Rumors are flying that the Shoreline casino, the Belle Boulevard, in Ontario could open as soon as January 11. That’s the word that Mayor Taso Christopher of the city of Belleview gave out at his annual New Year’s Day Levee Address.
“My understanding is they’re going to have a soft opening for staff and senior management,” he said in an interview with the Intelligencer. He added, “It’s good for employment and the economic component. It will be interesting to get our first check.”
The 48,000 square-foot casino with 450 slot machines, 18 gaming tables and a VIP section, will be operated by Ontario East, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which isn’t confirming or denying that the casino will open this week. Andy LaCroix, executive director, told the Intelligencer, “We’ve put some marks in the sand. Still nothing official yet. Good for the mayor for being optimistic about things, but there is still no hard date yet.” He added, “We’ve got a lot of controls that have to be setup,” he said. “We have to check all those boxes. That’s some of the hesitation of getting a hard date.”
The casino will have a restaurant buffet, lounge and patio. It will also have the province’s first Interactive Responsible Gaming Centre, equipped with televisions and interactive pods.
Peterborough Casino
Meantime, a group opposed to a casino in Peterborough, Ontario, No Casino Peterborough, announced in November that it would no longer be an official participant in the process, but that individual members would continue to oppose the facility at an upcoming hearing of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) on January 24 and 25.
The OMB will decide whether to rezone land on the periphery of the city. Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation seeks to relocate its Shorelines Slots At Kawartha Downs to Peterborough, a city of about 79,000.
A spokesman, Sheila Nabigon-Howlett, announced, “We still firmly believe this planned casino development is a looming disaster economically, socially and environmentally for Peterborough.” She said her group doesn’t have the “deep pockets” of City Hall, the businesses that support the casino, or the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. She added, “We are not giving up our fight. We want to protect our community from the social and economic costs of a casino, and will remain a voice for the many people in Peterborough whose objections to this planned casino development the Mayor and Council refuse to listen to.”
The January OMB hearings are preliminary, and will be followed by a three-week series of hearings in May. Nabigon-Howlett complains that it is expensive and time-consuming for average persons to take part in the OMB process, especially for casino opponents.
A recent survey found that 76 percent of the city’s residents oppose the casino and that about the same percentage believe a full environmental review should be part of the process.
