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Posted Mar 14, 2008, 11:25 AM
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Odds increase for Moncton casino
All four bids to build casino have Metro Moncton connections
By Jesse Robichaud
Times & Transcript Staff
Published Friday March 14th, 2008
Appeared on page A1
Even the Liberal government's best poker face can't hide the signs that suggest Metro Moncton will be home to New Brunswick's first and only casino in 2010.
Finance Minister Victor Boudreau placed very few cards on the table when he announced the four business groups bidding to construct a casino in the province yesterday, but what was said appears to have increased the odds of a casino being built in Metro Moncton.
While media reports have focused on a showdown between Moncton and Saint John in the casino sweepstakes, there are several indications that suggest that all four bids accepted by the province converge in southeastern New Brunswick.
The bids come from four business coalitions struck between a mix of local, national, and international companies with experience in the fields of casino development, design, and capital investments.
Boudreau stated that representatives of the business interests involved in the bidding process have been asked to sign confidentiality agreements and avoid contact with MLAs until the winning bid is expected to be announced in May.
However, the information that is available offers credence to speculation that suggests Moncton-based projects will dominate the government's selection process.
The first consortium named by Boudreau is CEI Investments (New Brunswick) Corp., which is also incorporated under the name Chateau Royale in the provincial government's corporate affairs registry.
Chateau Royale has been reported to be looking at casino sites on the outskirts of Moncton. Moncton businessman David Hawkins has been reported to be acting as the front man for the New England business interests. Boudreau confirmed that Carabetta Enterprises Ltd, a Connecticut-based financial company, is backing the proposal, along with Century Resorts International Ltd., which is subsidiary of Colorado-based Century Casinos. The Colorado firm operates 12 casinos around the world including one in Edmonton.
The second bidding proponent named by Boudreau today was Dieppe Resort and Casino Limited. The name alone indicates that the bid is likely based in Dieppe. The proposal is backed by Toronto based Dundee Realty Corporation and Buttcon Energy Inc. construction firm, and ADI Group Inc., a Maritimes-based engineering and design firm. Rumors have swirled over the casino-potential of land near Fox Creek Golf Club.
The third proposal announced comes from Maritime Casino ULC, which brings together local heavyweights like Bernard Cyr's Cyr Holdings. Inc, and Ashford DG Holdings, Inc, with global giants like Marriott Hotel International.
New Millenium Equities and Paragon Gaming Inc., of Las Vegas, round out the Maritime Casino proposal. Cyr, who constructed the Chateau Moncton on the edge of the Petitcodiac River on Main Street, is well known for his success in several business ventures and has been active player in downtown development for many years.
The combination of Cyr's involvement and the participation of Marriott, which is currently in the final stages of constructing a six-storey Marriott Residence Inn on Main Street, is a strong indication that Maritime Casino ULC is proposing a downtown project.
Moncton's Ashford firm has in the past been linked to Toronto-based Verdiroc in the development of a proposed downtown convention centre, and has completed the renovation the old YMCA headquarters on Highfield Street. The local firm has also been involved in further developing the Power Centre of Mapleton Road.
Paragon, which represents the project's gambling expertise, has developed two casino projects with First Nations communities in Edmonton and Whitecourt, Alberta, and another independent project in Vancouver.
Finally, Sonco Gaming New Brunswick Limited Partnership was the last proposal named by Boudreau, who proceeded in alphabetical order.
Sources indicate that the project is indeed a very broad partnership being lead by Sonco Gaming New Brunswick Limited. Sonco's Halifax parent company developed and currently operates a casino project with an Alberta First Nation community.
Sonco reportedly signed an agreement to share the project's profits with 13 of New Brunswick's First Nations communities. Elsipogtog, the province's largest First Nation community located near Richibucto, and Red Bank did not sign on to the agreement.
While Sonco has signed agreements with First Nations communities across the province, the fact that Sonco is also incorporated under the names Casino New Brunswick and Casino Moncton indicates they are interested in a Metro-based project.
There is speculation that Sonco's bid would place a casino near the Royal Oaks Golf Course on the outskirts of Moncton.
Clairvest Group Inc, a Toronto-based equity investment firm, will provide the project's capital, while Naveante Group Inc., a Las Vegas based casino developer founded by former MGM Chairman and CEO, Larry J. Woolf, will provide the gambling expertise for the Sonco project.
The government's evaluation process, which will likely take until the end of May, will take place outside of the influence of the Liberal government, said Boudreau.
"They will evaluate each of the four proposals and arrive with a recommendation for government. It is really a process that it outside of government completely,"said Boudreau, likening the process to the procedures followed previously to choose major highway projects.
Boudreau did not indicate whether bids had been refused for providing insufficient information.
He said five individual teams, made up of civil servants, Atlantic Lottery officials, have been set up to evaluate various elements of the proposals.
"Each element, for example, of each bid will be evaluated. We will look at the business plan, the impact on the local economy, we will look at the other developments that come with the destination casino."
Boudreau noted that the financial track record of each company involved would also be taken into account.
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/front/article/240290
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One-in-four chance
Casino Four bidders announced for the development project; location still unconfirmed
MEGAN O'TOOLE
TELEGRAPH JOURNAL
Published Friday March 14th, 2008
Appeared on page A1
FREDERICTON - The odds are set: Each proponent has a one-in-four chance to win the bid for New Brunswick's destination casino project.
Finance Minister Victor Boudreau revealed Thursday a list of four bidders for the project, which is expected to breathe new life into the province's tourism sector. Based on the names involved, it appears likely the casino is headed for the Moncton region, though Boudreau would not confirm a location.
"Government is very pleased with the interest which has been shown in this project," Boudreau said, noting the next stage will be a rigorous evaluation process that will involve gaming experts and be monitored by an international consultant.
The proposals will then be brought to ad hoc committees and cabinet blind, without the bidders' names attached.
Proponents - which include the CEI Investment (New Brunwsick) Corp., Dieppe Resort and Casino Ltd., Maritime Casino ULC and Sonco Gaming New Brunswick Ltd. Partnership - have been gagged from speaking with the media or MLAs until the bidding process is complete.
Links to Moncton are evident among all four proponents.
Ashford DG Holdings, Inc., the Moncton-based partner of Toronto's Verdiroc Development Corp., is a member of Maritime Casino ULC. Verdiroc has gone public with its desire to build a gambling centre on the former Beaver Lumber property in downtown Moncton.
"It would make Moncton just a fantastic place to have a convention at, visit, (attract) tourism, do business; it would bring so many components," Verdiroc president and CEO Kevin Green said in an interview with the Telegraph Journal. "The opportunity to make downtown Moncton completely special, one of the superstars of Atlantic Canada, is definitely in our hands."
Marriott Hotel International is also a member of Maritime Casino ULC, and a new Marriott hotel is under construction just minutes from the former Beaver Lumber site.
CEI has been reported to be looking at two possible Moncton sites, Royal Oaks Estates and Magnetic Hill.
Sonco Gaming was listed in the government's Royal Gazette earlier this year as being registered in Moncton. As for Dieppe Resort and Casino Ltd., the link is in the name - the city of Dieppe is directly west of Moncton.
Some of the larger players that had been floated as potential bidders were noticeably absent from Thursday's announcement, including Trump Entertainment Resorts and Great Canadian Gaming.
Howard Blank, vice-president of media and entertainment for GCG, said his company spent a substantial amount of time working on a casino proposal. But financial constraints ultimately forced the firm to make choices about what it was going to move forward with, and other projects were prioritized, he said.
"The cost of doing business has changed dramatically in the last six months," Blank said. "We spent enormous due diligence in New Brunswick ... but unfortunately it just wasn't something we could go through with at this time."
The company wants to leave the door open to working on gaming projects in the province in future, he added.
Opposition Leader Jeannot Volpé said the Tories approve of the procedures set out by the Liberals for evaluating the proposals and said his party will monitor the process strictly.
"We will follow this one very closely to make sure they do not try to go away from the system," he said.
The deadline for selecting a preferred proponent is May 15. Boudreau said Thursday that the complex, which will be financed by the private sector, is expected to be operational no later than Dec. 31, 2010.
The casino's gaming floor will offer a maximum of 800 electronic gaming devices and a minimum of 12 conventional table games. It could also include a poker area, keno, off-track betting or a lottery ticket kiosk.
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/front/article/240093
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