In a 1992 municipal vote, councillors resoundingly voted in a casino.
One year later, the building’s glass doors opened on Ile de Notre Dame, an island constructed for Expo ’67. It’s been a vache d’argent — cash cow — ever since, winning the Quebec government about $200 million per year, $4.1 billion since the first cards were dealt. Unlike a cut of the revenue expected for Toronto if the casino comes to town, the City of Montreal gets no portion of those profits.
The casino’s early success was thanks not to beginner’s luck but to Montreal’s insatiable gambling appetite. More than 12,000 people regularly flocked to the casino per day, far surpassing the anticipated 5,000. The enthusiasm persisted, and three years (and 10 million visits) later, Loto-Quebec, the government agency that operates the province’s four casinos, expanded its Montreal location into a nearby building.
Soon after, security guards stopped kicking out gamblers at the 5 a.m. closing time; in 1997 the government began hosting a 24-7 party.
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Among the major criticisms of the Montreal casino is that just 10 per cent of the visits come from outside the province — meaning the majority of the money brought in is from Quebecers.