A private operator chosen by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation will ultimately decide whether to build a new casino at the Grand River Raceway or move it elsewhere and close the local slots facility for good.
“It will be up to the private sector operator chosen for that zone to decide what they want to do,” said OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti.
When the OLG’s revenue sharing agreement with the Grand River Raceway ends on March 31, the corporation hopes to sign a short-term lease with the track, Bitonti told the Advertiser on Tuesday.
He explained the new operator, which he expects to be chosen by OLG by the end of 2013, will then take over the lease and decide to expand the current operation or build a casino in a larger urban area.
Those are the only two possible outcomes, Bitonti confirmed, as the OLG wants just one casino in each of its newly-created gaming zones. Elora is part of Southwestern Ontario Zone 1, which also includes Kitchener, Waterloo, Wilmot Township and parts of Cambridge.
The latter has already rejected the possibility of hosting a casino, but OLG is currently in various stages of discussions with other possible hosts.
“We will go where we’re invited. It doesn’t guarantee that anyone is going to get a facility,” said Bitonti. “We’re just asking if they’re willing to be a host – it doesn’t mean they are going to do it.”
Grand River Raceway manager Ted Clarke was among the dozens who attended a Woolwich council meeting on Nov. 21 to hear the OLG pitch. He said he believes the corporation is trying to find a host in the Kitchener area.
“We’ve been told that the slots would leave when that facility opens,” Clarke said.
OLG officials cited the financial success of the Grand River Raceway in its bid to convince Woolwich officials of the benefits of hosting a casino. The Elora slots facility has funneled $16.2-million directly to Centre-Wellington since it first opened, not including wages and benefits paid to employees totalling $52.3 million and an additional $4 million in goods and services purchased from local vendors.
When questioned about the irony of using the success in Elora to convince other municipalities to host a facility that would kill the Elora slots, Bitonti said OLG has to look at the big picture.
“The facility in Elora has been very successful and we have a really good relationship with Centre Wellington,”he said.
“But this is not just about Centre Wellington. This is a province-wide look at our business … We have to look at the business model and see where the customers are.”
He added, “The bottom line is we generate revenue for the government,” with annual payments to the province totalling between $1.7 and $2 billion.
Clarke, noting the success of the Elora site, said, “We remain hopeful that perhaps the OLG will re-evaluate whether to situate a casino in a community close to Kitchener, such as Breslau.”
Clarke added while the intent may be to attract more Kitchener-area residents, he did not believe the patronage of those now using the facility will be “easily transferable.”
He estimated only one-third of patrons at the Grand River Raceway are from the Kitchener-Waterloo area.
“Hopefully, that is taken into consideration when a decision is made,” Clarke said.
At a council meeting on Nov. 26, Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj had little in the way of an update on the OLG’s public meeting five days prior in Woolwich.
She did note Centre Wellington had signed a new revenue sharing agreement with OLG – effective April 1, 2013 – that provides for the continuation of payments for as long as the current site remains in operation.
Ross-Zuj acknowledged the closure of the Elora slots facility was possible, but said, “I have no idea who the potential owner might be or what sort of arrangements have been made.”
Bitonti said the OLG will continue to oversee gaming operations, but he reiterated the ultimate decision on location will be up to the new, private-sector operator chosen for the local gaming zone.
“We can’t strap them down and tie their hands and say, ‘You need to be here,’” said Bitonti.
He explained a “very vigorous” yet “open and transparent” procurement process will begin in the next month or very early in 2013. OLG expects to have operators chosen for each gaming zone by the end of next year.
In the meantime, OLG will remain in conversation with possible host municipalities. Bitonti stressed that list also includes Elora, with which OLG does not have to go through the same public process because it already hosts a gaming facility.
Whether or not the Elora slots facility is lost, Clarke said, “We are exploring every avenue there is to maintain a racing operation here.”
He added “We are planning on racing here next summer, if we are able.”
Though employment numbers are down during the live racing off-season, Clarke said slots and wagering are operating every day.
He added rentals and catering operations are also ongoing at the facility.
