Detroit bets on rebirth as casino haven

The $2,500-per-night VIP penthouse suite has five plasma TV sets, one of them mounted in the bathroom mirror, a whirlpool, hot tub, kitchen, surround sound, iPod station, mood lighting, chandeliers, six pillows on every bed, 24-hour room service from Wolfgang Puck and a lovely view of Canada. There's also a butler phone.

This is sooooooo not Detroit.

Yet in awkward and clearly ironic ways, the $800 million, 18-story MGM Grand Detroit casino and hotel that opened late Tuesday night places a heavy wager on the belief that Detroit--long ago a prosperously noisy, lunch-bucket town where people punched time clocks--will successfully remodel itself into a city of slot machine dreams that come true in big air-conditioned rooms that have no clocks.

Beyond the bettor bravado of MGM Grand Detroit chief George Boyer, who described his complex Tuesday as having "the chic of Manhattan with the sizzle of Las Vegas," there is an unspoken, go-for-broke quality to this roll of the dice. Many of the big-paying auto manufacturing jobs that gave identity to Detroit and comfort and security to generations of families are gone and not coming back.

Nearly a third of Detroit's residents live in poverty. Thousands of abandoned homes ache to be torn down. Just a few blocks from the art deco-style casino on Third Street, unemployed men while away the afternoons on street corners or weave their bicycles down the street, oblivious to oncoming traffic.

"This is very ironic, but it's good to see that they're doing something other than the Big 3," said John Barber of Detroit, referring to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler LLC. "It's better than nothing."

An 'entertainment destination' Detroit has three casinos, including the MGM Grand. But the old MGM Grand is closing as the new MGM Grand Detroit complex opens its doors. It is the first to build an adjoining hotel and restaurant complex, what company officials call an "entertainment destination." It's a striking edifice in a generally bleak and uninspiring downtown. Like most new development in Detroit, it is an island, existing on the hope that its presence will spur new convention business and other development. Only time will tell.

Tuesday's grand opening celebration had the civic feel of a long-overdue show-and-tell. It's 3,000 jobs, with more than half of the employees living in the city. This is the biggest development in Detroit in three decades, and it attracted the California chef himself, Wolfgang Puck, as well as Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and U.S. Rep. John Conyers, (D-Mich.).

"We're competing with Las Vegas. There's nothing like this in Chicago or the Midwest," Conyers crowed of the new facility.

And while that is true, there is a whoppingly abrupt adjustment to the size and opulence of the gambling complex. The blinking and electronically bleeping gaming area, like nearly all casinos, has the feel of a nicely carpeted county fair, with familiar slot and video poker machines (4,500 of them) bearing names like "Money to Burn," "Mr. Cash Cow" and "Free Spin Plunder."

The restaurant fare is no Las Vegas glut-a-torium, and it's a far cry from the Detroit coney dog-type menu items: mussel souffle, truffled pearl pasta and cippolini onions, and seafood risotto with gulf shrimp.

The reality of paying $300 to $3,000 per night in one of America's poorest cities is an eye-popper for some, including Barbara Bowers of suburban Westland.

"I won't stay the night, unless it's a really special occasion," Bowers said. But she plans to be in the casino in the wee hours Wednesday, playing video poker.

"I think this is a beautiful building and I hope this helps [the economy]," Bowers added. "I do believe it will attract new tourism."

Foes see failure ahead Not everyone is delighted with the new casino. Kurt Metzger, research director for United Way for Southeast Michigan, said he is "amazed that the gambling industry just gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and is becoming a more prominent economic development tool across the nation."

"The citizens aren't coming out as winners ... It's like we're setting everybody up to fail," Metzger said.

But if not this, casino supporters say, then what? Michigan state government, beset by economic problems stemming from the domestic auto industry, came crashing down over the weekend after lawmakers and the governor could not reach a budget agreement. Although the shutdown ended after four hours, the impasse underscored the need to retool the state's economic engine.

Detroit gets a little more than 12 percent of its tax revenues from casinos, and as the city shrinks, casinos represent an almost singular example of growth. An estimated 86 percent of casino customers come from outside the city, and operators hope to attract new gamblers from Ohio, where there are no casinos.

Neighboring Canada, with a historically robust dollar, also represents a prime market. Windsor Casino, across the river from Detroit, contends not only with dollar issues but with a government-imposed no-smoking policy.

Billboards are scattered around the metro area, promoting a message designed to lure young people and their money.

"You're single. We have 5 lounges," reads one. "You do the math."