Quicken boss to start 2 casinos in Ohio

Dan Gilbert is a man of two cities.

Ohio voters approved Tuesday the creation of casinos in Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati. Gilbert, who already owns the Cleveland Cavaliers professional basketball team, will be the main investor in a casino to be built in Cleveland's Flats district, not far from where his NBA team plays at the Quicken Loans Arena.

Speaking in Cleveland on Tuesday evening, Gilbert was elated at the passage of the casino referendum. "Let's start lighting it up like Las Vegas," he told the media. "We're going to deliver something very special."

Gilbert now has the right to develop the casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati, while another entity is to build the other two. Each of Gilbert's casinos will require a $50-million licensing fee to be paid by Gilbert and his partners.

But will Gilbert's Ohio casinos compete with those in Detroit? Gilbert suggested Wednesday there would be "healthy competition" between the two.

Detroit's casinos to face new rivals

Detroit's three casinos, already facing competition from Caesars Windsor and tribal gaming in the state, will soon face a new threat.

Ohio voters approved casino gaming Tuesday, paving the way for one casino each in Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati.

Industry executives claim new casinos broaden and deepen the market and boost demand. "Every time that we have seen a new facility open up, the overall market has increased," said Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association.

But David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the market is already so large that new casinos will mostly cannibalize the others.

Of the Detroit casinos, Schwartz said, "It's certainly not going to help them. I'd really look at my customer service and step up my marketing."