MGM Grand marks the beginning of competition for Detroit market

The billboard is one of several moves by Canada's Casino Windsor to entice the 80 percent of its customers who come from the United States to keep making the trip to Windsor, Ontario, just across the river from Detroit.

Windsor and some of Michigan's Indian casinos are turning up their marketing efforts to lure customers back once the newness wears off the MGM Grand Detroit Casino and two other temporary casinos expected later this year. But the casinos are also counting on competition to grow the number of people coming to the Detroit area with a few bucks they're willing to lay on the table.

"Competition makes people much better at what they do," said MGM Grand Inc. Chairman J. Terrence Lanni. "If you become a monopoly, you become fat, dumb and happy, and we don't want to do that."

Casino Windsor has had a near monopoly on gamblers in the Detroit area since it opened in 1994 within a five-minute drive of downtown Detroit. In 1998, Windsor pulled in 20,000 customers a day and earned $535 million; 80 percent of those visitors were from the United States.

Some gamblers who made it in to the MGM Grand on Thursday said they were likely to cut back on visits to Canada. Henry Perry of Mount Clemens waited 4 1/2 hours to get in Thursday, just to feel the excitement of opening day. Perry said he's been to most of the casinos in Michigan and to Casino Windsor.

"It's about as good as any I've been to. Maybe even a few steps better," Perry said while waiting to play a slot machine. "I probably won't go back to Windsor much. Here, you don't have to be bothered with getting your money exchanged."

Casino Windsor spokesman Jim Mundy said the casino has expected competition to arrive since it opened.

"We certainly expect to see a drop in attendance, as people check out MGM and see what it has to offer," Mundy said. "But then there'll be a rebound."

Mundy said the rebound would come because Windsor offers more amenities - a 389-room attached hotel, four restaurants, and space for live acts. The casino hosted its first boxing matches July 20; on Thursday night, while MGM Grand was opening, Casino Windsor featured Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons.

Mundy also contends that Americans benefit from using Canadian money because the exchange rate - about $1.50 Canadian for every $1 American - gives gamblers more to play with.

"The games don't differ much from casino to casino," he said. "The way you set yourself apart from the competition is the value you can add."

Casino Windsor's billboards have drawn some criticism from MGM Grand officials, who contend the message is misleading. While gambling winnings are not taxed in Canada, Americans who bring their winnings back must report them on their income taxes.

Mundy said the sign was not meant to mislead, but is "completely true."

The nearest Indian casino to Detroit, the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, has also turned to Detroit freeway billboards for promotion. The casino in central Michigan is a 2 1/2 -hour drive away, but offers a 512-room hotel, indoor and outdoor pools, an art gallery and even a child care center.

Like Windsor, Soaring Eagle has a size advantage over the MGM Grand Detroit, which is limited by the city to 75,000 square feet of gambling area. MGM Grand has 2,370 slots, while Windsor has 2,947 and Soaring Eagle has over 4,000.

Bill Masterson, manager of public relations for Soaring Eagle, said the casino had started bringing in higher-tier entertainers, such as Ray Charles and Kenny Rogers, and renovating some dining areas.

"Whenever something new opens people are drawn to it," Masterson said. "We think over time, and even a relatively short period of time, our business will be back. We believe we're a destination resort, and it's based not on glitter and bells. It's based on arts and culture."

There is another way casinos compete - sweetening the payoffs on slot machines and other devices favored by mid-rollers. Lanni, who was president of Caesars World Inc. when it opened the temporary Casino Windsor, said such moves were likely.

"The casino in Windsor has a smaller casino and a smaller hotel than our MGM Grand in Las Vegas, yet it has a rather substantially larger casino win," he said.

Mundy said there was "no plans in the works" for such moves, but "that doesn't mean it can't happen."

Experts disagree about Windsor's chances of holding onto its customers. Todd Jordan, an industry analyst with Raymond James & Associates Inc., said Casino Windsor would have a tough time.

"Location means a lot in this business, and unfortunately their location is at a disadvantage," he said.

But gambling industry expert Bill Thompson, a professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, said Windsor would keep more than its fair share of a market where most of the gamblers live within 50 miles of Detroit.

"I think there's still a fear of going to downtown Detroit," Thompson said. "Maybe when the reconstruction of Detroit is done, they (Detroit casinos) will draw more people in.

"People in Ann Arbor and Flint can get to Windsor just as easily as they can get to casinos in Detroit."

But Jordan and others said the new casinos should grow the gambling market to as much as $1.5 billion a year.

"People go to Las Vegas and Atlantic City because they know there's more than one casino there," Mundy said. "When people outside the immediate market hear there's four casinos in the Detroit-Windsor area, the market will begin to grow and it will become a gaming destination.

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