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Dan Gilbert: "Doing great things . . . downtown." (Steve Jennings photo)
Quicken Loans founder and real estate mogul Dan Gilbert is selling his Greektown Casino to Penn National Gaming Inc. and a real estate investment trust for $1 billion about six years after he acquired it, Daniel Howes of The Detroit News reports.
The move may be the start of his effort to shed his casinos from his portfolio and reinvest in the city. Gilbert's Detroit-based Jack Entertainment LLC operates six properties in Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland and Michigan.
"We plan on deploying that capital right into the city," Gilbert tells Howes in an interview. "I've got nowhere else to invest except for real estate business and technology businesses and start-up businesses in the city of Detroit. We plan on taking that capital and hopefully doing great things with it downtown."
There has been recent speculation that Gilbert is dumping his casinos because he has interest in buying the Detroit Tigers. Major League baseball prohibits team owners from owning casinos.
But the Ilitch family denies interest in selling the team.
On Twitter, a Flint resident reacts to the news:
If this sale goes through it would allow Dan Gilbert to make MI campaign contributions. Currently restricted by gaming regulations
— Kyle McCree (@kmccree) November 14, 2018
