Niagara Casino battle

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Niagara politicians are waving the red flag following the province’s decision to move forward with getting a new operator for the city’s two casinos. The Niagara Falls mayor and regional chair say Niagara’s largest employer could have more than a quarter of its workforce cut, 1400 jobs when all is said and done.

On Tuesday the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation started a request for proposal also known as an RFP to find a new operator for Casino Niagara and the Fallsview Casino. The two are currently run by Falls management group on the OLG’s behalf. Last year the OLG notified the company that it would not extend its contract past July 2019.

Last month Niagara Regional chair, Alan Caslin and Niagara Falls Mayor, Jim Diodati held a rally outside the Fallsview Casino for the province to stop the bidding process. The province calls it a modernization process, but local politicians say the goal is to “maximize provincial revenue” and that process undermines the casino’s original goal in the city, job and economic growth.

According to OLG, once a new operator is in place jobs are only guaranteed for 12 months. During the last fiscal year the casino reported a revenue of over $600 million. It is on track to bring in $75 million more by the end of this fiscal year. The city of Niagara Falls gets about $20 million a year for hosting.

According to Mayor Diodati, he spoke to major casino operators in Las Vegas to see if they would be bidding here in Niagara. They told him absolutely not. The reason, the building would be leased and not sold outright.