Slots at Kawartha Downs will remain open

Some worried moments after Facebook posting stated doors would close Sunday night

Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs will remain open after the new casino on Crawford Dr. in Peterborough opens at 5 p.m. on Monday, an official confirmed.

Rui Brum, a spokesman for Ontario Lottery and Gaming, stated in an email the slots “will be retained” at Kawartha Downs, following an agreement forged over the Thanksgiving weekend between the Downs and the provincial government.

The Downs was facing closure because the last scheduled horse races took place in September and the slots were all expected removed by the time Shorelines Casino Peterborough opens on Monday evening.

The Downs had rejected an offer from the provincial government to keep 150 slot machines; general manager Orazio Valente told The Examiner last week it was because they needed 250 slots to stay afloat financially.

But then on Saturday, the deal was accepted and Valente said the Downs would remain open. He didn’t mention whether the offer from the provincial government was enhanced; he said he was bound by a nondisclosure agreement to say nothing.

Labour Minister Laurie Scott, the MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock riding, which includes Fraserville, said Tuesday that the deal is for 150 slot machines to remain.

Meanwhile on Thursday there was a Facebook posting on the page of Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs noting that the Downs would close its doors on Sunday night, just before midnight, to finalize its move to Shorelines Casino Peterborough — and that more “direction” was expected from OLG soon, regarding the future of the Downs.

But that notice was removed from Facebook late Thursday afternoon, and Brum advised The Examiner by email that the slots will stay at Kawartha Downs, “pursuant to the announcement made by the province.”

“There has been no change in this regard.”