Toronto Is Pitching For a New Casino Resort

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) started pitching for its billion-dollar casino project in Toronto.

OLG Chairman Paul Godfrey promises the Toronto establishment gaming facility to become the largest development project of its kind in Canada. Godfrey mentioned creating 6,000 construction jobs and 12,000 permanent jobs as well as attracting billions of investment dollars for the Ontario province.

The resort itself would be hospitality, retail and entertainment complex, with gambling establishment taking up less than a tenth of the space. Godfrey said OLG “…has not drawn a line in the sand with a deadline”, but Toronto politicians have to decide until early 2013 about allowing a new casino in the city.

Mr. Godfrey told reporters in the Canada gambling news: “What we have to do is to get this process finalized in 2013. If it is not there, we’re going to go somewhere else and get a decision and move on with it.”

He went on explaining the Canadian gambling laws: “We know that city council is going to debate this at the executive committee in November … so I would think that January, February at the latest.”

Toronto is clearly the preferred location. To quote Mr. Godfrey: “Putting it somewhere other than Toronto will not produce as many jobs or the same economic growth and it may not include the kind of world-class convention facility that the city needs. All I’m saying is that if it’s not in Toronto, it will be somewhere else. In Markham, in Richmond Hill, in Vaughn, in Mississauga, and it won’t be as iconic.”

The reports were also keen to know if the Toronto resort would be allowed to host internet betting in Canada, but so far the answer is clearly ‘no’.

MGM has already shown interest. Alan Feldman, MGM’s senior vice-president of public affairs noted: “It is an amazing market, it is an amazing city. We would be prepared to invest an awful lot in the development of the concept.”