The Michigan Gaming Control Board faces three vacancies on its five-person Board as of January 1, 2012. Barbara Rom, whose term expires December 31, 2011, is completing her service as Chair of the Board, retiring, and moving to France. Ms. Rom's financial expertise arising from her many years as a leading bankruptcy lawyer has been important in dealing with a wide array of financial matters involving the Detroit casinos, including the bankruptcy reorganization and complete restructuring of Greektown Casino in the absence of any Michigan gaming law precedent. Judge Benjamin Friedman's term expires December 31, 2011. Judge Friedman brought a strong judicial temperament to the Board. Finally, Jim Plakas, a former mayor of Garden City who has decided to retire from the Board a year before his term expires, had a wealth of practical greater Detroit metropolitan area political experience.
The next scheduled meeting of the Board is set for February 14, 2012. At least one more Board member needs to be appointed before then in order for a quorum to exist to conduct regular business. Moreover, certain actions by the Board require the approval of four Board members, so filling all the vacancies is of paramount importance.
Unlike the gaming laws of other gaming states, the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act does not provide any form of stipend for Board service, notwithstanding the fact that service on the Board requires a great deal of time and effort on the part of Board members. This is consistent with Michigan's long-standing focus on volunteerism on state-created boards. Nonetheless, finding appropriate volunteers for service on the Board has been a challenge faced by every governor since the enactment of the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act. Governor Snyder demonstrated his commitment to excellence in Board appointments when he appointed Robert L. Anthony, a retired partner from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, to fill a vacancy that occurred as of December 31, 2010. He now faces the challenge of finding three more highly qualified volunteers to serve on this interesting, but very demanding, Board. This comes as Detroit's three casinos face the looming challenge of the opening of a commercial casino in Toledo in the first half of 2012, as well as significant economic challenges being faced by the City of Detroit.
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