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The Michigan Gaming Control Board, however, has not yet endorsed this view. Casino lawyers are looking into it, but generally speaking they operate under the auspices of the state gaming board, not the City of Detroit. As a lawyer who has studied some casino issues, I think the mayor's office lacks any authority to "keep" casinos open, and casinos will not risk revocation of their state licenses if the MCGB does not given them clear authorization to remain open. Remember that the MGCB is very strict - they prohibited Greektown's original owners from continuing with ownership after it was discovered they had unpaid taxes on other businesses (Greektown was sold to the Saginaw Chippewa tribe, but it operates the Greektown casino under a state license rather than federal Indian authorization). They also prohibited Greektown from giving out meal vouchers to area restauranteurs who had not been certified as casino vendors (and had not cleared the necessary background checks to receive certification). Both moves were upheld byt he courts, which ruled that the MGCB has extremely broad powers to set the rules and police the casinos.
Of course, if the MGCB finds a way to keep its officers on duty despite a shutdown, the casinos should be able to stay open. The whole issue is whether gaming board agents will be in the casinos during a state shutdown, since they are there to protect the public and the casinos from each other. So far, the MGCB has said that it would not have its officers present during a government shutdown and therefore the casinos would not be allowed to stay open.
Re: MGM's old chips:
The MGM Grand ran an ad in the paper today that states:
HURRY IN AND CASH OUT!
Don't miss your chance to cash in your chips, tokens and tickets at our current location by September 30!
Tickets from our current property cannot automatically be cashed at machines. Chips, tokens and tickets must be redemed by a casino cashier at the all new MGM Grand Detroit.
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