[arnold]

here's an article from today's windsor star that has some interesting stats from casino windsor. i'd be interested in hearing what some of the windsor forumers think of the "waste of cash" comment...


Casino project called waste of cash
Expansion like flying squirrel sex study: Tory

Trevor Wilhelm
Windsor Star


Monday, March 20, 2006


According to the provincial Conservative party, spending money to build a hotel at Casino Windsor is like spending money to research flying squirrels having sex -- they're both a waste of taxpayers' dollars.

That was a comparison Conservative Opposition Leader John Tory made Sunday in a statement slamming the Liberal government for "recklessly" spending $400 million on expanding the permanent Casino Windsor -- which was built under a previous Conservative regime.

Four days before the Liberals unveil their new budget, Tory compared the Liberal government's spending on the casino expansion to the $150,000 it gave Laurentian University in 2005 to research the sex lives of flying squirrels.

Tory's spokesman Brendan Howe added in an interview with The Windsor Star that the government has no business in the hotel business.

"This is a symptom of a much bigger problem with the McGuinty Liberals," Tory said in the statement.

"They have no respect for taxpayers' money. While Ontarians struggle to get by, Dalton McGuinty is spending hundreds of millions of dollars of their money recklessly."

Howe said the previous Conservative government's building of casinos across Ontario isn't the same as the Liberals spending money to build a hotel at Casino Windsor.

"You're comparing apples to oranges," he said. "We're talking about $400 million today to build a hotel. We've repeatedly questioned why the government should be building casino hotels. If it's a good thing to do, why won't the private sector fund it? We cannot justify spending $400 million on a swanky casino hotel ... When is the government going to have some priorities?"

Casino spokeswoman Holly Ward, who couldn't be reached for comment Sunday, has said the expansion will create 300 jobs. It is also considered crucial if Windsor is going to continue to compete in an ever-growing market on both sides of the border.

Casino Windsor's revenue did drop in 2005, but still earned the province hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, gambling across Ontario produces $13 billion annually for the province.

At the end of 2005, Casino Windsor was the region's fourth-largest employer with 4,100 employees.

In its 12-year history the casino, which is run for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation by a private operator, has given jobs to more than 10,000 area residents. In addition to salaries and benefits it pays out, the casino also pays $12.6 million in municipal property taxes.

"The casino makes revenue for the province," Howe said. "But to automatically write a $400-million cheque without looking into this is pretty irresponsible and reckless for our government to do this."

Howe added it's premature to look at whether the hotel expansion will create jobs or increase revenues as part of the casino.

"I don't think we can answer that question until we answer the question of if someone in the private sector can build the hotel," Howe said.

He added Windsorites would be upset if the government spent the money to build a hotel elsewhere.

"If the government spent $400 million on a conference centre in Toronto or Peterborough, people would be questioning it," he said. "People in Windsor would want to know why the government was spending $400 million on a hotel in Toronto."

The casino's 22-storey expansion, which should be finished by the end of 2007, will include a 400-room hotel, 100,000-square-foot convention centre and 5,000-seat auditorium.

Howe said the government should spend the money on other needs like the health care system instead of sinking it into a hotel.

Tory also said in his statement the Liberals wasted money by spending $91 million to fire nurses then rehire them at other hospitals, and by putting $179 million into Local Health Integration Networks.