Visitation dropping by 30,000 per month??
Two long-established casinos in Ontario, which have seen marked declines in patronage, are overdue for a facelift, says the mayor of Niagara Falls. The 10-year-old Niagara Fallsview Casino is “gorgeous, it’s beautiful, but it needs a refresh,” said Mayor Jim Diodati.??
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Casino Niagara “looks old, tired,” the mayor said. “The carpets are ratty. It looks like its been neglected. It needs a Phyllis Diller-type facelift. It’s just not a draw. It’s like an old bingo hall. It desperately needs an injection of cash.”??
Diodati says Ontario should invest in existing casinos rather than proposing even more new properties. According to the Niagara Falls Review, the mayor has urged Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. to include the city’s two casinos in its modernization plan.??“
The U.S. is injecting millions and building new casinos. We’re getting hurt by a converted convention space (Seneca Niagara Casino) in Niagara Falls, New York. We need to focus on growing the pie, not splitting it into pieces.”??
According to Niagara Falls Tourism, the casinos on the Canadian side have seen a decline of approximately 30,000 people per month.??
There is some positive news, said Diodati: OLG is looking for investors to build a privately funded, multipurpose entertainment center similar in scope to the 5,000-seat Casino Rama. Diodati said the entertainment center is a “huge missing ingredient.”??
Niagara Falls Tourism chairman Wayne Thomson says an aggressive approach by the Seneca Nation and a new marketing initiative by the tribe’s Buffalo Creek Casino has left Niagara casinos “probably static, or falling a little behind.
”??He says market saturation has divided the customer base and robbed casinos of some of their excitement, and additional gaming will not help. Niagara Casinos President Art Frank said he can understand why the agency wants to expand gaming in “underserved areas” if he looks at it “my province’s hat on.
”??But he cautioned against untoward expansion when the market itself is “stagnant.:??
“There hasn’t been any growth in the casino gaming market,” said Frank.
