Former Grosse Pointe resident Elaine Servais says her favorite Vegas haunt is Stardust, but on her latest trip she stayed at Palace Station. She said she might visit Detroit's casinos when she's in town to see relatives. That's up 13 percent from 1996. MGM Grand, whose controlling shareholder is billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, is hunkering down elsewhere, however. We've gotten real tough on our vendors.
Properties also require ever more investments to keep their occupancy rates up.
A conference center recently opened, as well as a seven-acre pool and spa. We're trying to build partners. There's a bifurcation between the 'A' properties and the 'C, D, E and F' properties. There are hardly any 'B' properties left. There's never been a greater disparity.