“As part of the MGM Grand family, the Detroit casino has the resources, the brand and the know-how to attract customers. The gaming corporation honed its skills competing in Las Vegas, the world's toughest gaming market, to become a multinational company with experienced, hard-charging executives,” said Tom Nelson, an independent gaming regulation consultant in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
Detroit's two other casinos "certainly don't have that world reach that MGM has," said David Lorenz, spokesman for Pure Michigan, the state's tourism campaign. MGM "lends a feel of opulence, luxury and entertainment," he said.
Together, Detroit's gaming trio reported a 2.9 % rise in revenue to US$1.4 billion last year, following a 1.5 % drop in 2009.
The performance put Detroit ahead of its sluggish counterparts Las Vegas and Atlantic City, destinations that rely more on tourism and were hard hit during the recession when visitors cut back on travel and entertainment. Revenue in Atlantic City plunged 9.6 % to US$3.6 billion, according to Frank Fantini, editor and publisher of Fantini's Gaming Report in Dover, Gaming income in Nevada remained flat with a 0.1% rise to US$10.4 billion.
MotorCity and the MGM Grand led the expansion with gains of 7.7 % and 2.6 %, respectively, while Greektown declined 1.2 %.
MotorCity, which claimed 34 % of the market in January, compared with MGM's 42%, has become a more formidable challenger during the past five months. Its strong January performance built on gains it posted in the last four months of 2010, when its revenue grew 6.4 % compared with the September-December period in 2009. But MGM still pulled in US$10 million more in revenue than MotorCity in January.
Part of the success of Michigan's largest casino comes from providing a first-class experience with the coveted four-diamond rating by AAA Michigan and a Forbes Travel Guide four-star rating for its hotel. It is the main driver of Detroit's casino market, which last year outpaced the larger and more well-known destinations of Atlantic City, New Jersey and Las Vegas.