The MGM Grand Detroit is one of three

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

resort hotels in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and one of four in the

Detroit–Windsor The Detroit–Windsor region is an international transborder agglomeration named for the American city of Detroit, Michigan, the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario, and the Detroit River, which separates them. The Detroit–Windsor area acts as ...

area. It is owned by

Vici Properties Vici Properties Inc. is an American real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino and entertainment properties, based in New York City. It was formed in 2017 as a spin-off from Caesars Entertainment Corporation as part of its bankr ...

and operated by

MGM Resorts International MGM Resorts International is an American Multinational corporation, multinational hospitality, sports and entertainment company. It operates resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, Macau, Shanghai, ...

. The casino opened in its temporary location on July 29, 1999. The permanent, luxury resort hotel opened on October 3, 2007, with a grand event which included models and celebrities including Ashanti,

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...

, and

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

. Detroit is one of the largest American cities and metropolitan regions to offer casino resort hotels.Mink, Randy, and Karen Mink (July 2001).Detroit Turns 300 - Detroit 300 Festival. ''Travel America'', World Publishing Co., Gale Group.

History

In July 1999, MGM Grand Detroit opened the first legal casino in Detroit. Built in a renovated

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

office, it cost $235 million and was slated to be replaced in four years by an $800 million permanent gambling resort. In August 2002, MGM Grand Detroit acquired 25 acres of nearby property for an undisclosed price from DTE Energy. In 2005, the MGM Grand Detroit Casino was the subject of a possible sale when parent company MGM MIRAGE announced that it was acquiring rival casino company Mandalay Resort Group, owners of the MotorCity Casino. Due to Michigan state gaming laws prohibiting casino owners from acquiring or owning more than one casino in the state,

MGM Mirage MGM Resorts International is an American multinational hospitality, sports and entertainment company. It operates resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, Macau, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou and San ...

was forced to sell either the MGM Grand Detroit or the MotorCity casino. MGM MIRAGE had several serious buyers for the MGM Grand Detroit, but ultimately sold the MotorCity Casino to Marian Ilitch. On December 13, 2005, the Michigan Gaming Control Board approved MGM Grand's plans for a permanent casino with of casino space, 401 hotel rooms, and an eight-story self-parking garage to be located on John C. Lodge Freeway and Bagley Street, three to four blocks from the temporary casino. The facility has of meeting space for conferences and live performance seating for 1,200. The Casino also rebuilt 3rd Street into a two way boulevard to facilitate traffic movement around the site. The permanent casino opened to the public on October 3, 2007. The grand opening celebration attracted Hollywood stars. A Celebrity Poker Match was taped there for a televised release at a later date. The MGM Grand Detroit stands across from the DTE Energy Headquarters which includes a reflecting pool and landscaped areas. Designers on the project include the joint venture of Hamilton Anderson Associates and the

SmithGroup SmithGroup is an international architectural, engineering and planning firm. Established in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that is not a w ...

, both of Detroit, Cleo Design of Las Vegas, Carol Harris of Detroit, Lawrence Lee of California, Toni Chi of New York, and Super Potato out of Japan. The lead architects were Paul Tonti of the SmithGroup and Thomas Sherry of Hamilton Anderson Associates. In 2007, DTE Energy announced a major transformation of the area around its downtown headquarters into an urban oasis with parks, walkways, and a reflecting pool adjacent to the MGM Grand Detroit. Just across the river,

Caesars Windsor Caesars Windsor (formerly known as Casino Windsor) is a casino hotel located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is one of four casino resort hotels in the Detroit–Windsor area and was opened in May 1994 as a temporary casino on the waterfront of th ...

attracts about six million visitors annually.Cordiano, Joseph (February 15, 2005)
Government of Ontario invests in a competitive Casino Windsor
.''Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade''. Retrieved on October 28, 2007."Casino Windsor attracts around six million visitors each year and is a key driver of the local economy." More than fifteen million people cross the

Ambassador Bridge The Ambassador Bridge is an international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, the toll bridge is the busiest international border cros ...

and the

Detroit–Windsor tunnel The Detroit–Windsor region is an international transborder agglomeration named for the American city of Detroit, Michigan, the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario, and the Detroit River, which separates them. The Detroit–Windsor area acts as a ...

annually.Trade Point Detroit Windsor
Retrieved on May 24, 2009. An estimated 46 million people live within a 300-mile (480 km) radius of

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

. Since 2000, the city has seen continuous annual increases in tax revenues from its casinos; the city estimated that it would collect $178.25 million in casino taxes alone for 2007, with the casino resorts open in 2008. Ownership of MGM Grand Detroit, along with many other MGM properties, was transferred in 2016 to MGM Growth Properties (which was later acquired by

in 2022), while MGM Resorts continued to operate it under a lease agreement. On May 18, 2017,

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell ( Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock music, rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a ...

, the frontman of the

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

band

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

was found dead with a "band around his nape of neck" in his room after performing at the Fox Theatre. Officials ruled his death a

suicide by hanging Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck. Hanging is often considered to ...

References

External links

* Wikimedia graph of Detroit's casino revenues {{DEFAULTSORT:Mgm Grand Detroit Casinos in Michigan Skyscraper hotels in Detroit MGM Resorts International Resorts in Michigan Casinos completed in 2007 Hotel buildings completed in 1999 2007 establishments in Michigan 1999 establishments in Michigan Economy of Detroit Tourist attractions in Detroit Casino hotels in Detroit

History

See also

References

External links