Greektown Casino owes $11 million, some say

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003 | 9:39 a.m.

DETROIT -- Two former Greektown Casino partners say the casino failed to offer 10 percent of its shares for sale to the public as part of a 2000 agreement, and defaulted on an $11 million payment owed to them.

In a complaint filed Tuesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, Jim Papas and Ted Gatzaros asked that a judge order the casino to put its $6 million quarterly tax distribution into escrow with the court, pending the outcome of the lawsuit seeking the $11 million payment.

An affidavit signed by Papas and Gatzaros says casino Chief Executive Bernard Bouschor said during an Aug. 21 meeting that Greektown could not afford to make the payment.

Bouschor is tribal chairman of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which owns about 95 percent of the casino, including the 10 percent that was to be sold to the public.

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