Detroit Casinos Fare Surprisingly Well in Tough Times

Michigan (Detroit) - A.D. Pruitt/ Sharon Terlep, Wall Street Journal - October 30th 2009 

Detroit has lost jobs, residents and much of its auto industry. But its gambling business is doing surprisingly well.  While the city's unemployment is 29%, gaming revenue at its three casinos has been off only 2% from a year ago so far this year. Atlantic City's gaming revenue has fallen 14%, and the Las Vegas Strip is down 14%.  Detroit's MGM Grand. In the last fiscal year, Detroit's three casinos provided $189 million to the city budget. Detroit casino operators credit their relative good fortune to everything from new hotel rooms to the smoking ban in nearby Ontario, which has caused some Canadian gamers to migrate across the Detroit River to gamble. At the Greektown Casino Hotel, owned by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, revenue is up 6.1% this year. Cutting its hotel-room prices to $99 a night and dropping its all-you-can-eat buffet to $9.99 from $19 has helped it draw more business. "We feed four times as many people as we used to," said Randall Fine, who became Greektown's chief executive in April.  Detroit's other casinos, the MotorCity Casino and the MGMGrand, are also faring better than most casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, with year-to-date revenue declines of 4.5% and 5.7%, respectively. In total, Detroit's three casinos took in $1.4 billion in revenue from gaming in 2008 and $1 billion in the first nine months of 2009, according to the state regulator.  Opponents say the casinos make hard times harder for families strapped for cash. But proponents note that the three casinos, which employ about 8,200 people, are one of the few sources of new jobs and have helped to increase tourism, convention business and city revenue.