Quicken Loans Owner To Buy Detroit Casino

Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert has been busily acquiring tired properties in downtown Detroit and has already purchased 15 office buildings and three parking structures where the majority of the company’s 8,500 employees currently work.
The 50 year old entrepreneur has a personal fortune estimated at $1.9 billion ranking him in the top 250 of Forbes’ Richest Americans. Now, Dan Gilbert has announced he intends to add a downtown casino-hotel to his company’s portfolio of businesses. Nevertheless, the move would seem to be part of his companies overall plan to help revitalize downtown Detroit and acquiring the Greektown Casino-Hotel presents a good opportunity to connect Greektown’s nightlife scene with other areas on the up-and-up in and around downtown and Midtown Detroit.
The Greektown Casino Hotel first opened in 2000 and presently boasts 400 guest rooms, as well a casino complete with table games and over 2,700 slot and video poker machines. However, the Greektown Casino  entered bankruptcy in 2008 but was thrown a life-line back in 2010 after being bought by a group of investors. The smallest of downtown Detroit’s three casinos is now believed to attract 17,700 visitors each day and generate around $350 million each year in revenues.
As Rock Ventures CEO Matt Cullen explains: “With a substantial focus on downtown Detroit, the Greektown opportunity could not be more in the epicenter of our business and civic interests. However, we envision significant investment in the Greektown Casino-Hotel, as well as the enhancement and growth of the existing entertainment district.”
The purchase of the Greektown Casino-Hotel is still subject to approval from the Michigan Gaming Control Board. The other two casinos operating in downtown Detroit include the MGM Grand Casino, which has an annual revenue of $554; and the MotorCity Casino with around $420 million in revenue.