By Cheryl Jahn

Gaming monies coming back to the City

Aug 11, 2021 | 4:09 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Council recently heard an update from the BC Lottery Corporation about the state of the Treasure Cove Casino since re-opening on July 1st. Because of its size, the casino was able to spread out.

“So one of the biggest things we’ve done is we were able to expand our slot machines throughout our old original bingo hall,” explains Amanda Chandler, Marketing Manager for the casino. “Originally we were in the middle of building a state-of-the-art show lounge, which now housing our bingo hall and our old bingo hall was able to accommodate more slot machines.”

So all 554 slot machines and six tables were able to open July 1st, which is more than can be said about other BC casinos. And that is music to the ears of the City, which receives more than two million dollars each year from the casino.

“We also help support hundreds of community organizations here in Prince George and, not to mention, even more so, the smaller donations that the casino does annually. And that’s something we’ve been doing for several years. So it’s a hit. I think everybody’s feeling the loss,” says Chandler.

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But while the casino was closed, online gaming continued. The Lottery Corporation normally gets $170 million in revenue from Play.Now.com and it anticipates that number doubled during the pandemic.

It prompted Council to ask why municipalities don’t get a cut of those revenues because, as was suggested by more than one Councillor, the revenue-sharing system for municipalities is a bit skewed.

“When we have a casino in town, we do get a kickback from having that facility,” says Councillor Cori Ramsay. “But there are communities across the province that don’t have [a casino]. It begs the question why is BCLC not sharing the profits from online gaming with municipalities that do or not have a casino?”

BC Lottery says the Treasure Cove Casino is one of the quickest to rebound in BC.

by Cheryl Jahn

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Gaming monies coming back to the City

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