In a submission today during public hearings of the Commission des institutions, senator Paul Massicotte, owner of Quebec racetrack operator Attractions Hippiques, said that, in retrospect, he should have demanded revenue guarantees from Loto-Quebec before committing to multi-million-dollar investments that have now landed the company in creditor protection.
"Certainly, I'm disappointed with my partner (Loto-Quebec)," senator Massicotte today told the provincial-government hearing into the contract awarded to his company by the Quebec government in 2005.
Dramatic shortfalls in revenue from Loto-Quebec's ludoplex gaming centres at the racetracks in Trois-Rivieres and Quebec City have left Attractions Hippiques and the entire racing industry in Quebec in a precarious state, Massicotte said.
Rather than the $50 million originally projected, Attractions Hippiques on track to receive only about $7.5 million this year from the racetrack VLTs. According to Massicotte, that figure doesn't even cover the cost of maintaining the buildings.
"If there's no solution soon, in a couple of months, max, we'll be in bankruptcy and there'll be no races at all in Quebec," Massicotte said.
Massicotte says that if what he is projecting turns up to be true, he'll be out $22 million of his own money.
Attractions Hippiques is currently presenting live racing in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec City and Gatineau, but discontinued live presentations in Montreal at the end of June.
To read an Attractions Hippiques release regarding the submissions made today during the Commission des institutions hearings, click here.
(Paul Delean)