About 350 hundred people turned out for a public hearing yesterday in preparation for the council's vote Friday on Mayor Dennis Archer's plan to build three casinos in a warehouse district near downtown.
''We see this as the biggest employment opportunity of the 20th Century,'' Archer spokesperson Greg Bowens said. ''Since World War II, when Detroit was the Arsenal of Democracy, there has been nothing like this.''
Archer, once an outspoken opponent of casino gambling, now is the plan's biggest backer. He and his supporters - including local unions - say casinos would help jump-start the city's economy.
''More than 11,000 construction jobs and 15,000 full- and part-time permanent jobs will be generated as a result of casino gambling,'' Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO President Ed Scribner said Thursday.
Right across the Canadian border, business is booming at two casinos in Windsor, Ontario, and an expansion already is in the works. And Indian tribes have opened casinos on reservations across northern Michigan.
04-07-98
| Previous Article | Next Article |
should be sent to: daily.letters@umich.edu | should be sent to: online.daily@umich.edu |