Ballot drive calls for 7 more casinos

**begingri** · March-31-11, 10:51 AM

The "Michigan Is Yours" campaign, which didn't make it on the ballot in 2010, also aims for new casinos in Detroit, Mt. Clemens, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Saginaw and Benton Harbor, to be operated by a company called C-My-Casino of Warren.

The group needs 322,609 valid voter signatures by July 9, 2012, for the proposed amendment to the Michigan Constitution to appear on the November 2012 ballot, according to the Michigan Secretary of State's Office.

Source: http://www.freep.com/article/2011033...7-more-casinos

**R8RBOB** · March-31-11, 11:07 AM

Hopefully this won't go through. We have enough casinos in this state.

**Hypestyles** · March-31-11, 01:55 PM

might as well go for it... folks gambled with electing rick snyder.. and so...

..there needs to be an expansion of a genuine entertainment/resort districts in these areas where there are casinos.. have more events/activities to offer..would have been interesting to see what michael jackson and don barden [[and dubai investors?) came up with...

**esp1986** · March-31-11, 02:11 PM

The only way I want to see the Detroit Area get more casinos is if they are all put in the city, within a stone's throw of each other. Scattering them around the area does nothing but create gambling problems and generate a little bit of tax revenue for the city and state. I have also heard about people wanting one in Romulus near the airport. At least with a bunch of casinos in the same area, they present the possibility of a destination. Such as downtown. If there is a casino in Mt. Clemens, who is going to travel all the way up there when there are three of them Downtown, where you can easily go from one to another? The answer is, not a whole lot of people. This is why Vegas and Atlantic City are so successful, because they have a collection of casinos making them destinations. I think right now, Detroit could handle one more casino. Now, I'm not saying we need it, but I think the market could handle one more, just looking at the revenue figures.

At least the casino in the Toledo area isn't trying to make itself a destination. It won't even have a hotel. They are just trying to keep money in Ohio. I would bet the Mt. Clemens one would be the same.

Bottom line is, spreading everything out in this region is what has hurt it the most. We can't continue to do that. If there are to be more casinos, we need to locate them together to create a destination. We won't match Atlantic City of Vegas, but if it is done right, we can certainly make this a destination if we want to.

**ghettopalmetto** · March-31-11, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by esp1986

This is why Vegas and Atlantic City are so successful, because they have a collection of casinos making them destinations.

I suppose that depends on one's definition of the word "successful".

**ordinary** · March-31-11, 02:56 PM

Will casinos really make Detroit a destination? This seems like the wrong way to go. Most likely it's going to be local people who can't afford it that are going to be frittering their money away.

**esp1986** · March-31-11, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by ghettopalmetto

I suppose that depends on one's definition of the word "successful".

For this purpose, let's define it as the ability to attract tourists. The casinos are successful at doing that. In this economy they are suffering, but when times are good they are practically printing money [[metaphorically, of course).

**Detroitnerd** · March-31-11, 03:33 PM

Yes, let's have more fundamentally uncreative, unproductive, parasitic businesses in Michigan...

**professorscott** · March-31-11, 03:48 PM

Casinos benefit the casino owner. They do not bring in tourists in and of themselves now that so many states have them. Detroit's casinos are just a nasty way of plugging a hole in the city budget.

Having said that, I'm not in favor of the proposal, because why should there be a state law specifying that some cities can have casinos and some can't? Shit, legalize brothels while you're at it [[but only in certain cities).

Either just keep the three casinos in Detroit, or legalize the business all over the state and let them all beat each other up to get business. Don't cherry-pick cities.

**Gistok** · March-31-11, 04:05 PM

It ain't gonna happen... I can't believe that group out in Romulus is not yet through beating that dead horse...

**R8RBOB** · March-31-11, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

Yes, let's have more fundamentally uncreative, unproductive, parasitic businesses in Michigan...

I have been saying that about casinos for over a decade. That they are a parasitic operation that kills off other businesses. [[see Carl's Chop House and the restaurants and bars of Greektown)

**iheartthed** · March-31-11, 08:57 PM

I'm not inclined to favor more casinos in Detroit, but I do have to admit that it was a clever way of making downtown Detroit competitive for the business of attracting national conventions.

**softailrider** · April-01-11, 02:15 AM

Originally Posted by ordinary

Will casinos really make Detroit a destination? This seems like the wrong way to go. Most likely it's going to be local people who can't afford it that are going to be frittering their money away.

Detroit and destination in the same sentence? Gonna take more then casinos for that to happen.

**mikefmich** · April-01-11, 03:58 AM

Is this an Aprils Fool?

NorthEndere · April-01-11, 06:23 AM

I'm not particularly anti-gaming, but Detroit proper certainly doesn't need any more, and at the state level, save for a few locations, we're starting to cannibalize outselves.

**thnk2mch** · April-01-11, 06:45 AM

How about just one that you can breathe in?

**R8RBOB** · April-01-11, 07:06 AM

A Romulus casino will draw traffic from people going to and from the airport, as well as travelers on layovers, Tony Gray, a Romulus native who joined the project, said at a press conference here.

Funny how things stay the same. We heard this trash back in the 90's how casinos in Detroit was going to be a good thing. 12 years later, Detroit has not benefited from the casinos yet fools like this group are still trying to sell the idea that casinos are a good thing for a community. When will they learn?

**Wesley Mouch** · April-01-11, 07:07 AM

Issue has nothing to do with whether we like or dislike casinos. Me, I'm offended that we have them at all. But once you have them, help me understand why the current businesses need a monopoly. Let them compete fairly to screw you. Open up competition in the market.

NorthEndere · April-01-11, 07:23 AM

Originally Posted by R8RBOB

Funny how things stay the same. We heard this trash back in the 90's how casinos in Detroit was going to be a good thing. 12 years later, Detroit has not benefited from the casinos yet fools like this group are still trying to sell the idea that casinos are a good thing for a community. When will they learn?

As I kind of alluded to, above, I'm not really for or against these things in general, but it's ridiculous to say they haven't helped the city. Without the money they pay into treasury, Detroit would have been under state control years ago. They are the only thing that has kept the city from going completely under. I think they've been one of the only consistently growing or stabilized sources of revenue for the city over the last decade [[made up a whole 6% of the general fund budget, by themselves, in 2003, alone, and that was years before the permanent locations opened). In fact, since 2007 when their revenue to the city stablized, they've been paying about $180 million directly into the general fund.

**R8RBOB** · April-01-11, 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by NorthEnder

As I kind of alluded to, above, I'm not really for or against these things in general, but it's ridiculous to say they haven't helped the city. Without the money they pay into treasury, Detroit would have been under state control years ago. They are the only thing that has kept the city from going completely under. I think they've been one of the only consistently growing or stabilized sources of revenue for the city over the last decade [[made up a whole 6% of the general fund budget, by themselves, in 2003, alone, and that was years before the permanent locations opened). In fact, since 2007 when their revenue to the city stablized, they've been paying about $180 million directly into the general fund.

Strange, with all that money coming in Detroit have such lousy services. Kilpatrick had the nerve to press Detroiters to pay $300 for garbage pickup at the same time the casinos were giving Detroit all this money. I don't see the rewards that the casinos have given Detroit.

Had I been mayor, I would have made one stipulation for casinos in Detroit. That all revenues for the city go into DPS. Detroit was fine without casinos. The only reason casinos are in Detroit to this very day is seven letters: W-I-N-D-S-O-R. If the children are the future then they need the best resources and just an infusion of casino cash could have made a difference in the future of DPS. Then again, someone would have found a way to steal it all.

**jtf1972** · April-01-11, 08:44 AM

It would be interesting to see how they would try to get around the law banning smoking. The current casinos got grandfathered [[or whatever.) Think some new guy wants to have people avoid them so they can park their plentiful posteriors on a stool, puffing on menthols all night while dumping their check in a one-armed bandit?

**iheartthed** · April-01-11, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by R8RBOB

Strange, with all that money coming in Detroit have such lousy services. Kilpatrick had the nerve to press Detroiters to pay $300 for garbage pickup at the same time the casinos were giving Detroit all this money. I don't see the rewards that the casinos have given Detroit.

Had I been mayor, I would have made one stipulation for casinos in Detroit. That all revenues for the city go into DPS. Detroit was fine without casinos. The only reason casinos are in Detroit to this very day is seven letters: W-I-N-D-S-O-R. If the children are the future then they need the best resources and just an infusion of casino cash could have made a difference in the future of DPS. Then again, someone would have found a way to steal it all.

Detroit got hotel commitments out of the casinos at a time when most hotel operators were scoffing at the idea of expanding into Detroit. You could probably even say that the casinos were indirectly responsible for the Book Cadillac and Fort Shelby being renovated. All of that together made downtown Detroit, and by extension Metro Detroit, competitive for convention business that the area hadn't seen since the early 1980s.

**R8RBOB** · April-01-11, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Detroit got hotel commitments out of the casinos at a time when most hotel operators were scoffing at the idea of expanding into Detroit. You could probably even say that the casinos were indirectly responsible for the Book Cadillac and Fort Shelby being renovated. All of that together made downtown Detroit, and by extension Metro Detroit, competitive for convention business that the area hadn't seen since the early 1980s.

Okay, I will give a nod to the casinos on that one. Hotels were severely lacking in downtown Detroit and the casinos did give Detroit a shot in the arm.

**softailrider** · April-01-11, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Issue has nothing to do with whether we like or dislike casinos. Me, I'm offended that we have them at all. But once you have them, help me understand why the current businesses need a monopoly. Let them compete fairly to screw you. Open up competition in the market.

Makes absolute sense to me.

GUSHI · April-01-11, 03:23 PM

I think Detroit could use 2 more casinos, why not. The jobs and taxes they bring in. They should built them by the two stand alone existing casinos[[MGM, Motor City). Not in Mt Clemens so were every else they wanted to. Think about all the job they would bring, during and after constructon. Also have the people mover connect them all.