In addition to the layoff announcement of four full-time and three part-time workers at the Sudbury casino who are represented by Unifor Local 598, there will be a layoff of six positions at Gateway Casino Point Edward, and another six at Gateway Casinos Dresden, who are represented by Local 444. The total layoffs amount to 19 positions.
- Gateway Casino Innisfil's 26 table games remain closed, although the casino has introduced electronic table games for fans of baccarat, roulette and poker. The spacious casino facility at Georgian Downs has more than 1,000 slot machines and, under normal conditions, is licensed for 3,342 people.
- Gateway Casinos and Entertainment might have to wait a while longer until it goes public since Leisure Acquisition Corporation recently issued its latest position on the subject. The company called off the deal striving to purchase the Canadian casino operator following months of inaction.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Subsequent to the publication of this article, lawyers for Gateway Casinos and Entertainment told OrilliaMatters that MP Pierre Poilievre's statement included a number of inaccuracies such as 'the company was just downgraded to junk status and its parent company lost 95 per cent of its value on the stock market before being delisted altogether,' which is false. Lawyers for Gateway advised further that Gateway is a private company and has not been listed on a public exchange and has not lost 95% of its value on any stock market
A long-time Conservative MP says Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, which operates Casino Rama and many other gambling facilities, 'swindled a naive prime minister out of $200 million' of taxpayers' money.
During an animated exchange with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday in the House of Commons, Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre says Gateway is a 'failing casino firm' and he chided Trudeau for 'throwing away our money in this jackpot for casino insiders.'
Gambling on a casino bailout. pic.twitter.com/eG4ZNhIzNU
— pierrepoilievre (@PierrePoilievre) October 7, 2020Poilievre is referring to the news that Gateway was provided a loan from the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corp. under its Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF).
The agreement, announced in late September, provides Gateway with access to $200 million of liquidity.
'These funds will provide us with capital to support restarting our operations and returning people back to work when it is safe and viable to do so,' Gateway CEO Tony Santo said in an email to employees.
But Poilievre said the company is not deserving of the funding.
'The company was just downgraded to junk status and its parent company lost 95 per cent of its value on the stock market before being delisted altogether,' Poilievre said Wednesday.
'In fact, financial experts in Toronto say the company vastly overvalues its assets. But there is someone who would invest other people's money in it - the casino just got the jackpot of $200 million from this government,' said the former cabinet minister in Stephen Harper's government.
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'Would the financial genius over there who invested $200 million of our tax dollars in this failing casino firm please stand up.'
Trudeau stood up and provided the following response.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Subsequent to the publication of this article, lawyers for Gateway Casinos and Entertainment told OrilliaMatters that MP Pierre Poilievre's statement included a number of inaccuracies such as 'the company was just downgraded to junk status and its parent company lost 95 per cent of its value on the stock market before being delisted altogether,' which is false. Lawyers for Gateway advised further that Gateway is a private company and has not been listed on a public exchange and has not lost 95% of its value on any stock market
A long-time Conservative MP says Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, which operates Casino Rama and many other gambling facilities, 'swindled a naive prime minister out of $200 million' of taxpayers' money.
During an animated exchange with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday in the House of Commons, Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre says Gateway is a 'failing casino firm' and he chided Trudeau for 'throwing away our money in this jackpot for casino insiders.'
Gambling on a casino bailout. pic.twitter.com/eG4ZNhIzNU
— pierrepoilievre (@PierrePoilievre) October 7, 2020Poilievre is referring to the news that Gateway was provided a loan from the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corp. under its Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF).
The agreement, announced in late September, provides Gateway with access to $200 million of liquidity.
'These funds will provide us with capital to support restarting our operations and returning people back to work when it is safe and viable to do so,' Gateway CEO Tony Santo said in an email to employees.
But Poilievre said the company is not deserving of the funding.
'The company was just downgraded to junk status and its parent company lost 95 per cent of its value on the stock market before being delisted altogether,' Poilievre said Wednesday.
'In fact, financial experts in Toronto say the company vastly overvalues its assets. But there is someone who would invest other people's money in it - the casino just got the jackpot of $200 million from this government,' said the former cabinet minister in Stephen Harper's government.
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'Would the financial genius over there who invested $200 million of our tax dollars in this failing casino firm please stand up.'
Trudeau stood up and provided the following response.
'While the Conservatives play silly political games, we recognize the extraordinary situation Canadians are facing,' said Trudeau, who noted Canadians are 'worried' about 'how they're going to make it through this pandemic.'
Robert Mitchell, director of communications and public affairs for Gateway, said the MP's statement contained inaccuracies.
'Mr. Poilievre's comments contained a number of factual errors which have since been corrected with his office,' Mitchell told OrilliaMatters.
He also said the casino company's LEEF application 'had the support from MPs across the political spectrum … including Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton and 10 other Conservative MPs who wrote letters of support on behalf of Gateway and our 8,000 employees across Canada.'
He also stressed the LEEFF funding will be repaid by Gateway.
'The LEEFF program is a loan that will be repaid,' said Mitchell. 'We will use the funds to help re-open our businesses and get people back to work as soon as it is safe and viable to do so.'
He noted Gateway is 'excited to welcome back many employees this week as we re-open a number of facilities today and Saturday, including our Innisfil site.'
Meanwhile, Casino Rama will remain closed. Its doors have been locked since OLG ordered all casinos to close on March 16.
Officials say Casino Rama is too large to open in light of provincial restrictions that limit the number of patrons to 50 and prohibit table games.
Tshweu Moleme of Orillia, a Unifor rep at Casino Rama, said he 'can understand some of the concerns raised by the Opposition, especially given the size of the ($200-million) LEEFF loan.'
Poilievre 'is doing what he's in Parliament for - to hold both the government and the borrower accountable,' said Moleme
'He can help the government in making sure that the money (is) used as intended - to help revive a business and to keep jobs,' he said.
Moleme applauded the Liberals' support.
'The government has done its part, ensuring that Gateway employees can still have jobs to return to. It's now Gateway's turn to keep their word … This is about saving jobs and helping Canadian families,' he said.
Now is not 'the time for partisan jabs. Canadians would like to see MPs work together, making sure that we get through this pandemic and come back strong. The entire parliament should be on the side of workers.'
He urges Gateway to use this 'much needed financial oxygen' to reopen Casino Rama.
'With such a significant loan, a world-class facility like Casino Rama should be coming back strong,' Moleme said. 'I believe that's what parliamentarians, workers, and communities would also like to see happen.'
The proposed purchase of Great Canadian Gaming Corporation — which owns the Georgian Downs facility on Highway 400 south of Barrie — by an American equity company led to some confusion over the status of the casino operation in Innisfil.
However, Gateway Casino Innisfil, which is part of a separate company that leases space from Great Canadian Gaming inside the Innisfil facility, is not expected to be impacted by the pending deal, which could be ratified in December.
'We're not affected,' said Gateway spokesman Robert Mitchell.
Gateway Casinos is an independent company active in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. It owns, among other properties, Casino Rama.
With the proposed purchase of Great Canadian Gaming Corporation by Apollo Global Management for a reported $3.3 billion (Cdn.), Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) officials see the move as positive.
'The proposed acquisition is expected to support significant investment and profitable growth of gaming operations at Great Canadian casinos in Ontario,' said OLG president and CEO Duncan Hannay. 'This benefits OLG, the province, and the communities that host 11 casinos operated by Great Canadian in Ontario.'
The purchase of Great Canadian Gaming by Apollo Global Management still has to be ratified by shareholders.
Under normal circumstances, prior to the pandemic, the Town of Innisfil received quarterly payments of between $1 million and $2 million from OLG for hosting the slot machines at Georgian Downs.
In the 2019-20 fiscal year, the town received more than $6.2 million, and close to $90 million in non-tax gaming revenue since the slots were initially set up there. Enzo casino no deposit bonus codes 2020.
'I don't believe the sale will have an impact, but the ongoing pandemic and the limited capacity in the facility continues to impact the revenues the town receives from OLG,' said Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin.
In late-April, OLG's quarterly payment to the town was $972,983.
The province's commercial interests in casinos continue to be managed by OLG and protected by contractual agreements.
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'These contracts remain in place and are unaffected by the proposed acquisition,' OLG said in a statement.
Meanwhile, in 2018, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment signed a 23-year agreement with OLG to take over the leases and day-to-day operations at several facilities, including at Georgian Downs and Casino Rama.
After being shut down due to COVID-19, Gateway reopened the doors at its Innisfil operation Oct. 10, as part of the province's Stage 3 recovery. The company decided not to reopen Casino Rama.
'The response from our customers has been uniformly positive,' Mitchell said.
However, Mitchell says it remains to be seen how the Innisfil casino operation will rebound from the pandemic.
'Evaluating the success of reopening is problematic, with a 50-person hard cap on visitation,' he said.
Gateway Casino Innisfil's 26 table games remain closed, although the casino has introduced electronic table games for fans of baccarat, roulette and poker. The spacious casino facility at Georgian Downs has more than 1,000 slot machines and, under normal conditions, is licensed for 3,342 people.
OLG has supported the safe reopening of casinos, where the rules allow it.
'To reopen or remain open, casino service providers must comply with current provincial and municipal health guidelines and continue to work with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO),' as well as local public health units, said OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti.
Bitonti acknowledged that as a result of the current 50-person cap on attendance, 'revenue generated at the present time is significantly less than pre-COVID levels.'
Starting Oct. 15, Gateway Casino Innisfil made the decision to remain open 24/7, with mask-wearing and COVID-19 protocols in place, including frequent cleaning and sanitation, and steps to maintain two-metre physical distancing.
Those steps include floor decals and stanchions, and keeping some slot machines 'out-of-play,' although all of the machines are illuminated to help create a more typical casino atmosphere and experience for patrons — at present, limited to My Club Reward members, who make a reservation to play.
And despite the challenging circumstances, Mitchell said 'people are enjoying it.'
'They are commenting on the cleanliness of our location,' Mitchell said, and complimenting staff on their efforts to create a safe environment. 'People are very, very respectful. We've had no issues in terms of our patrons abiding by the protocols.
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'It's good to see this level of respect and co-operation,' he added.
