy about the complaints, the board sought testimony from Benjamin Smith, a city development official, who told the board he didn't blame the casino for a parking problem that has existed for quite some time.

"It's not specific to a Greektown casino-related issue," Smith said. "Parking has become a premium in downtown Detroit, partly because of our resurgence."

Prior to the 5-0 vote, board chairman Thomas Denomme told casino representatives, "I don't intend to hold your license hostage to this." But Denomme urged the casino to take the lead with the city "to come up with a temporary fix fast" to the parking issue, perhaps even "take a risk."

Guy Hillyer of Millennium Management, hired to oversee the casino's operations, said casino patrons will have access to 3,400 parking spots during the day and more than 4,000 during the night - "ample parking for our guests."

Mayoral spokesman Greg Bowens said afterward that operators of private downtown lots might finally be getting their due, having "stuck it out in Detroit through tough times when counterparts (in other major cities) have been making money hand over fist."

Squabbles over parking, he said, should be viewed as encouraging signs of the rebound of a downtown, where plans include new parking structures for at least 15,000 new workers expected in the city in five years.

"Parking is going to be a long-term issue for us," Bowens said.

The casino's licensing process had been delayed for months as Greektown Casino investors Ted Gatzaros, Dimitrios Papas and their wives shopped their 40 percent stakes after state-mandated investigations uncovered problems with their backgrounds.

In August, the gambling control board approved a revised plan for the couples to sell to the tribe their interests with no prospects of reinvesting. The 28,000-member tribe owns 80 percent of the $150 million site, having sold off 10 percent of its ownership to local minorities.

The state board deemed the tribe a suitable owner of Greektown Casino in September.

Detroit already has collected tens of millions in revenue from two casinos that opened here last year, with even more expected from the Greektown one that Bowens called "another piece of the economic puzzle."

All three casinos are to move to permanent Detroit sites within four years on land that Archer said officials continue negotiating to obtain.