Toronto City Council Executive Committee determined on Monday, May 14 that further discussion surrounding casino expansion in the city will be pushed back until roughly October. The move flushed out Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's uneasiness with the matter, as he was quoted as saying, "I just don't want to lose it (a casino) to Mississauga or Markham."
Mayor Ford's quotes have come courtesy of a report by the CBC, which covered the council's meeting. The meeting included an address by Woodbine Entertainment Group Vice-President of Corporate Affairs Jane Holmes, who stated that Woodbine Racetrack would have to close if slot machines are removed from the establishment.
The CBC report cites Mayor Ford as saying that even though he really does want a casino within the city's borders, he also wants to ensure due diligence in form of study is needed before the expansion topic is discussed further.
"We need more information," Mayor Ford was quoted as saying. "I'm not one to pull any punches. I've always supported a casino. And I do in this case. I believe if we find the right location, we could bring in close to $100 million in revenue."
A report by nowtoronto.com has also quoted Mayor Ford as saying that he believes landing a Las Vegas-style resort casino would be "a huge victory for the city of Toronto.”
In other provincial racing and gaming news, Ontario MPP Jeff Yurek is asking members in his Elgin-Middlesex-London to sign a petition against "[Premier Dalton] McGuinty's shameful and unilateral decision to end the slots-at-racetracks program."
All petition sheets can be dropped off or mailed to the constituency office at: 750 Talbot Street, Unit 201, St. Thomas, ON, N5P 1E2. Faxes will not work, as original signatures are required, and a petition will be available to sign at Yurek's office.
A PDF version of the petition is available here.
It has also been announced that at its regular monthly meeting on Monday, May 14, the Rockton Agricultural Society Board of Directors passed a motion to support the Ontario horse-racing industry.
Even though the RAS and the Rockton World's Fair is not involved in horse racing, they are dedicated to improving the viability of agriculture in their community, of which horse racing is an integral component.
An aspect of the RAS/Rockton World's Fair motion states that, "…the Rockton Agricultural Society urges the provincial government and, more particularly, the Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Ted McMeekin, to both continue and improve the slots-at-racetracks program."
As they have been for months now, mainstream articles are continuing to come out regarding how the Ontario Liberals' destruction of the slots-at-racetracks has been an unmitigated disaster for the provincial breeding industry.
Trot Insider assembled a note with some stories yesterday, but here is yet another one, courtesy of The London Free Press. The report essentially conveys the exact same message that the Ontario horse-racing industry has been trying to get through to the Provincial Liberals ever since the reigning party decided to embark on its new and increasingly-controversial gaming modernization strategy.
It will be easy to tell who
It will be easy to tell who the lobbyist got to at such an early stage of the game...just listen to the comments from Toronto's city council. Waterfront land should be reserved for wetlands and greenspaces for the "people". Preservation of such should be on an environmental radar, especially rare access within city limits. If the possibility of the waterfront "intergrated casinos" is taken off the table, MGM or any other foreign investors of the like, will be forced to deal with existing gaming/racetrack locations by default IF they are interested in pursuing business in Ontario. Toronto will now await impact studies listing the pros and cons of such a project. Obviously the pros will be the income generated for the city but are we willing to sacrifice an entire industry at the expense of a shiny beacon foreign investment on the waterfront? This is a one shot deal to make the rich, richer. What about the livelihoods of 60,000 hard working, everyday people. I think we as an industry have a VALUE far greater then any waterfront development or backroom deal.