rfmcdpei: [URBAN NOTE] On the idea of a casino in Toronto

I last mentioned the toxic idea of a casino inside the city of Toronto in April, when city councillor and clown Giorgio Mammoliti said that a Toronto casino would be great for single mothers as the casino would let them earn money and provide them a place to put their children, and back in May when Mayor Ford submitted the subject to committee. The CBC now reports that Ford backs a casino, "sort of."

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he is willing to entertain a privately-built casino resort like the massive complex proposed by a developer on Front Street on Friday, but would prefer it built on city-owned land.

Oxford Properties Group on Friday announced plans for the $3-billion project, which would potentially include a hotel, an urban park, and retail space in addition to a casino on land it owns on the south side of Front Street between Simcoe Street and Blue Jays Way.

Ford told reporters he would prefer to see a casino built on city-owned land and would want to see an annual benefit of around $100 million to the city from the project. He didn't clarify if that figure relates to tax revenue or other associated benefits like employment or money brought to the city.

"We can make more money when we own the property, obviously. But if someone can come up on private land with the same amount, then I'll entertain that as well," Ford said.

"If it benefits the taxpayers, if we can make money, and it creates good paying jobs then I?m in favour of it. But until then I want to see all the proposals that come forward."

[. . .]

"If the decision is made to have a casino in the City of Toronto, Oxford believes it can provide the best location and the ideal solution for all stakeholders," said Blake Hutcheson, president and CEO of Oxford Properties in a Friday release. He added this development proposal "is a well-conceived private sector solution" that would require no public infrastructure.

"Although the casino itself represents less than 10 per cent of the project's area, it is a necessary and essential catalyst for the entire development and is a use that will be complementary to Toronto's core in the way that we have designed and conceived it," said Michael Kitt, Oxford's executive vice president in Canada.

Oxford said it is looking forward to working with the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, which currently occupies a large chunk of real estate on that stretch of Front Street, "to create a revitalized, state-of-the-art, convention facility."

So far, the concensus seems to be strongly against a casino. See the account of a public meeting on the subject described yesterday by Torontoist's Chris Dart.
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The word ?cannibalize? came up with alarming frequency. Maureen Lynett and Peggy Calvert, from community group No Casino Toronto, said that a casino would ?cannibalize,? not complement, local business. They referenced the boarded-up shops of Atlantic City as proof. That opinion was seconded by Toronto-Danforth MPP Peter Tabuns, who pointed out that ?there are not an infinite number of dollars for bars, restaurants, and entertainment,? and that money that would be spent at a casino wouldn?t be spent at local businesses. Theo Lagakos, who works in the gaming industry as an employee at Woodbine Racetrack, also spoke out against a casino, saying that a Toronto-based resort casino would cannibalize the province?s existing gambling establishments. He also questioned the number of new jobs a casino would bring to Toronto. Wooodbine, he said, is in the middle of laying people off.

?About half the employees at Woodbine are part-time,? he added. ?Are these the sort of jobs they?re talking about adding??

Bill Rutsey, of the Canadian Gaming Association, a gambling industry lobby group, countered that a casino would bring thousands of full-time jobs to the city.

?What?s really under consideration now is whether to work together with the OLG and the Ontario government to realize a once-in-a-lifetime, game-changing, iconic entertainment development that will create 6,000 construction jobs and support up to 12,000 good-paying, permanent jobs, and attract tourists from around the globe,? he said.

Former casino employee Jason Applebaum, who admitted to being a recovering gambling addict, said that Rutsey?s claims of a jobs bonanza aren?t true. He said full-time positions at other Ontario casinos are scarce, and he wondered why a casino in Toronto would be any different.

?I got a full-time position at Fallsview in 2004 in the table games department, and there has not been full-time employment since,? he said. ?Some of my best friends have been part-time dealers for 10 years.?

Rutsey was the one of the few pro-casino voices at the hearing. He encouraged citizens and councillors to ?get the facts? before deciding whether or not to support a downtown casino. He would quickly come to regret his choice of words. Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park) spent several minutes pointing out that Rutsey was unable to back up his job creation and economic impact numbers.

?In terms of the jobs estimate, that?s something you?ve heard, not something you?ve read?? he asked Rutsey.

?No, I?ve met with and discussed that [number] with the OLG, but I have not seen the detailed report,? said Rutsey.

?So, when you?re encouraging us to ?get the facts,? you wouldn?t be encouraging us to use that number, would you?? said Perks. ?That would be encouraging us to get an opinion.?

Today Torontoist went into more detail about the Oxford proposal.

Early this morning Oxford Properties added itself to the growing field of candidates hoping to build a casino in Toronto. Their proposal: rather than putting the casino on the water?s edge as several other plans suggest, build it in the centre of downtown, by redeveloping the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Oxford?s plan calls for substantial changes to the swath of land south of Front Street between Simcoe and Blue Jays Way, amounting to 11 acres and more than seven million square feet of space?a project that they?ve pegged at more than $3 billion. Key features include:

a casino that ?would comprise less than 10% of the project? and would be paid for and operated by whichever casino operator Queen?s Park selects
an ?expanded and modernized? convention centre
a hotel complex (1.7 million square feet)
space for new residential (600,000 square feet), office (2.5 million square feet), and retail (1 million square feet)
4,000 new underground parking spots

The proposal also mentions ?a new 5.5 acre urban park connecting the core to the waterfront? but only vaguely?it is ?contemplated? but nothing more?and doesn?t seem to be an essential part of the concept. What is essential to the overall project, says Oxford vice-president Michael Kitt, is the gambling. ?Although the casino itself represents less than 10% of the project?s area,? he said in a press release this morning, ?it is a necessary and essential catalyst for the entire development and is a use that will be complementary to Toronto?s core in the way that we have designed and conceived it.?

Source: http://rfmcdpei.livejournal.com/3218352.html

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