Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Pete Rose and Wayne Gretzky got black eyes or worse; Ilitch gets fat and happy and a virtual pot of gold.
When it comes to Mike Ilitch, owner of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings franchises, the editors of Forbes magazine estimate he doubled his net worth between 2004 and 2006 with the acquisition of MotorCity Casino and bets on Indian gaming.
As part of the due diligence involved in putting together this year’s list of the “Ilitch Holdings, Inc., IH Gaming, Inc., acquired Circus Circus Michigan (a Mandalay Resort Group subsidiary) and its 53.5% share in MotorCity Casino. Then Ilitch rounded up all other miscellaneous shares giving Marian Ilitch 100% control of MotorCity Casino. Under previous owners, reports on file with the SEC indicate MotorCity Casino was the top operating income producer in a portfolio of properties that included Las Vegas sisters like Mandalay Bay, Circus Circus, Excalibur, Luxor and Monte Carlo.
Ilitch and his wife founded the Little Caesars pizza carry-outs in 1959 and established Ilitch Holdings, Inc. in 1999. Ilitch Holdings, Inc. is the parent to brands like Little Caesars; Detroit Tigers; NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, Fox Theater; Johnny Rockets; Olympia Development; and various management and booking companies overseeing Comerica Park, Joe Louis Arena, Cobo Center and other Detroit sports and entertainment venues; and more recently, IH Gaming Management and IH Gaming Inc. (parent of various Ilitch gaming interests including MotorCity Casino)
Sure Forbes recognized the Detroit Tigers finally had a winning season in 2006 but that didn’t score any additional points in their review. In fact, editors said that he'd doubled his net worth, "despite" ownership of the Tigers. Forbes also indicates Little Caesar Enterprises is planning a new era of expansions after a decade of big losses. But the most significant difference Forbes editors point to between their 2004 and 2006 analysis was the acquisition of MotorCity Casino valued at $1 billion.
To think that Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays got black eyes and were banned from coaching roles with baseball once because they got jobs at Atlantic City casinos; or that Pete Rose was TKO'd because he gambled but "not on baseball" and so he wrote a book; or that the Nutting family, owners of the Pittsburgh Pirates, were forced in the last month or two to chose between owning a ball team or a casino; or that "The Great One," Wayne Gretzky, took it on the chin earlier this year because his wife placed a few bets "but not on hockey."
Gretzky's wife had a career as an actress who watched her husband play hockey from the stands. Ilitch's wife was the corporate Secretary/Treasurer of the Tigers, she is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Red Wings and has her name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Ilitch took on $950 million in debt in 2005 to finance the MotorCity Casino acquisition. The Michigan Gaming Control Board authorized Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch to lead the offering targeted primarily at institutional investors. A notice distributed internationally announcing the investment opportunity notes Marian Ilitch is Vice President of the Detroit Tigers.
While owning two major sports teams the Michigan couple quietly doubled down on commercial and Indian casinos, boosting their restaurant and entertainment holdings empire with serious steroids. And by Forbes' independent account, Mike & Marian Ilitch got twice as rich (from $750 million to $1.5 billion) betting on casinos.
In the 21st Century, the Ilitches are re-tooling that famous iconical reference to American values ...
"As American as gambling backed baseball, motherhood and apple pie."
You may also want to review these posts:
Forbes Magazine: Mike llitch has backed losing sports teams and pizza ... But casinos in Detroit?
The Verifiable Truth: Baseball and Casinos Don’t Mix, or Do They?
The Verifiable Truth: New York Times sports writer recognizes conflicts in Ilitch casino ownership
first posted 12/20/06
3 comments:
Wow, nice work here! And thanks for checking in at my site with the info.
I amazed that the greatest hitter ever in baseball, Pete Rose may never get into the Hall of Fame because of gambling. Now Illitch has made millions in the casino business now Bud Selig and baseball continue to allow this, to me is a much bigger scandal than steroids.
We've published on this issue before. Columnist Murray Chass first published on this topic in 1998 and again last December. A decade later, perhaps someone at Major League Baseball will take renewed interest in re-visting this matter.
We note Forbes magazine has included Ilitch Family gambling ventures in estimating Mike Ilitch's net worth and Ilitch has done nothing to otherwise set the record straight with Forbes.
If Mike Ilitch defied the Commissioner in recruiting rookie pitcher Rick Porcello and writing the high school athlete a check for $13 million, what makes Commissioner Selig so sure Mike & Marian Ilitch aren't defying Major League Baseball on the matter of their entangled interests in the Tigers ball club, Motor City Casino and partnerships with Las Vegas gambling giants?
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