The tribal owners of Detroit’s bankrupt Greektown commercial casino have hired investment bank Moelis & Co. to find financing or a buyer for the nine-year-old casino. A sale is the preferred route out from under the casino’s $755 million debt.

Greektown, which sought Chapter 11 protection last May, in August came up $500,000 short of meeting loan covenants approved by the bankruptcy court.

Greektown’s owner, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, has put $47 million of tribal funds into Greektown over the past 10 months. It also had borrowed $150 million in June to complete permanent facilities that include a 400-room hotel required by state law.

The hotel is due to be fully open February 12, but the owner is pushing to have 200 rooms ready for conventions in January.

If a sale takes a while to complete, hotel results could add to the casino complex’s value, says casino analyst Jane Pedreira.

Pedreira adds, “I think absolutely there will be interest despite the credit market. There are a few people out there with capital. It’s not an impossible situation.”

By Casino Connection Staff