Casino news from http://www.detnews.com/
Greektown Casino received final approval Tuesday to begin construction of its permanent $200 million casino/hotel/entertainment complex.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board unanimously approved Greektown's plans, and casino officials hope to have the complex open by September 2008, about six months after the opening of permanent facilities for MGM Grand Detroit Casino and the MotorCity Casino.
Each of the three casinos will feature 400-room hotels, 100,000-square-feet of gaming space, restaurants, entertainment facilities, meeting rooms and parking decks.
Greektown originally planned to spend $450 million to build an all-new facility. Casino officials changed their minds last November and decided to expand the temporary casino in the heart of the Greektown business district -- a move that will save $250 million.
Mike Leinweber, construction manager for Jenkins/Skanska Ventures LLC, which will build the permanent Greektown facility, told the Gaming Board that work would begin almost immediately on the complex.
"We will be taking great care to keep Greektown Casino in full operation during the construction," Leinweber said.
He said the casino will add an additional 30,000 square-foot of gaming space on the second floor of the temporary casino, most of it hanging over Lafayette Blvd. but vehicle traffic will still be able to move under it. A 1,200-seat event center will be constructed off the casino area that will have a flexible use for concerts, meetings and other activities.
Across the street will be a new 30-story hotel and 3,200-car parking structure. That building also will include restaurants, a ballroom and meeting rooms. The facility will be connected to the casino by an enclosed pedestrian bridge with a moving sidewalk.
Approval of Greektown's final plans came just after the Gaming Board announced that the casino's July revenue was down 8 percent over the same month a year ago. Revenue was up for the other two Detroit casinos. The board did not release the numbers for July, only the percentages.
Greektown officials called the drop an anomaly and nothing to worry about.
"Our table game revenue was down for the month," said Roger Martin, a spokesman for Greektown. "It could be as simple as more people winning at the tables, leaving us with less revenue. Hopefully, July was just a blip on the screen.
"We have been very pleased with our financially performance and have gained market share back in the last year."
A check of the Michigan Gaming Control Board records showed that in each of the first six months of 2006, Greektown revenues were up year over year. During the same six month period, total revenue for the three Detroit casino was at $647.6 million, on pace to set a record for the casinos.
|
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
