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OLG Toronto/GTA casino proposal (where to put it?)

I support this idea. A 2-4 billion dollar investment in the core of Toronto is not a bad thing. Yes some of the jobs will be part time, but many of them will actually be decent. I know people who work at Casino Rama and Georgian Downs (in my area) and there are managers, owners, supervisors making $50,000 to $200,000 a year. And these aren't just a couple people at the very top, dozens of employees are earning this. In a much larger Toronto casino, hundreds of employees will be making great wages. With new convention centers, tourists will pour into the city. Toronto will attract businesses and host conventions which will help the hotel businesses. A multi-use project is the best with restaurants, shopping, a hotel, residential towers, live entertainment, etc. It will add to Toronto, I truly believe that. We have a casino in my area (Georgian Downs) and it has not negatively affected our area at all. It makes the town loads of money and our quality of life has not decreased and crime has not increased. Those are simply scare tactics and not true for every casino.

I say, let's take a chance and do this. We will get incredible high architecture out of it, new entertainment, more tourists, extra money into the Toronto economy, plus loads of tax revenue to build subways and more infrastructure projects. It simply makes sense.
 
Toronto Star: Casino consultations leave many questions unanswered, frustrated councillors tell community council meeting

Staff from the city manager’s office, who are preparing a final report, were peppered with questions from councillors about how the proposed casino locations were chosen and how much say council would have in the end about where the gaming establishment would go.

“With all due respect, I’m getting tired of beating around the bush for answers to some of these questions,” said Councillor Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina). “I don’t think the city had anything to do with choosing the sites. If we open the doors (to a casino) they’re allowed to go anywhere.”

Mike Williams, general manager of Toronto’s economic development, culture and tourism division, said the three proposed sites — the Port Lands, the CNE and downtown Toronto — were chosen by the city together with consultants Ernst and Young and the OLG. And if council approved a casino, it would be in one of those areas.

But Layton quoted an OLG website that said it would be up to the private sector service provider to decide where the casino will be located within the gaming zone or municipality.

“Our staff may indicate they’ve heard differently from the OLG,” says Layton, “but this is what the OLG has officially said. We’re not going to depend on these side conversations with city staff.”
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blackberry10 said:
Was the area in Detroit a high performing neighbourhood before the casino was built? If anything, it has helped the area.
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Yeah, but is there anything in Toronto quite so low-performing? (Oh, yeah: Woodbine. So that's been addressed--I guess)
 
I think I am undecuded in this. I feel that a casino would be a negative thing, but at the same time I feel like the Oxford casino wouldn't be that bad. I would never want a casino in the portlands or Exhibition place, though I wouldn't mind one at the convention centre or woodbine.
 
Hey, if you think a casino can help a city/neighbourhood, how about the area around Caesar's Casino Windsor? It's still the most blighted area in that city, and could fit right in to Windsor's bigger neighbour. (That and Matty Maroun's South Detroit district around Indian Road next to the Ambassador Bridge).

Yes, I know that bringing up examples like Detroit or Windsor mean little to a discussion to a downtown Toronto casino, but it works both ways. The Greektown casino didn't hurt and I doubt either the MGM or Motor City casinos really hurt either.

My biggest concern is the slick, dishonest sales job that Godfrey et al. have been putting on, especially when we hear contradictory analyses on the touted benefits. I have my doubts that it will deliver much on "incredible high architecture" or "tourism" or "loads of tax revenue" and I cringe when I read uninformed or wildly enthusiastic pro-casino comments. It's no panacea for transit, infrastructure or city funding, and there will be social and physcial pressures that the city will be stuck dealing with.
 
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Hmm, same broken record... from an individual that has done everything to basically dismantle the entertainment club district,
is an activist against the Toronto Island Airport that generates the city 2 billion bucks yearly in revenues,
.........Downtown casino would 'destroy the city': Councillor Adam Vaughan

The only way to make money is to destroy the city.â€
Vaughan claimed a casino in the Port Lands would require a $1-billion parking garage, a casino at Exhibition Place would wipe out the Canadian National Exhibition and a casino at the Metro Convention Centre site would kill the Entertainment District.
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/01/22/downtown-casino-would-destroy-the-city-councillor-adam-vaughan

Gee, this guy is ranting about 3 different wards up above
In other words, not in all my backyards (NIMBY), and take it to the suburbs.
No wonder this city is so politically split.:eek:
 
Why would a Casino at the Portlands location require a billion dollar parking garage? Would other locations not require parking too?

In any case who cares, the developer will pay for it. A billion dollar parking garage would be an improvement to the Portlands, not so much anywhere else.
 
A billion dollars? That's underground parking for 28,000 ish cars
 
ShonTron said:
But hey, the suburbs are most in favour of a casino (North York and Etobicoke) according to a new Ipsos-Reid poll so why not let them have it?
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The MGM rep said yesterday that if Toronto doesn't want a casino, there are other GTA municipalities that are "willing" and "excited" to get one. But so far I haven't seen any evidence of that. Have any mayors or councillors from elsewhere in the GTA said "We'll take it!"? I've seen a little coverage of the discussions in Vaughan, where it seems opinions are very mixed. But that's it.
 
ShonTron said:
My biggest concern is the slick, dishonest sales job that Godfrey et al. have been putting on, especially when we hear contradictory analyses on the touted benefits. I have my doubts that it will deliver much on "incredible high architecture" or "tourism" or "loads of tax revenue" and I cringe when I read uninformed or wildly enthusiastic pro-casino comments. It's no panacea for transit, infrastructure or city funding, and there will be social and physcial pressures that the city will be stuck dealing with.
Click to expand...
And conflicting messages. Rosario Marchese points out these two conflicting statements on pro-casino information. Which is it? Lots of new tourists or just the ones who are already here?
The City's casino consultation display boards say 1) a downtown casino will attract lots of new tourists to the area and not cannibalize existing business, but 2) the casino will not cause traffic chaos because the "existing critical mass" of tourists will reduce the number of net new trips to the area.
Click to expand...
 
Automation Gallery said:
Hmm, same broken record... from an individual that has done everything to basically dismantle the entertainment club district,
is an activist against the Toronto Island Airport that generates the city 2 billion bucks yearly in revenues,
.........Downtown casino would 'destroy the city': Councillor Adam Vaughan

The only way to make money is to destroy the city.”
Vaughan claimed a casino in the Port Lands would require a $1-billion parking garage, a casino at Exhibition Place would wipe out the Canadian National Exhibition and a casino at the Metro Convention Centre site would kill the Entertainment District.
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/01/22/downtown-casino-would-destroy-the-city-councillor-adam-vaughan

Gee, this guy is ranting about 3 different wards up above
In other words, not in all my backyards (NIMBY), and take it to the suburbs.
No wonder this city is so politically split.:eek:
Click to expand...


Vaughan is an idiot, he's single handedly destroying the ward by tearing down theatres and restaurants for condos and more condos... I'm surprised he hasn't been in favour of MGM. But I have yet to see a city thrive with a Casino in it's core. Do we really want to be the first guinea pigs? All based on Ford's intuition? (like him or hate him, most agree he's not exactly the most thoughtfull or analytical individual)
 
js97 said:
Vaughan is an idiot, he's single handedly destroying the ward by tearing down theatres and restaurants for condos and more condos... I'm surprised he hasn't been in favour of MGM. But I have yet to see a city thrive with a Casino in it's core. Do we really want to be the first guinea pigs? All based on Ford's intuition? (like him or hate him, most agree he's not exactly the most thoughtfull or analytical individual)
Click to expand...

Yep, single-handedly. I guess Vaughan controls Concord Adex, Daniels, Easton's/Gupta, Freed, Mirvish, Great Gulf, Monarch, Brad Lamb, Tridel, etc. etc. I don't like Vaughan's over-eager developer-friendly stance and some of his personal vendettas, but that's giving Vaughan a lot of credit, isn't it?
 
Has anyone seen the MGM presentation (if there even is one out there)....if so please post link to file. Thanks.
 
Gee, whats up with these lefties:confused:

Olivia Chow weighs in on Toronto casino, but she's not campaigning
If Olivia Chow does run for mayor, expect her to work against putting a casino downtown, or at Exhibition Place, for that matter.

Supporters of a Toronto casino, like Mayor Rob Ford, say it would bring in millions of dollars, but Ms. Chow – the MP for the downtown riding of Trinity-Spadina – is against the idea.

Ms. Chow, who has been touted as a possible candidate for the left if the mayor loses his appeal and has to leave office, said the casino would have negative consequences for the people in her riding.

“My riding has a lot of young people living there, and the last thing I want them to do is get into a gambling addiction,” she said in an interview after a Downsview Park news conference on Wednesday. “That’s not good for their future or the family they’re going to create or have.”

She also said the city’s infrastructure would not be able to support the many visitors that a casino would attract since public transit is already “packed to the gills.”

“If you bring people to downtown Toronto to gamble, how are they going to get there?” she said. “It’s not going to happen. Where are they going to park their cars?”

Adding the 10,000 parking spots that would be needed to support a casino would be like bringing Yorkdale Mall’s parking lot – and a little extra – downtown, said Ms. Chow.

“Maybe a bike-only casino!” she joked.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...sino-but-shes-not-campaigning/article7721446/
 
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