A Grand Time

Fri., July 30, 1999

Detroit’s first casino, authorized by voters in 1996, opened Thursday in what was once an IRS building. It’s part of the effort to revitalize the city’s blighted downtown. The MGM Grand Detroit Casino is one of three temporary casinos planned. Within four years, three permanent casinos are to be built on the Riverfront. The MGM Grand will bring 2,700 jobs and a projected 10,000 visitors a day. John Eritano of Mount Pleasant, Mich., was among the first to hit the slots, winning $300. The building has two floors packed with 2,370 slot and video poker machines and 83 gaming tables. The casinos are expected to create about 11,000 jobs as many as GM has in the city.

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A Grand Time

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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