But I told you so... MGM Mirage has taken a 360 degree turn and recently issued a press release (see below) stating that they are considering Strategic Alternatives in Detroit. According to the press release MGM Mirage has been approached by several parties concerning the possible sale of the MGM Grand Detroit and that if the sale of the MGM Grand Detroit were to go through they would keep their interest in the MotorCity casino and work with the MotorCity partners. Originally MGM Mirage was going to sell the MotorCity property as part of the merger agreement but that may not happen if they sell the MGM Grand.

I don't know why but for some reason Terry Lanni likes to play these games of building million to billion dollar casino resorts, name them MGM Grand and within a year to a year and a half sell the property to someone else. Let's take a look at the company's record of properties called MGM Grand shall we. First we have the original MGM Grand in Las Vegas which nearly burned to the ground in 1980 after some faulty wire sparked a fire, It was later rebuild but was sold not that long after to Bally's Gaming. The MGM Grand in Reno, Nevada opened in 1978 and six years later in 1986 it closed. The MGM Grand in Johannesburg, South Africa opened in 1998 and closed in 2001. The MGM Grand in Darwin Australia opened in 2001 and closed in 2004 and now possibly the MGM Grand in Detroit will be closed.

This is just my personal opinion but it would not suprise me in the least if one of the people who has approached MGM Mirage was Don Barden, owner of Fitzgeralds and the Majestic Star casinos, He has been looking to own a casino in Detroit for years. I think the main downfall of his bid being rejected was that he had Michael Jackson as a business partner.

== Rick Schwarz R-5723 ==