Close Up Detroit side of the river, casinos would not have happened without Larry Deitch. In late 1994, Deitch was asked by Nellie Varner to become involved with the Atwater group. The two shared a common history: Deitch was elected to an eight-year term on the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan in 1992, and Varner served 16 years on the board. Deitch immediately began develop- ing Atwater's strategy, and in early 1995, Atwater struck a joint venture deal with Mirage Resorts to build a casino. Atwater's responsibility was to get the license. When Michigan Gov- ernor John Engler announced his opposition to casinos in June 1995, he recognized that Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, who by that time was support- ive of casino gaming, had the preroga- tive to go to the Legislature. Engler insisted that any legislation include a referendum of the people. "The conventional wisdom was that this was defeat, and there weren't going to be casinos in Detroit," said Deitch. "We saw it as an opportunity, because we needed legislation anyway, and the governor had raised the ques- tion of taking it to the people. "It was our belief that a majority of the people in Michigan would support gaming." Mirage dropped out, so Atwater cut a deal with the Greektown interests to work together. Deitch was asked to be legal counsel and write the measure for putting the question on the ballot. "So we drafted Proposal E and began in March 1996 to circulate a petition. For a lawyer, it is an extraor- dinary opportunity to write a law and to shape public policy," said Deitch. A partner with the Southfield-based Sey- burn, Kahn, Ginn, Bess, Deitch and Serlin PC, Deitch's specialty is corpo- rate and real estate law. Again, conventional wisdom said they would fail to get the required 247,000 valid signatures. But within 90 days, they submitted 420,000 sig- natures and were certified to go on the Watching Out For The Jews ccording to Rabbi Joseph Krupnik of Windsor's Orthodox Shaarey Zedek synagogue, 'Windsor's tiny Jewish community has a unique way of heading off potential Jewish prob- lem gamblers. "That's because Betzalel Folk, the president of Sh2ir Hashornayim (another Windsor Orthodox congre- gation), is a supervisor at Casino Windsor. That way, we have a tremendous advantage over most of the communities," said Krupnik, . who works for the Council of Ortho- dox Rabbis of Greater Detroit in Southfield: "We can keep potential problem gamblers from the Jewish communi- ty awaY from the casino tables. It would be widely known in i the Windsor Jewish community if some- one has a gambling problem," said K.rupnik. But there's another side to Krup- nik's theory Said Folk, "We're not allowed to say who we see at the tables, or didn't see. It is all very dis- crete." And Folk, who has been with the casino since it opened, doesn't work 2/27 1998 96 on Shabbat. Casino Windsor fully recognizes Folk's Sabbath observance and accommodates it. Said Rabbi Jeffrey Ableser of 'Windsor's Temple Beth El, "Truth fully I thought there would be at least three schnorrers a week after the casino opened. But that hasn't hap- pened_." Rabbi Aaron gation Be th Wesi lei halls rnunity than abuse- But, he believes some time before Detrd effects. "Four or five years from' when people start losing their homes [because of gambling debts], then we'll feel it." Rabbi David A. Nelson of gregation Beth Shalom in Oak P believes most Jews who gamble pre- fer sports betting to casinos. A book- ie told Rabbi Nelson several years ago that a substantial number of Jews took cellular phones to synagogue on Yam Kippur in order to place bets on football games during the afternoon break. El ballot. To get those signatures meant hiring an outside firm, National Peti- tion Manage- ment Inc., of Roseville, Calif. National and two of its key executives are listed among the investors who have a piece of Atwa- ter's action. In November 1996, following an extensive advertising campaign, 51 percent of Michigan voters approved Pro- posal E. The predom- inantly African- American Atwa- ter group includes Walter E. Douglas, president and majority stock- holder of Avis Ford in South- field; Los Ange- les attorney Lawrence Deitch: Wrote Proposal E. Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., of O.J. Simpson fame; a number of Chaldean business people with businesses in Detroit; Michigan Rep. Samuel Thomas III of Detroit; and between 120 and 140 other investors. Deitch calls the Atwater investors a "rainbow coalition, a group of people who believe in Detroit, and who plugged forward on what itself was a speculative venture." He says there are many opportuni- ties for Jewish entrepreneurs as the casinos inch closer to reality. "These are $5 7 million develop- ments. We're planning an 800-room hotel, a 100,000-square-foot casino. There would be about nine restaurants in it, plus retail space. "There is going to be a tremendous amount of opportunity available in terms of suppliers of all kinds of things. Think about the goods and services. Our projections are we will have about 3,800 employees at the jump. So if you assume similar - employment levels by the other casi- nos, and then you recognize the eco- nomic multiplier generated from that number of direct jobs, I think the opportunity for the business commu- nity is tremendous." The Greektown casino will be built in Greektown, and the speculation until last week was that MGM Grand would end up with the Edison Plaza site and Atwater/Circus Circus was unresolved. The city wanted Atwater to build in the Grand River/Washington Boulevard area, but the group declined. They preferred behind the Fox Theatre (where Park Avenue now runs) near the new Tigers and Lions stadiums, their parking lots, and the proposed Hard Rock Cafe site, to cre- ate a world-class entertainment com- plex. But Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer announced last week that MGM Grand and Atwater/Circus Circus would be in the Rivertown area, a block from the Detroit River and approximately a half mile east of the - Renaissance Center. Atwater/Circus Circus officials hailed the decision.