Michigan Gaming - Michigan Gaming Newsletter

August 20, 2010

Volume 16, Issue 28

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MotorCity Casino Hotel Wins Award for Conference Hotel

MotorCity Casino Hotel has received the 2010 Pinnacle Award for Hotels. The award is given to hotels based on hospitality excellence.

The 2010 Pinnacle Awards are selected by readers of Successful Meetings Magazine based upon their meeting experiences. Specifically, they are voted on by meeting planners throughout the country and organized through Successful Meetings Magazine, one of the meeting planning industry's leading periodicals.

According to Randy Villareal, MotorCity Casino Hotel's vice president of hotel operations, "[t]he Pinnacle Award is one of the hotel industry's most respected awards, and distinguishes us as one of the best meeting hotels in the United States. This distinction will continue to motivate us to always exceed the expectations of our guests."

About MotorCity Casino

MotorCity Casino Hotel features 400 guestrooms, including 33 suites. In addition, the Hotel offers complimentary internet access in every room, a complimentary 24 hour state-of-the-art business center and 24 hour fitness center.

The Hotel conference center includes 67,000 square feet of function and banquet space, a Grand Ballroom that accommodates 1,200 for dinner, four meeting rooms for 90-800 people, two boardrooms that seat up to 20 people each and a dedicated meeting concierge.

For more information regarding MotorCity Casino Hotel, please visit: http://www.motorcitycasino.com/Home.

For a comprehensive list of the 2010 Pinnacle Award for Hotel winners please visit: http://www.successfulmeetings.com/pinnacle-awards-hotels-resorts-2010/.

Saginaw Chippewa Tribe Begins Water Park Resort Project

On Tuesday, August 17, 2010, The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe started the process of construction of a new water park resort by demolishing the Soaring Eagle Inn. The new hotel and water park facility will stand just miles from Soaring Eagle Casino Resort, which has 200,000 square feet of gaming floor space and 514 hotel rooms.

Initial plans for the water park were announced by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe's Migizi Economic Development Company in October of 2009. According to The Morning Sun, the Tribe is now planning a 45,000 square foot water park with a 224 room hotel.

The actual construction of the water park resort is scheduled to begin in the spring.

Freman Hendrix to Join the Greektown Casino Board of Directors

Freman Hendrix, the current Detroit Charter Revision Commission ("Commission") chair, will resign his position on September 14th in order to join the Greektown Casino Board of Directors. Mr. Hendrix announced the move on August 17th via letter to Commission Vice Chair, Jenice Mitchell Ford. Vice Chair Ford will assume Mr. Hendrix's role as Commission chair and the Commission will vote to appoint a new member.

Mr. Hendrix, a graduate of Eastern Michigan University, has been involved in Detroit public service for several years. Prior to his election to the Commission, he served as deputy mayor under Dennis Archer and ran twice as a candidate for the mayor of Detroit. Mr. Hendrix also served as the government relations director for Eastern Michigan University.

The Commission is a group of nine elected city residents charged with reviewing and proposing changes to the current City of Detroit Charter, adopted in 1997. The Commission's term is non-renewable and expires in 2012.

The Commission has announced that it will receive applications for a replacement until August 24th. The Commission has thirty days to fill the vacancy. The Michigan Gaming Control Board will next meet on September 14th, the day of Mr. Hendrix's resignation from the Commission.

Rock Gaming and Forest City announce Land and Leasing Agreements for Cleveland Casino Development

On Thursday, August 19, 2010, Forest City Enterprises, Inc. ("Forest City") announced that it entered agreements with Rock Gaming, LLC ("Rock Gaming") under which Rock Gaming will acquire land and air rights from Forest City for development of a casino along Huron Road, adjacent to the Tower City Center complex in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

Under the agreements, Rock Gaming will acquire approximately 16 acres for development. In addition, the two companies also announced an agreement in principle on a multiyear lease for space in the Higbee Building within Tower City for potential construction and operation of a Phase 1 casino.

"The casino is an important project for Cleveland and the entire Northeast Ohio region, and today's agreements are major milestones in moving forward," said Charles A. Ratner, Forest City president and chief executive officer. "We are confident that the partnership of Rock Gaming and Harrah's Entertainment will create and deliver a great project that will benefit not only downtown, but all of Northeast Ohio for years to come. The Rock Gaming casino at Tower City Center represents the start of a dynamic new future for downtown entertainment economic revitalization in Cleveland."

Forest City owns and operates a total of more than 2 million square feet of commercial space at Tower City Center, as well as parking for an estimated 3,500 vehicles. Forest City is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate and land throughout the U.S.

Rock Gaming is a Michigan-based gaming partnership with plans to develop casinos in downtown Cincinnati and downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The company has an agreement in principle to partner with Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. to build and operate the casinos.

Pure Michigan Campaign Wins Four Awards

On Wednesday, August 11, 2010, Pure Michigan, the state of Michigan's official travel and tourism campaign, announced that the US Travel Association awarded it four Mercury Awards, Best State Tourism Television Commercials, Best State Tourism Radio Commercials, Best State Tourism Co-op (partnership) Program, and Best State Tourism Welcome Center Program. The awards were presented at the recent US Travel Association's Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations.

"We are absolutely thrilled and honored to receive four Mercury Awards, in recognition of the Pure Michigan campaign, from our colleagues and competitors within the tourism industry," said George Zimmermann, Vice President of Travel Michigan, a business unit of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

According to the press release, the four awards are in addition to several existing Mercury Awards the campaign has received, including: State Tourism Advertising Campaign (2007), Best State Tourism Television Commercials (2007), and Best State Tourism Radio Campaign (2008), Best State Tourism Radio Advertising (2009) and Best State Tourism Niche Marketing (2009).

The Pure Michigan campaign ran nationally for the second year on various cable channels. Due to reduced funding adjustments, the campaign was focused to the regional and in-state advertising efforts.

"There are millions of Americans who know little or nothing about the vibrancy, heritage, culture, arts and entertainment in our great cities, our sandy beaches and stunning overlooks along America's longest fresh-water coastline, or the majesty and recreation in our 19 million acres of magnificent forests," Mr. Zimmerman said. "The Pure Michigan Campaign is designed to introduce to the nation the attributes that make Michigan such a popular and unique destination."

According to a Pure Michigan press release, in 2009, the Pure Michigan campaign motivated 680,000 new trips to Michigan from outside the Great Lakes region and resulted in more than $250 million being spent at Michigan businesses. For every dollar spent on the Pure Michigan national campaign, new visits to Michigan stimulated by the advertising generated $2.23 in new state tax collections.

The Mercury Awards is a program created by the National Council of State Tourism Directors to recognize its members for excellence and creative accomplishment in state tourism marketing and promotion. For more information, please visit: http://www.ustravel.org/.