How long will it be before land-based casinos can re-open and what will their business models look like when they do? That’s the billion dollar question that’s being asked all across the world and it’s one that Detroit mayor, Mike Duggan has an unpleasant answer for. In a press conference earlier this week, Dugan suggested that Motown casinos might not be able to fully re-open for up to a year, despite the cost to casino operators, workers, and the city.
“I think we’re a long way away — six months or a year — from seeing it operate the way it used to,” Mayor Duggan said in response to a question about casinos at his daily press conference. While that response may send chills up the collective spine of the gaming industry, it’s a reality that Dugan says must be acknowledged given the severity of the situation.
And speaking of acknowledging the severity of the situation, the City of Detroit is already feeling the pain of casino closures and will continue to feel it for an extended period. But, according to a report by WXYZ Detroit, Mayor Dugan is stoic about the costs saying, “It costs us $600,000 a day. I haven’t complained about it a single day because the health of the community is more important than revenue coming in.”
Last year, casinos brought in a full 20 percent of the revenue Detroit uses to operate its city services.
But even if the casinos of Detroit were able to open sooner, there’s still the bigger question as to whether or not consumers will be interested in going to them? Only time will tell.