Casino selection process was illegal, Barden says

Attorneys for Detroit businessman Don Barden argued in paperwork filed in federal court Wednesday that the casino process should be stopped. Barden is suing for more than $100 million in damages, saying the casino selection process was illegal.

The city and state would lose millions of dollars and thousands of jobs if a federal judge halts the opening of Detroit's three proposed casinos, attorneys for the city of Detroit warned.

U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen is hearing the lawsuit filed by Barden, who made an unsuccessful bid for a casino license.

The city argued that there should be no injunction issued because Barden promised not to sue, waited too long to sue and wasn't harmed in the casino process, the Detroit Free Press reported Thursday.

An injunction is too drastic a measure to impose on the city, its lawyers said.

If Rosen does issue an injunction, it should be narrow, "to accomplish equity with minimum damage," the city argued.

Barden said all three winners must be rebid because they benefited in some way from preferences.

But Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer said a rebid would be extremely costly.

"If that occurs, it could force some layoffs. I hope we don't have to deal with that," he said Thursday. "It will have a serious impact because the budget that the council approved anticipated just over $50 million in income from the three casinos getting up and running."

The state law voters approved in 1996 and city ordinances gave preferences to the Greektown and Atwater casino groups, which got city laws passed in 1994 allowing them to have casinos.

Archer has said Greektown needed its preference to be selected.

Atwater, which paired with the national firm Circus for its casino bid, was entitled to a preference but didn't need it because its application was strong, Archer said.

But Barden's attorneys argued that even if Archer didn't apply the preference to Atwater, the company used it to draw Circus casinos as its partner, making it a strong contender. Circus agreed in 1997 to pay Atwater $13 million for its preference rights.

Although MGM had no preference, its casino bid was packaged inseparably with the other two before the City Council, which could only accept or reject all three.

Rosen is expected to decide the case quickly.

Despite the city's warnings of lost jobs and tax revenue, Rosen said he would make his decision based on evidence, The Detroit News reported.

"You know, I've got life tenure, so I call it as I see it," Rosen said.

MGM Grand hopes to open its temporary casino in late July, Atwater in September and Greektown before the end of the year.

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