Connell: Parker says casino will open next year - Port Huron Times Herald

Sunday, 17 April 2011 08:47 administrator
Print

The Detroit Free Press, never a friend of a Port Huron casino, alluded to this inequity a week ago when it editorialized against a ballot proposal to place new casinos in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Detroit, Romulus, Benton Harbor, Saginaw and Mount Clemens.

"It ignores the one location

left in Michigan where a new casino might make some sense -- Port Huron -- and eviscerates the three voter-approved casinos in Detroit by adding another one in the city, plus one each in nearby Romulus and Mount Clemens," the Free Press opined.MY CONVERSATION with Parker took place at the Sail Away Caf on Huron Avenue, where the street view gave him an opening to share his vision for Port Huron.Along with hiring hundreds of employees, he said Bay Mills will be looking for partners in a downtown resurrection."It's similar to a mall," he explained. "The casino is the anchor store."The tribe would stick to running the casino. Other investors would underwrite the spin-offs, a list that might include retail shops, restaurants, an indoor water park, a resort hotel, a higher-end boutique hotel, an aquarium, a hockey complex, a minor-league ballpark, a convention center or whatever.Finding those investors is where Mike Malik, a former Algonac councilman who works with the billionaire Ilitch family on casino projects, comes in.It has been 20 years since Malik and Bay Mills first proposed a casino in Port Huron. Had they succeeded in 1991, the first Vegas-style casino in Michigan (or Ontario, for that matter) would have been located at the old Sears building on Fort Street.Rather than being a pioneer in casino development, Port Huron remains a footnote. Michigan has 25 casinos today, with every region of the state represented except the Thumb.Parker insisted it is not too late for Port Huron to hit the jackpot. He spoke of a bustling downtown at the heart of a thriving city, a place of vibrancy and opportunity."Those sidewalks will be full of people," he promised, gesturing to the nearly empty street outside the caf windows.LATER in the week, I stopped at the Sail Away for my morning coffee.The barista, Katie Voss, gave me a forlorn look and told me the caf would be closing on April 30 if new investors cannot be found.Mike Connell is a freelance writer. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit his website at www.abbeyrow.com.

Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text Feed | Amazon AffiliateHud Settlement Statement

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEHWMtcJZmjTOh1PnMuSgwIf5lVxw&url=http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20110417/OPINION02/104170363/0/NEWS05/Connell-Parker-says-casino-will-open-next-year?odyssey=nav%257Chead

< Prev   Next >