Another artist's rendering of a proposed casino expansion on Toronto's Front St. surfaced late last week, as the jockeying by U.S. casino interests to hit Ontario's figurative gaming lottery is slowly but surely intensifying.
According to a report by The Globe And Mail, Caesars Entertainment Corp., in partnership with Rock Gaming LLC, commissioned and released the artist's rendering after having been urged to do so by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.
The rendition would become reality if the Oxford Properties Group's Front St. holdings, which includes the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, is ultimately selected by the OLG to become the location of the casino expansion. Also, the Caesars/Rock Gaming casino proposal would have to be selected by the OLG for the whole scenario to come to fruition.
The City of Toronto first has to decide whether or not it is going to declare itself a willing host municipality for casino expansion under the OLG's controversial gaming modernization plan. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's executive committee is today (Monday, November 5) sitting down to consider Toronto City Manager Joseph Pennachetti's report on the matter. The report determined that the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition would be a best-case scenario for the city, financially.
“The debate is ongoing around Toronto as a location, what this might mean to the city,” The Globe And Mail report has quoted former Las Vegas Mayor and current Caesars Spokeswoman Jan Jones as saying. "People want to have a sense of what does it look like, where it might go, although ultimately that is the city’s decision.”
The article explains that the Caesars/Rock group has determined Front St. to be its preferred location for expansion, but that it is not ruling out other locations if they are selected to become determined location for expanded gaming in Toronto. The Oxford Properties Group has also made it clear that it is not tied to a particular gaming company.
In addition to discussing Pennachetti's Toronto gaming report today, the City of Toronto is also hearing from the Woodbine Entertainment Group regarding the importance and proven impact gaming at Woodbine Racetrack has had on the city.
Both Pennachetti and Mayor Ford have mentioned that expanded gaming at Woodbine is desirable for the City of Toronto.
Ford has also stated that he is "open to the idea of" of a downtown casino.
(With files from The Globe And Mail)