Quicken Loans Affiliate to Acquire Greektown Casino-Hotel

January 24, 2013

After having invested almost $1 billion in 15 prominent office buildings totaling almost 2.6 million square feet of space on downtown Woodward Avenue corridor in the last few years, Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert is now placing his bets on the Greektown Casino-Hotel located within the area.

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

After having invested almost $1 billion in 15 prominent office buildings totaling almost 2.6 million square feet of space on downtown Woodward Avenue corridor in the last few years, Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert is now placing his bets on the Greektown Casino-Hotel located within the area.

An official announcement was made last week by Rock Gaming LLC, Dan Gilbert’s gambling company. Rock Gaming’ affiliate Athens Acquisition LLC—an entity formed specifically to serve this deal—plans to acquire a majority interest in Greektown Superholdings Inc., the venue’s owner. If the deal is approved by the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), Athens Acquisition will gain the majority voting control of the casino, hotel and all related assets.

Crain’s Detroit Business’ coverage of the deal reveals that Athens Acquisition offered to pay a purchase price of $81 per share for the stock it has not acquired yet, as part of Dan Gilbert’s plan to revitalize downtown Detroit. While the terms of the deal are yet to be revealed, the casino could follow the same “buy & upgrade” pattern as the other Quicken Loan-owned properties (such as the M@dison Building, the Chase Tower, the First National Building or the Chrysler House, formerly known as the Dime Building). “Our plans are in the early phases; however, we envision significant investment in the Greektown Casino-Hotel, as well as the enhancement and growth of the existing entertainment district. We see this unique area extending to Campus Martius and along Woodward Avenue building on the positive momentum already occurring in the heart of downtown Detroit,” said Rock Gaming LLC chairman Dan Gilbert in a press statement.

Opened in November 2000 at 555 East Lafayette, Greektown Casino-Hotel is the smallest of Detroit’s three casino resorts, offering gamblers 2,700 slot and video poker machines, a live poker room featuring 12 smoke-free tables, as well as a 30-story, 400-room hotel designed by Rossetti Architects of Southfield, MI.