Michael J. Malik Sr. (born February 1954) is a developer and entrepreneur from Detroit, Michigan who resides in Birmingham, Michigan. Currently his net worth is $750,000,000.
Since the early 1990s he and his partner Marian Ilitch have been catalysts for legalization of gambling and development of gambling halls from coast to coast and in Hawaii with mixed results. Among them: casinos for Michigan's Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in Manistee; and the Bay Mills Indian Community in Brimley and a proposed off-reservation casino in Port Huron; several failed attempts to legalize gambling in the State of Hawaii and develop casinos on Waikīkī Beach; a planned casino resort on Long Island, New York in the Town of Southampton (often referred to as The Hamptons) as "Gateway Casino Resorts, LLC" partnered with the Shinnecock Indians; and as Barwest, LLC, partners with the Big Lagoon Rancheria Indians and the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Mission Indians to develop proposed dual off-reservation casinos in Barstow, California.
Malik is a hunter paid a $14,995 fine in 2008 for illegally shooting a large bull elk on an auction tag for which he paid $135,000. [1]
As a partner with NAG, Malik directed a ballot effort to bring casino gambling to Detroit, Michigan. In 1996, NAG teamed with Atwater Entertainment to support the passage of a Michigan statewide proposal facilitating the development of three commercial casinos in Detroit. Following passage of the proposal, Malik worked with state elected officials to negotiate and implement the regulatory oversight framework for the Detroit casinos.
Malik was a partner in the casino group Detroit Entertainment, which included Marina Ilitch and more than 130 local partners. Detroit Entertainment selected Mandalay Bay Group as casino operator, and Malik worked with them on the development of the casino project now called MotorCity Casino. His efforts have resulted in an entertainment industry in Detroit that today exceeds $1.3 billion per year.
Malik helped develop a casino for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in Manistee in northwest Michigan. He was responsible for site selection and land acquisition, construction firm selection, assistance in obtaining a gaming compact, and establishing casino operations. Today the Little River Casino is the third most profitable Indian owned and operated casino of the 18 located in Michigan.
Malik also assisted in the development of two casinos, a hotel and a golf course for the Bay Mills Indian Tribe in Brimley, Michigan. He assisted the tribe with the legislative approval process for obtaining the first gaming compact in Michigan. Malik is currently working with the Bay Mills Tribe to develop a casino in Port Huron, Michigan.
Malik is managing partner in the casino development group BarWest L.L.C., and is working with the Los Coyotes Band from San Diego County, California to construct and operate a world-class casino complex in Barstow, California.
Native American gaming comprises casinos, bingo halls, slots halls and other gambling operations on Indian reservations or other tribal lands in the United States. Because these areas have tribal sovereignty, states have limited ability to forbid gambling there, as codified by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. As of 2011, there were 460 gambling operations run by 240 tribes, with a total annual revenue of $27 billion.
Mandalay Resort Group was an American hotel and casino operator based in Paradise, Nevada. Its major properties included Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus, as well as half of the Monte Carlo. In terms of market capitalization, it was one of the largest casino operators in the world. Its stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol "CIR" and "MBG".
The Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC), is an Indian reservation forming the land base of one of the many federally recognized Sault Ste. Marie bands of Ojibwe.
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan, is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popular tourist destination, it is home to several small- to medium-sized cities, extensive state and national forests, lakes and rivers, and a large portion of Great Lakes shoreline. The region has a significant seasonal population much like other regions that depend on tourism as their main industry. Northern Lower Michigan is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale, which are also located in "northern" Michigan. In the northernmost 21 counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the total population of the region is 506,658 people.
Hollywood Casino at Greektown, formerly Greektown Casino-Hotel, is a casino hotel in the Greektown neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Penn Entertainment.
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in northwest Michigan on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sandra Witherspoon is the current tribal chairperson, elected in May 2024 to a four-year term after succeeding David Arroyo, who served a single term from 2020 to 2024.
MotorCity Casino Hotel is a casino hotel located in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It was opened on December 14, 1999.
Marian Bayoff Ilitch is an American billionaire businesswoman, and the co-founder of Little Caesars Pizza with her late husband, Mike Ilitch. As of March 2018, Ilitch was one of the world's seven richest women, according to Bloomberg.
Ilitch Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company established in 1999 to provide all companies owned by Mike and Marian Ilitch with professional and technical services. Its privately held businesses include Little Caesars Pizza, the National Hockey League (NHL) Detroit Red Wings, the Major League Baseball (MLB) Detroit Tigers, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development, Olympia Parking, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Champion Foods, 313 Presents, the Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, Hockeytown Cafe, and a variety of venues within these entities. Ilitch Holdings subsidiaries manage Detroit's Fox Theatre, City Theatre, Comerica Park, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Michigan Lottery Amphitheater, Meadow Brook Amphitheater, and Little Caesars Arena, which replaced Joe Louis Arena after closing in July 2017.
Christopher Paul Ilitch is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ilitch Holdings, Inc., a holding company that provides services to businesses that were founded or purchased by Mike and Marian Ilitch. Ilitch companies include Little Caesars Pizza, Olympia Entertainment, MotorCity Casino Hotel, the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball, the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League, and numerous real estate holdings. In 2018, the organization's total combined revenue was $3.8 billion.
The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi (NHBP) is a federally-recognized tribe of Potawatomi in the United States. The tribe achieved federal recognition on December 19, 1995, and currently has approximately 1500 members.
Tourism in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan is a significant factor for the region's culture and for its economy, comprising nine percent of the area's two million jobs. About 19 million people visit Metro Detroit spending an estimated 6 billion in 2019. In 2009, this number was about 15.9 million people, spending an estimated $4.8 billion. Detroit is one of the largest American cities and metropolitan regions to offer casino resort hotels. Leading multi-day events throughout Metro Detroit draw crowds of hundreds of thousands to over three million people. More than fifteen million people cross the highly traveled nexus of the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel annually. Detroit is at the center of an emerging Great Lakes Megalopolis. An estimated 46 million people live within a 300-mile (480 km) radius of Metro Detroit.
The Big Lagoon Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Yurok and Tolowa Indians. They are located in Humboldt County, California, and their tribal headquarters is in Arcata, California.
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is a federally recognized Native American tribe of the Odawa people in the United States. It is based in Manistee and Mason counties in northwest Michigan. It was recognized on September 21, 1994.
FireKeepers Casino Hotel is a 236,000-square-foot (21,900 m2) casino and hotel in Emmett Charter Township, Michigan, between Battle Creek and Marshall. It is owned and operated by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi. Construction began May 7, 2008, and the casino opened to the general public on August 5, 2009. Construction was a joint venture between Shingobee Builders and Clark Construction. The hotel and other additions opened in December 2012.
Laura Spurr was the American chairwoman of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, a federally recognized Potawatomi tribe based in Calhoun County, Michigan, from 2003 until her death in 2010.
Full House Resorts, Inc. is a casino developer and operator based in Summerlin South, Nevada. The company currently operates five casinos. It is known for the involvement of Gulfstream Aerospace founder Allen Paulson, who was CEO from 1994 to 2000, and former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca, who was a major investor in the company from 1995 to 2013. Dan Lee has served as CEO since late 2014.
Club Manitou was an infamous mid-west summer resort nightclub-casino located in Harbor Springs in northern Michigan, United States that existed from 1929 until 1952. It was a speakeasy run by The Purple Gang during Prohibition and the Great Depression years featuring a hidden basement of gambling and alcohol for wealthy Midwestern summer resort goers.
Bay Mills Resort & Casino is a casino and hotel located in Brimley, Michigan, on the shore of St. Mary's River, which opened in November 1995. It is owned and operated by the Bay Mills Indian Community.
Kings Club Casino is a casino located in Brimley, Michigan, which opened in 1984. It was the first Tribally owned casino in the United States. It is owned and operated by the Bay Mills Indian Community.
The owner of MJM Enterprises and Development, Malik is involved in a spectrum of development projects, including hunting and fishing preserves, oil and gas development, financing touring entertainment acts and developing business expansion projects.
Malik has been a real estate developer and licensed broker for more than 25 years. As one of the first 26 Michigan residents licensed in securities and exchange real estate, Malik has developed many commercial projects. He specializes in resort development, industrial parks, retail shopping malls and urban development.