Majority say “No” to possible casino @ final meeting in Kitchener

At round two of the casino debate last night, for the second week in a row, the majority of delegates said no to the city hosting an OLG gaming facility.

21 delegates spoke, with 18 against a possible casino, and only 3 in favour.

Shannon Weber with the Downtown Kitchener BIA said business owners did not need or want a facility.

“With the greatest respect to council, we submit to you that there is no place for a casino in Kitchener. Our city has made major investments in our core in recent years… we have seen significant, positive growth in commercial, institutional and residential developments. While other cities in Ontario, and even across North America, have embraced casinos as a strategy to assist in revitalizing their languishing downtown areas, and to stimulate economic development, this is not required in Downtown Kitchener. We are on a path of very positive development.”

City councillors also put a face on what a gambling addict looks like, when Sue Pallas, a recovering addict spoke and urged councillors to keep the casino far away.

“I started to go to casinos approximately 7 years ago for pure, innocent fun and entertainment on the slot machines and avidly buying lottery tickets. I never imagined I might be at risk of becoming a problem gambler or addict. It wasn’t long before I was repeatedly going to the casinos to escape from feelings such as boredom, loneliness, anxiety and depression. By becoming so consumed in gambling I was able to disassociate from my feelings and get short term relief. However, it developed into an unhealthy coping mechanism.”

Joe Mancini with the Working Centre, recalled a time for councillors when the centre had a short run in with casinos in 1996, and said it was something he had never forgotten.

“Organizations were allowed to organize or operate mini casinos. The Working Centre was approached by a service club and we agreed to sponsor a casino for two weekends. These casinos operated between 5 p.m. until 4 a.m. on a Friday night and a Saturday night. The service club was disappointed because they served minimal alcoholic drinks. The casino was overwhelmingly busy. The Working Centre pocketed $10,000 for our efforts. People love to gamble. But we also learned about the desperation.. in gambling. It felt wrong. We felt as desperate taking money for this activity as the people who were gambling. The desperation in the eyes of the gamblers are what we remember from that experience. After those two weeks, the Working Centre Board voted to never have anything to do with gambling again.”

One of the three delegates who were in favour of a casino, Lawrence Bingeman, told councillors to think twice before saying no.

“We promote our city around the world as world class, aiming to be world class to attract more business and residents and certainly in many ways we are world class. However, are we truly world class, best in the field, by not giving all the facts? By not assessing all potentials? The opportunity of the decision you have in front of you that you will vote on May 13 will never come again after this. Use it wisely. As is very clear that none of the communities that have gaming operations have a desire to lose them. In fact they want to expand them.”

Another delegate also in favour, Bill Pegg with the K-W Gaming Centre Sponsors also urged councillors to at least give the idea a chance before shutting it down.

“My only reason for possibly supporting this would be jobs…As a very minimal benefit several hundred new casino jobs will inject millions in payroll dollars into this region, no one can deny that, full time or part time. Overall then, I believe the casino question is still worthy of taking the next step, taking the next step to have a look. We’re still window shopping here.”

Councillors will make their final decision on May 13th.