Detroit's Three Casinos: How a Bankrupt City Built Itself a $1.5B Gaming Industry

Detroit has three casinos within 4 miles of downtown: MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino Hotel, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown. They generate $1.5B annually and helped fund the city's post-bankruptcy revival.

Detroit legalized commercial casino gambling in 1996 by voter referendum. The first temporary casinos opened 1999-2000. The permanent properties opened 2007-2008. Together they're the only commercial casino market in Michigan and one of the larger Midwest gaming markets.

The destination property of the three. Owned by MGM Resorts since 2007. 401 hotel rooms. Connected to MGM Rewards loyalty — making it cross-pool with Bellagio, MGM Grand Vegas, Borgata AC, and the rest of the MGM network.

For an MGM Rewards member who lives in Michigan or Ohio, MGM Grand Detroit is the closest tier-credit-earning MGM property. Trips here generate the same tier credits and reward credits as a Vegas trip would.

The property is in downtown Detroit, near the Comerica Park / Ford Field stadium district. The MGM Grand Detroit poker room is the largest in Michigan.

Owned by Marian Ilitch (widow of Mike Ilitch, the founder of Little Caesars Pizza and former Detroit Tigers/Red Wings owner). 400 hotel rooms.

The most uniquely "Detroit" of the three properties. Themed around automotive heritage. Sound Board concert venue regularly books mid-tier touring acts. Smaller than MGM Grand Detroit but operates with strong food and entertainment programming.

Loyalty program (Club Metro) doesn't cross-pool with any major network.

Owned by Penn Entertainment. 400 hotel rooms. Located in Detroit's Greektown neighborhood — restaurants, walkable.

The smallest of the three by gaming revenue but the most accessible by location for visitors who want walkable urban dining around their casino visit.

mychoice rewards (Penn's program) cross-pools with Penn's other regional properties — useful for players who travel within the Penn system but not for cross-network use.

Detroit's three casinos generate ~$1.5B annually — comparable to AC's #2 + #3 + #4 properties combined. The market is highly concentrated:

• Each property gets ~$500M annual gaming revenue
• Combined hotel inventory: ~1,200 rooms (small for the revenue)
• Heavy emphasis on local/regional players, less destination travel

For visitors: this means weekday rates are competitive ($100-180/night), weekend rates rise modestly ($200-300/night). It's a very functional gambling market without the destination markup of Vegas.

Michigan legalized online casino gaming in 2019. All three Detroit casinos operate online platforms:

• MGM Grand Detroit → BetMGM Casino Michigan
• MotorCity → Hollywood Casino BetRivers (via partnership)
• Hollywood Greektown → BarStool Sportsbook & Casino

Cross-pooling: BetMGM Michigan tier credits count toward MGM Rewards. The other operators are siloed.

For most non-Michigan residents, Detroit isn't a casino destination. The three properties are functional regional casinos without the scale or amenity depth of Vegas / AC / Mississippi Gulf.

For Michigan residents and Ohio/Indiana/Ontario neighbors, Detroit is the closest commercial casino market. MGM Grand Detroit is the pick if you're in MGM Rewards. Otherwise, choose by location convenience.

For our broader take on Midwest gaming: Pennsylvania casinos 2026 covers the larger PA market.

Topics

• detroit
• michigan
• regional

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