Moncton casino options varied
It's hard to say for sure, but some similar casinos may hold clues
With no one talking, and it not even certain which precise parcel of land will one day hold New Brunswick's first and only casino, it is difficult to imagine what form the Magnetic Hill casino announced Thursday will take when it opens in 2010.
But now that the principals, estimated budget and number of potential employees are known, a little digging around yields a few clues to suggest what sort of complex it will be.
But first, here's what we know for sure:
The province has chosen a proposal by Sonco Gaming New Brunswick Limited Partnership.
The partnership -- consisting of Sonco Gaming, The Navegante Group, Toronto investment firm Clairvest and 2050631 Ontario Inc. -- plans to build a resort hotel with 128 rooms, as well as a convention centre with theatre seating for 1,500 and a banquet-style capacity for 1,400.
The $90-million project, funded entirely by the private sector, is expected to create about 400 full-time jobs when the facility opens in 2010. (Another 770 construction jobs are expected).
Finance Minister Victor Boudreau said Thursday government expects to receive about $25 million a year in gambling revenues from the operation. He also said, "it will really be a destination casino complex, much bigger and more elaborate than what is in Halifax, for example."
Working from those few clues, we can probably find a good model for what to expect here in Halifax's casino (other Maritime gaming venues Membertou Entertainment Complex, Charlottetown Driving Park and Sydney Casino are significantly smaller). Though Boudreau says Moncton's will be bigger and more elaborate, Halifax is of course in a similar community and culture, and earns its province a similar return to what is expected by the Province of New Brunswick each year, about $22 million on $72 million gross revenues.
While Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax is already familiar to most gamblers in our area, a better example of what's in store for Moncton might be found in Alberta out where the prairies meet the Rockies.
Sonco Gaming, The Navegante Group and Clairvest, three of the four partners in the Moncton proposal, have just completed the construction of the Grey Eagle Casino on the Tsuu T'ina (pronounced soo tinna) reserve on the western edge of Calgary.
Like the planned Moncton operation, Grey Eagle employs about 400 people. It serves 3,500 to 4,000 patrons a day, but whether that kind of number would translate to projections for a New Brunswick casino is uncertain. Grey Eagle may be located beside Canada's fastest growing city, but it is one of five casinos just in the Calgary area alone. There are a handful of others in other parts of Alberta as well.
While Grey Eagle costs less than half of what the Moncton project is expected to cost, it is a 9,000 sq. metre (100,000 sq. ft.) complex. Inside the $40-million facility, an open 5,000 sq. metre (55,000 sq. foot) floor showcases 600 slot machines, 58 gaming tables and a 15-table poker room -- all of which are open seven days a week. Besides the baccarat and roulette James Bond fans expect casinos to have, there are a range of regional favourites offered, variations on everything from Hold 'em to poker to pai gow.
Though Grey Eagle does have an exterior design intended to echo the skyline of the mountains, a look that hasn't been to the taste of some observers, it has otherwise gone for a modern, urban look to reflect Calgary's rise as a modern urban centre.
They have eschewed the temptation to go with a faux and potentially hokey western theme as others in the area have done, giving hope the proponents for New Brunswick's casino will honour the region without giant talking potatoes or lobster-shaped slot machines.
Grey Eagle also has two contemporary restaurants and a snack shop, as well as two bars. It has put an emphasis on offering live music and other entertainments in state-of-the-art spaces so gaming isn't the facility's sole focus.
Whatever the future might hold, Grey Eagle just opened in December but already the revenues from the facility are changing life on the reserve.
Casino money is helping pay for new homes to replace hundreds of houses that were found to contain asbestos.
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I just spent a couple days at Casino Lac Lemay in Gatineau (Hull) and they have made major changes, traffic is down, restaurants have been on reduced hours. Across the river in Ottawa, the Rideau Carleton Slots Casino just south of the city is about to resume 24-hr operation on May 15. They too have changed their operation, but the strictly slot machine operation has grown in trade over last couple years.
The long-and-short of it, for the first while the operation in Moncton will be successful but over the long haul I hope they are prepared for slow down in attendance. I think it will be beneficial for the area but side effects will be heavy at least around the entire province.
I think if it is Magnetic Hill area, I hope they are considering the old Tourist Bureau with a fantastic view overlooking Greater Moncton.