So much for the idea of a more suitable location.
When the B.C. Lottery Corporation announced last November that Delta had been chosen as the preferred host local government for a new casino, it stated at the time that the Corporation of Delta’s one and only earmarked site, the Delta Town & Country Inn, wasn’t a suitable location. Proximity to the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond and distance from “identified market opportunity” were given as reasons why BCLC would undertake an exercise to find a more appropriate locale, which was almost certainly in North Delta, although the desire to be closer to Surrey was never officially confirmed.
Ten months later the lottery corporation has returned to tell us the Delta Town & Country Inn is, in fact, a suitable site and that a casino located there would have minimal impacts on adjacent gambling facilities. Say what?
It’s obvious the fishing expedition in North Delta failed to turn up a property that fit the bill so BCLC and Gateway Casinos (operator of the proposed casino) have turned to Plan B. What this tells us is that the lottery corporation is eager – some would say desperate -- to locate another casino south of the Fraser River, a market it has determined is underserved, and that when push comes to shove, Victoria’s interests trump all others.
Both the River Rock and the City of Richmond weren’t keen to see another casino set up shop just a 12.8-kilometre jaunt down Highway 99, but those concerns have had to take a backseat given the failure to find a more desirable location in Delta.
It’s been rationalized that a detailed analysis of the Town & Country location using existing player data found there would be minimal impacts on neighbouring casinos, which might well be true, but if it is, why the earlier proximity concerns?
The City of Richmond has collected $167.8 million in gaming revenues since the River Rock opened in 2004, so you can see why both the local government and B.C.’s busiest casino don’t want anyone invading their turf, but such territorial behaviour is no match for the lottery corporation’s wish for a bigger overall gambling pie.
So despite earlier reservations, the Town & Country is the site of choice. Now it’s got to get the public to buy in.
