Following a Grand Opening Press Conference yesterday morning and a fireworks display in the evening, MGM Grand Detroit opened to the public at midnight. The new ‘entertainment destination’ claimed to be the first Las Vegas style resort in a major metropolitan area, has a 400-room hotel that includes 9 rooftop VIP suites, a world-class full amenity spa, 3 signature restaurants and 5 nightlife destinations.

The complex was built with a budget of over US$800 million and MGM Mirage intends to fuel economic growth while increasing business and leisure travel to downtown Detroit with facilities never before available in the Midwest. There are 30,000 sq ft of exclusive meeting and event space, suitable for the grandest occasions. There is also advanced in-room technology as standard in every hotel room.

MGM Grand Detroit president and COO, George Boyer, described the project as having taken the chic of Manhattan and combining it with the sizzle of Las Vegas. The casino complex is a block away from the temporary casino that opened in July 1999, and has 100,000 sq ft of gaming floor with over 4.000 slot machines and 90 table games.

In 1996 Michigan voters approved three casinos for Detroit and in 2005 MGM Mirage sold the MotorCity Casino it had acquired with its purchase of Mandalay Resort Group, as Michigan gaming law prohibits the owning of more than one casino in the state.

MotorCity Casino is now owned by Marian Ilitch, one of its founders, and Greektown Casino Resort is majority owned by the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Both casinos are undergoing extensive expansion and refurbishment to include hotels and conference facilities. (E-10.03.07)

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