Third Detroit casino finally opens with proper pomp

Jim Irwin

Monday, Nov. 13, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.

DETROIT -- The last of the city's three casinos threw open its doors Friday night in a rainbow splash of neon and pulsing light, and amid proclamations of another chapter in downtown's revival.

"I love it! I love it!" Pat Maslowski exclaimed moments after winning 20 credits on the fifth quarter she played on one of Greektown Casino's brand-new slot machines. "I love all the little corners and crevices. This is really a neat place."

Maslowski, a General Motors Corp. employee from Macomb County's Clinton Township, was among the gamblers who didn't wait for the 10 p.m. ceremony at which the casino owners were presented with their state license. The action began with an 8 p.m. VIP party, and Mayor Dennis Archer presided over the ceremonial ribbon-cutting shortly after 11 p.m.

"We've got it all. This is the best property in this town," said Bernard Bouschor, chairman of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which owns 90 percent of the casino.

Opening more than 16 months after the MGM Grand Detroit, the city's first casino, Greektown offers 2,400 slot machines, 104 table games, six separate bars and the Apollo Lounge, a venue for live entertainment.

Its 2,400 employees include Jane Cole of Detroit, a server at the Alley Grille who said Greektown's location would be more appealing to patrons than MGM Grand or MotorCity Casino, both on the western fringe of downtown.

"People aren't going to be just jumping off the highway and throwing $20 in a machine" at Greektown, Cole said. "It's more of an event."

Early on, neighboring bars and restaurants expressed concerns that Greektown Casino would capture and hold potential customers. But the casino, which occupies part of the multilevel Trappers Alley retail building, connects with the busy enclave of Detroit nightlife with walkways, a People Mover station and maps showing the way to those establishments.

"What we've done is build something different here than a stand-alone casino," tribal spokesman John Hatch said. "People can come here from the theater or from a ballgame (at nearby Comerica Park). We're not into captive audiences. We're into providing an evening's entertainment."

Integrating Greektown Casino with the Greektown neighborhood -- for nearly two decades one of the few enclaves of downtown nightlife -- was always part of the gaming hall's plan, Hatch said.

"We're here because they helped us get here," he said of the neighboring Greektown businesses.

What became Greektown Casino was first promoted in the early 1990s by developers Ted Gatzaros and Dimitrios Papas with the enthusiastic backing of longtime Mayor Coleman A. Young. Michigan voters approved casino gambling in Detroit in November 1996, and the Detroit City Council approved three casino proposals in April 1998.

MGM Grand Detroit, owned by MGM MIRAGE of Las Vegas, and MotorCity Casino, controlled by Mandalay Resort Group of Las Vegas, opened last year. But Greektown's licensing process was delayed as Gatzaros, Papas and their wives were forced to sell their 40 percent stakes after state-mandated investigations uncovered problems with their backgrounds.

State gaming regulators then approved a revised plan for the couples to sell their stake to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe. The 28,000-member tribe owns 80 percent of the $150 million site, with local minority-group investors owning the balance.

One of those investors, Marvin Beatty, said Young -- who died three years ago this month -- would be gratified to see this casino open at last.

"I would think that he would have a big smile on his face and say, 'This is the dream of Greektown," Beatty said.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board approved licensing the casino Wednesday night. Nelson Westrin, the board's director, who presented the license Friday, said the owners estimated their daily take would be $1 million, roughly what MGM Grand and MotorCity bring in.

Westrin said he couldn't gamble at the casino because of state regulations, and wouldn't want to, anyway. "My money comes too hard."