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MGM Grand Detroit

Coordinates: 42°20′1″N 83°3′37″W / 42.33361°N 83.06028°W / 42.33361; -83.06028
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MGM Grand Detroit
Address 1777 Third Street[1]
Detroit, Michigan 48226
Opening dateOctober 3, 2007
ThemeArt Deco
No. of rooms401
Total gaming space100,000 sq ft
Permanent showsTBA
1,200 seat theatre
Signature attractionsUpscale Shopping
VIP Night Club
Notable restaurantsPalette Dining Studio
Wolfgang Puck Grille
Saltwater (Michael Mina)
Casino typeLand-Based
OwnerMGM Resorts International
Websitewww.mgmgranddetroit.com

The MGM Grand Detroit Casino Resort in Detroit, Michigan is one of three casinos in the city, and one of four in the Detroit–Windsor area. The luxury resort opened on October 3, 2007 with a grand event which included models and celebrities including Ashanti, Kid Rock, male model Cameron Gonzalez, photographer Alex Martinez, Tiffany Braco, Detroit socialites, and fireworks. This is the first luxury casino resort in a major metropolis outside of Las Vegas and the first in downtown Detroit.[2] Detroit was the largest American city and metropolitan region to offer casino resorts as of 2007.[3] (However, the SugarHouse Casino opened in Philadelphia in 2010.)

History

In November 1996, Michigan voters approved Proposal E, which authorized three casinos to be built and operated in the City of Detroit. Following a bidding process, Las Vegas based MGM MIRAGE and Partners Detroit, LLC (formed by a group of local Detroit business investors), built the first new casino. The MGM Grand Detroit Casino officially opened on July 29, 1999 to much fanfare.

In 2005, the MGM Grand Detroit Casino was the subject of a possible sale when parent company MGM MIRAGE announced that it was acquiring rival casino company Mandalay Resort Group, owners of the MotorCity Casino. Due to Michigan state gaming laws prohibiting casino owners from acquiring or owning more than one casino in the state, MGM Mirage was forced to sell either the MGM Grand Detroit or the MotorCity casino. MGM MIRAGE had several serious buyers for the MGM Grand Detroit, but ultimately sold the MotorCity Casino to Marian Ilitch.[4]

On December 13, 2005 the Michigan Gaming Control Board approved MGM Grand's plans for a permanent casino with 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of casino space, 401 hotel rooms and an eight story self-parking garage to be located on John C. Lodge Freeway and Bagley Street, three to four blocks from the temporary casino. The facility has 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of meeting space for conferences and live performance seating for 1,200. The Casino is also rebuilding 3rd street into a two way boulevard to facilitate traffic movement around the site.

The permanent casino opened its doors to the public on October 3, 2007. The grand opening celebration attracted Hollywood stars. A Celebrity Poker Match was taped there for a televised release at a later date.

Designers on the project include the joint venture of Hamilton Anderson Associates and the SmithGroup, both of Detroit, Cleo Design of Las Vegas, Carol Harris of Detroit, Lawrence Lee of California, Toni Chi of New York, and Super Potato out of Japan. The lead architects were Paul Tonti of the SmithGroup and Thomas Sherry of Hamilton Anderson Associates. In 2007, DTE Energy announced a major transformation of the area around its downtown headquarters into an urban oasis with parks, walkways, and a reflecting pool adjacent to the MGM Grand Detroit.[5]

The metropolitan region's potential to attract super-sized crowds should not be underestimated. Just across the river, Caesars Windsor attracts about six million visitors annually.[6] More than fifteen million people cross the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel annually.[7] An estimated 46 million people live within a 300 mile (480 km) radius of Metro Detroit.[8][9] Since 2000, the city has seen continuous annual increases in tax revenues from its casinos; the city estimates it will collect $178,250,000 in casino taxes alone for 2007, with the casino resorts open in 2008.[10]

In March 2009 it was announced that MGM Grand's former temporary casino was being sold and would be converted into an $86 million Hollywood-style digital animation and visual effects studio directly employing more than 400 people.[11] however those plans fell through and on July 6, 2010 the City of Detroit announced it would acquire the former casino property to be used as the new Detroit Police Department headquarters.[12]

Possible sale (2009)

Starting on April 6, 2009 news reports began to surface that MGM Grand Detroit's parent company MGM Mirage hired investment firm Morgan Stanley to assist the company in finding possible buyers for the Detroit property and its sister the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi. The MGM Grand Detroit and Beau Rivage are considered to be MGM Mirage's top performing properties and if sold could fetch a total of $1–$2 billion dollars which then would be used to lower MGM Mirage's debt load.[13][14]

See also

References

  1. ^ Directions and Map to MGM Grand Detroit
  2. ^ MGM Detroit Homepage
  3. ^ Mink, Randy, and Karen Mink (July 2001).Detroit Turns 300 - Detroit 300 Festival. Travel America, World Publishing Co., Gale Group.
  4. ^ MGM MIRAGE and Mandalay Resort Group Selling Mandalay's 53.53% Interest in the MotorCity Casino for Approximately $525 million
  5. ^ July 4, 2007 Detroit News Downtown Detroit Partnership
  6. ^ Cordiano, Joseph (February 15, 2005). Government of Ontraio invests in a competitive Casino Windsor.Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Retrieved on October 28, 2007."Casino Windsor attracts around six million visitors each year and is a key driver of the local economy."
  7. ^ Trade Point Detroit Windsor. Retrieved on May 24, 2009.
  8. ^ Cities located close to Detroit.Time and Date world clock distances. Retrieved on September 2, 2007.
  9. ^ Audi, Tamara (September 26, 2007). What Happens In Detroit. The Wall Street Journal, B6. "But the market at issue, as MGM Mirage sees it, includes a 300-mile (480 km) radius of potential overnight clients across the region,"
  10. ^ City of Detroit General Fund -Percent Change in major Revenue Sources. City of Detroit 2006-07 Budget
  11. ^ $86 million film studio planned for former MGM Grand casino
  12. ^ Detroit police to move into old MGM Grand building (Detroit Free Press June 11, 2010)
  13. ^ MGM Mirage Said to Hire Morgan Stanley to Evaluate Casino Bids (bloomberg.com)
  14. ^ With Casino Stocks, Traders Know When to Fold 'Em (Wall Street Journal)

42°20′1″N 83°3′37″W / 42.33361°N 83.06028°W / 42.33361; -83.06028

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