Woodbine casino to boost city activity

The recent decision of OLG to select a partnership to be the owner of the slots at Woodbine brings hope to the city’s development.

Canada.- The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp (OLG) announced last week that Great Canadian Gaming Corp and Brookfield Business Partners’ partnership was selected to be the new owner of the slots at Woodbine. Supporters of the project estimate that the new deal could bring 2500 new jobs to the area.

Whilst he believes that the construction of a casino at Woodbine Racetrack could bring problem gambling, Mustafa Abdi said that they are now trying to make the best out of this situation. “As the saying goes, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade. We are now trying to make the best out of this situation,” he told CBC’s Metro Morning. Abdi is an organiser with MYRex, a campaign that wants the city and casino developers to deliver specific benefits to the neighborhood.

As the news outlet revealed, over the past decade the area lost approximately 20k jobs, but the casino could help overturn that situation. Coun. Vincent Crisanti said that 2500 jobs will be generated, and that hiring locals is one of the priorities of the project. “We want jobs not just after it’s built, but also in the construction period. That’s where the most lucrative jobs are. That will involve training young people,” said Peter D’Gama, another MYRex organiser.

The two companies will have the exclusive right to control the casinos for approximately 22 years. The three locations combined offer more than 4k slot machines and 60 table games. Great Canadian is set to own a 49 percent of the stake in the partnership, Brookfield the same amount and Clairvest Group Inc a two percent interest.