Vancouver Casino Expansion Rejected
Following hours of debate and public meetings, the Vancouver council finally delivered its decision regarding the proposal to build a mega-casino in the downtown bloc of the city.
Not only did the council reject the Vancouver casino idea unanimously, it also said that would not reconsider its decision until the BC Lottery Corporation got its act together and showed that it was serious about problem gambling and money laundering.
The decision was a huge disappointment to the BCLC, as well as the casino company. BC Pavilion also took the news badly, considering that the new casino's lease of the land next to the pavilion would have helped paid for renovations to the venue to the tune of $563 million.
Speaking about the rejection was one of the idea's greatest objectors, the mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson.
"Enabling the largest casino in Western Canada in our downtown doesn't fit with Vancouver's global brand as the world's most livable city, the green capital, and hotbed for innovation from clean and digital technology to resource management," he said.
Adding his two cents was city councillor, Geoff Meggs who said: "It was a complete contradiction for what people want in the heart of Vancouver."
A number of factors led to the council's decision, including the fact that there had been fierce opposition from the local arts community and that people in the city, in general, were opposed to the idea.
In addition, they looked at the experience of places such as Macau who lost their sense of identity after mega-casinos were built.
Some councillors, however, said that they had qualms about the huge financial advantages that the city was missing out on by rejecting the proposal.
