Property Types Hospitality
$375M in Funding to Kick Off Michigan Casino Project
May 7, 2008
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

The last piece of the financial puzzle for constructing the FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Mich., has been put in place with the FireKeepers Development Authority's closing on $375 million in financing.

With a $340 million Senior Secured Note and a $35 million F&E facility in place, work can commence on FireKeepers Casino. Located about an hour from Lansing and two hours from Detroit, the property will initially feature a 230,000-square-foot casino, restaurants, as well as a covered parking facility to accommodate 2,000 vehicles.

The FireKeepers Authority has charged Gaming Entertainment Michigan L.L.C., a joint venture of which Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts Inc. is a 50 percent owner, with handling the project's construction. Upon completion, GEM will oversee management of FireKeepers Casino for a seven-year period. Joint venture partner Full House presently has its hands in other pies in Michigan. The company has a contract with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians for the development and management of a premier casino resort in suburban Battle Creek.

A June groundbreaking is in the works for FireKeepers Casino, which is scheduled to open its doors in the summer of next year.

 
Recent Hospitality Headlines
$390M Expansion of Wisconsin Resort Takes Next Step with Commission's Approval
May 22, 2008
Delavan Resort Holdings L.L.C. has just received the green light from the City of Delavan Planning Commission to progress to the next phase of the $390 million redevelopment of Lake Lawn Resort, an upscale leisure destination in Delavan, Wis., 10 miles west of Lake Geneva.
Courtyard by Marriott Opens on Gulfport Beachfront
May 22, 2008
Almost three years after Hurricane Katrina's devastation along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Courtyard® by Marriott® Gulfport, located at 1600 East Beach Boulevard in Gulfport, has opened as the coast's beachfront hotel and meetings destination.
$4B Resort Complex for Vietnam's Vung Tau Province
May 22, 2008
Asian Coast Development Ltd. a privately held Canadian-based resort developer, has been awarded a highly coveted investment certificate by the government of Vietnam that allows for the construction of Vietnam's largest tourism venture, the Ho Tram Strip.
Work Gets Underway on New 215-Room Aloft Hotel in Aventura
May 22, 2008
Cabi Aventura Hotel L.L.P. and Aventura Development have just broken ground on a lodging facility in Aventura that will carry the flag of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s new aloft brand. Located about 17 miles from Miami, the 215-room property will also feature 5,000 square feet of meeting space.
Atlantic City Casinos Seeing Lower Profits
May 21, 2008 - Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
The city has hoped that adding new hotels, nightclubs, and shopping will help to compete with Pennsylvania's slot parlors, but times are looking tough.
 

 

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