Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua was looking to get community feedback regarding the possibility of introducing a full-blown casino to the area during a public OLG information session last Thursday night (September 13). According to a report, members of the community that were in attendance were more than unimpressed with what the OLG and Pollara were selling.
An article by yorkregion.com has explained that statements made to those in attendance by Pollara Executive Director Robert Hutton elicited shouting and anger from community attendees. After that point, the environment in the information session was described as 'out of control' and some in attendance were described as 'overtaken with emotion.'
Pollara, a market research firm, has conducted an online poll of local residents asking whether or not they would be in favour of having a casino in Vaughan. Pollara's numbers state that 55 per cent of respondents would be in favour of the casino, while 34 per cent of respondents would not be.
"You did your survey, but I don't think what it shows is what the community thinks," a vocal opponent, Franca Stirpa, was quoted as passionately telling the members of the OLG and Pollara that were in attendance.
The report also states that questions regarding how much of the casino's revenues the community would receive 'went largely unanswered.'
"Why don't you do a survey right here and now," an angry Stirpa was quoted as saying, in regard to whether or not residents want a casino. "I think you'd find that people are overwhelmingly against a casino in Vaughan."
Prior to the meeting, Mayor Bevilacqua had told 680News the purpose of the meeting was "to get their (the public's) feedback, to get their input, and to see if in fact we as a city want to go down the road of having [casino gaming in the local area]."
(With files from yorkregion.com)
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Curious...
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Everyone of us need to make
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