Greektown Casino files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Detroit – Greektown Casino has filed for bankruptcy protection, but said Friday its gambling operations and ongoing expansion project that includes a permanent hotel won’t be disrupted.

Greektown Holdings LLC, Greektown Casino LLC and their affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit after failing to comply with terms of a credit line.

„As we reorganize our business and complete our permanent casino construction with additional financing, the goal is a bigger and more viable Greektown Casino,“ casino Management Board Chairman Tom Miller said in a statement.

The casino said Friday it was finalizing USD 150 million in additional financing with its banks for operations and is completing the construction of its new 400-room hotel and gambling floor expansion.

„With the support and confidence of our creditors, we have developed a plan to reorganize our business, and we will be implementing these action steps,“ Miller said.

Greektown Holdings said in a Bankruptcy Court filing its failure to comply with loan agreements with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. meant it couldn’t draw money from its credit line and made it difficult to incur new debt without bankruptcy protection. That loan was USD 314.5 million as of March 31, the filing said.

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is the majority owner of the casino, which is one of three Detroit casinos.

In November, Greektown Casino finished an attached parking structure, the first phase of construction on its new USD 500 million permanent casino and hotel complex, which is due to be completed in the coming months.

MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino both have permanent hotel complexes in Detroit. The construction of permanent gambling facilities by the three casinos has been a key part of efforts to revitalize the city.