Tough Times Falling on Detroit's Casinos
"Analysts say Detroit’s gaming market is saturated, with increased competition from new Ohio casinos and aging patrons who are choosing to entertain themselves in other ways — all of which contribute to leaner bottom lines for casino operators," reports Michael Martinez.
Quicken Loans founder and CEO Dan Gilbert bought majority interest in the struggling Greektown Casino-Hotel in April 2013, stating plans for a $150 million renovation. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and reported by Martinez, however, Gilbert has scaled back the renovation to $25-50 million.
The scaled back renovation plans reflect deflating revenues at all three of Detroit's casinos (local gaming revenue is on pace for a third-consecutive year of decline): "Last year, Greektown’s revenue fell the sharpest of Detroit’s three casinos, down 6.7 percent, to $328.3 million. By comparison, revenue dipped 6.3 percent in 2013 at MGM Grand and 1.2 percent percent [sic] at MotorCity."
- How Detroit Beat the Silicon Valley to the Breakthrough Electric Vehicle
- Friday Eye Candy: Images of the World's Cities Through History
- If LEDs Are Bad for Our Health, What Should Cities Do Now?
- Google Maps Erases Publically Owned Open Spaces
- The Huge Cost of Improving Amtrak's Pennsylvanian Even a Little
- The Obama Administration Releases a Pro-Development Playbook
- Uber's Demand Curve Is a Breakthrough for Users and Economists
- A Generational Challenge: Ending the Age of the Automobile
- Op-Ed: Parking Concerns Can't Outweigh Affordable Housing
- New York Ponders How to Stop Cars from Parking in Bike Lanes
- 'The Well-Tempered City': An Epic Book, and Why
- Clean Power Plan Showdown in U.S. Appeals Court on Tuesday
- What the First Debate Taught About the Candidate's Positions on Cities
- Beer from Portlandia in the Land of the Rising Sun
- Building Houses in Wildfire Country
- Close to a Half Million Americans Lack Proper Plumbing
- Commuting in America 2015
- New York Has Plan to Make Room for Penn Station Renovations
- A Clever Way to End Cigarette Litter
- Jan Gehl on the Politics of Transforming Cities
