| Ottawan |
Mar 13, 2012 2:41 PM |
Downtown Ottawa Casino
Following yesterday's announcement by OLG, it is now a distinct possibility that a casino could be built reasonably soon in the core of Ottawa (see article below).
Where do people think it should be built? I've mentioned before my opinion that a casino could do alot to revitalize Sparks Street were it to be located there, but there are plenty of other good options.
Quote:
Ottawa could see downtown casino if OLG has its way
By lee greenberg, The Ottawa Citizen March 13, 2012 7:06 AM
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Ottawa+...#ixzz1p0YqocyA
TORONTO — Downtown Ottawa could soon host a casino as a result of a major overhaul of the province’s gaming assets announced Monday.
“Ottawa’s an important city in our overall plan,” said Paul Godfrey, chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming corporation (OLG). The government will seek private sector bids in the reopening or relocation of a gaming facility in Ottawa.
The overhaul announced Monday will bring an end to a funding agreement that allowed slot facilities at 17 racetracks across the province, including at Rideau Carleton Raceway on March 31, 2013.
Some slot facilities and charity casinos will be closed forever. However, the Citizen has learned Rideau Carleton’s ownership will have an opportunity to bid on a relocated gaming facility in the city. The Raceway is roughly 20 kilometres from downtown Ottawa, further even than the Ottawa airport. The OLG would like a facility closer to the city centre.
A spokesman for Rideau Carleton ignored multiple requests for comment on Monday. Currently Rideau Carleton operates 1,250 slot machines and is reportedly on the verge of receiving 21 table games.
“From my knowledge of the situation a lot of people go to Hull because it’s more convenient than to drive out to Rideau,” Godfrey, who is also CEO of Postmedia Inc., the company that owns the Citizen, said. “We want to put the facilities where the people happen to be. And that’s a discussion we will undertake probably starting in the next few days.”
The change of venue could also include a real overhaul of the gaming mix. Godfrey said the prospective new facilities in Ottawa and elsewhere could look more like real casinos, with an array of popular table games, including blackjack and poker.
However, any new Ottawa casino will need to have the full support of City Hall. Without municipal backing, it’s possible OLG will be forced to extend its deal with Rideau Carleton.
Mayor Jim Watson declined a request for an interview on the issue on Monday.
“We will be looking at the whole range of issues in the coming weeks and offering a comment in due course,” said his spokesman, Bruce Graham.
Opened in February 2000, Rideau Carleton’s slots facility employs 274 people and sees roughly 1.7 million patrons per year. Its owners, Robert Fasken and Warren Armstrong, are entitled to 10 per cent of slot revenue as part of its deal, as is the horse industry. In 2009-10, that cut was worth $28,854,000, according to the OLG’s annual report. The City of Ottawa received a much smaller remittance, $4.44 million.
For many in Ottawa, news of a possible new downtown casino will come as vindication. The city missed out on an opportunity when the first casinos were allowed in the province in 1993. Quebec beat Ontario to the punch by quickly approving and building the Casino de Lac Leamy, which opened its doors in 1996.
Since then, the catchment area of Ottawa has nearly doubled in population. Nevertheless, the Lac Leamy casino is still the only legal venue for table games in the region.
“I think we need to compete,” Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said Monday. “A lot of Ontarians cross the border.”
For others, an expansion of gaming in the province is far from welcome. The OLG announcement Monday included news that the Greater Toronto Area will get its own casino. And while some outlets will close, the number of gaming facilities in the province will rise to 29 from 27. The province has maintained a moratorium on new gaming facilities since 2005.
OLG is also planning to expand the sale of lottery tickets, moving into big box retail stores and expanding within supermarkets from just the customer service desk to each cash register.
The province is also set to launch an online gaming service in 2013.
The government says the changes will stem the tide of losses at its border casinos, which, in the past decade, have dropped from $800 million profit to $100 million. Net gaming revenues to the province will increase by $1.3 billion annually (OLG currently generates $2 billion in net revenue for the province), according to the agency.
“The finance minister and the premier are gambling addicts,” said New Democrat MPP Rosario Marchese. “In my view, the majority of families will lose.”
But Duncan said the new revenue will help the province dig its way out of a $16-billion deficit.
“People are gambling and prohibition doesn’t work,” he said. “And what we’re suggesting is that we’re in this, we want to make sure we’re running it well and that the return to taxpayers is solid.”
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Ottawa+...#ixzz1p0YeJu6W
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