Archer, Greektown Casino investors preview new gambling hall

Jim Suhr

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2000 | 12:12 p.m.

DETROIT - Its Mediterranean theme evident from the two beauties parading as Greek goddesses to a glowing Olympic torch, Greektown Casino was unveiled to reporters Wednesday by investors with Herculean expectations.

Never mind that the gambling hall could be two months from opening as the city's third temporary casino. Those behind the Greektown site insist the casino's more or less a go, and worked Wednesday to prove it.

"We have something for every taste," William Paulos, head of the management firm overseeing the casino, told Mayor Dennis Archer while leading a tour. "We wanted to give Detroiters as much of a potpourri as they can have."

On Tuesday, the regulatory Michigan Gaming Control Board ruled the casino's investors suitable, paving the way for the panel's consideration in early November whether to license the gambling hall. Such a vote won't come until the 2,400-worker casino is deemed ready to open.

Confident the license is imminent, the casino's investors have scheduled the opening for Nov. 10.

"(It) took many turns along the way, but the end result is we're here," said Bernard Bouschor, chairman of the Upper Peninsula's Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the $147-million casino's principle owner. "This is a great day for the city of Detroit."

Said Archer: "I think anyone seeing this facility for the first time would have to acknowledge how attractive it is, inside and out."

As the 75,000-square-foot casino's neon lights dazzled outside, visitors of the site's interior Wednesday got a feel for its Mediterranean charms, reflected in murals, detailing and ornamentation.

There's the typical casino fare, from the 2,400 slot machines - many for now bearing only blue-screen "Out of Service" displays - to 104 table games from craps to blackjack and Roulette.

In a second-level gaming area tucked away for sports enthusiasts, six big-screen TVs are ready for gamblers wanting to wager while watching broadcast events. Private gaming areas are available for the discreet.

Not far from the Olympic torch is the Pantheon Club, the VIP area where "special guests" can play poker for $50 to $1,000 a hand, blackjack for $100 to $5,000 a play.

The casino's three lounges include the Apollo, where contemporary music groups will perform, Trapper's Balcony and the Alley Grill steakhouse, where the opening act will be a Sinatra impersonator.

So aside from the theme, what's different from the two Detroit casinos that opened last year? Paulos points to the Greektown site's skylights and windows, of all things - something he calls a relative rarity in casinos aside from the ground level.

He insists there's more walking space than the local MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino. And he touts the big draw - the casino's place in the heart of downtown's Greektown district and its eateries and shops, within walking distance of Comerica Park, Fox Theater and other venues.

The two local rivals "are out in the middle by themselves," Paulos said. "We have the ability for patrons to take a walk outside, enjoy what's there and take a respite from the casino."

Wednesday's staged activities included uniformed workers perched around gaming tables, where dealer Jean Terry talked of being eager for the casino and her job.

The 25-year-old Clinton Township woman has been a jack of all trades: married mother of two stepchildren, Macomb Community College student, waitress - all crammed within devoting 20 hours a week to "dealers' school."

Her goal: "Just to do something different."

Archer sees the casino as another step toward turning around a city that already has collected tens of millions in revenue from its two existing casinos, with even more expected from the Greektown one.

"I'm not picking favorites; I like all three," Archer said. But "I will like this one when it's open and fully engaged, because then it will complete the picture."

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

Alluding to the permanent sites, Archer said "that's when we really have arrived."