A sea of eager gamblers and enormous fanfare.
Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer cut the ribbon and officially opened the $200-million Greektown Casino in front of a crowd of about 3,000 patrons, many of whom had waited for hours on a chilly, breezy night downtown to be among the first to get in.
The 75,000-square-foot, Mediterranean-themed casino offers 2,400 slot machines and 104 table games. The casino also offers three restaurants, five lounges and a flower shop. Greektown Casino has the biggest stage among Detroit casinos in its Apollo Lounge where patrons can enjoy both headline and local entertainers or watch special events on a 10-foot by 10-foot projection screen.
Greektown Casino has something else not often found in gambling halls: windows. The nonsmoking room has 10 tables, 90 slot machines, a large skylight, and big windows grace a bar and lounge area that adjoins two gaming areas.
Owned by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a group of Detroit investors, Greektown Casino is located across the street from the Atheneum Suite Hotel & Conference Center in Detroit's Greektown tourist area. It is Detroit's third casino opening after the MGM Grand Detroit and the Motor City Casino.