Gateway Casinos and Entertainment and the B.C. Lottery Corporation are proposing a hotel/casino complex in South Delta, at the Delta Town and Country Inn site.
The casino would have 600 slots and 24 table games, although the Lottery says those numbers are not set in stone.
The approval process has just begun. If Gateway wins approval, it could begin building next fall. If the proposal is defeated by the Delta City Council, the Lottery Corporation says it might consider turning to the Tsawwassen First Nation.
The Lottery and Gateway have held several open house meetings in Delta.
Asked by the Optimist what course the Lottery might take if the city rejects the casino, BCLC spokesman Chris Fairclough said “We would obviously review and say, ‘What went wrong in the process and what could we have done different? Are we not putting the right foot forward?’ ”
He added, “If we determined that it was still a legitimate opportunity, we would look at either redoing it with the City of Delta or look at the Tsawwassen First Nation.”
Fairclough said they have “had great feedback from these open houses and that’s what they’re all about.”
The Tsawwassen First Nation’s previous submission did not yet have a location selected. The Delta proposal stipulated the Delta Town & Country Inn, which it describes as a “complete entertainment complex, including a hotel, conference center and restaurants.”
The Delta proposal adds that the proposed site would closely work with the area’s tourism goals of making Delta a tourist attraction.
An approved host city is entitled to 10 percent of the casino’s GGR.
On the other side of the country, Gateway, which operates casinos in the London, Ontario, Western Fair District, plans to make a presentation—a “macro overview”— to an important committee of the city of London on $140 million plans to expand its casino footprint.
Besides adding slot machines, Gateway wants to increase the number of gaming tables, build a 120-room hotel and add dining. Under a lease that expires in 2020 Gateway pays the $6.2 million annually. A spokesman for the company said recently that it needs a lower lease rate to justify the expansion. The company has also said it will move from the fairgrounds if it doesn’t get the terms it likes.
