Lineups for opening of new Peterborough casino
Lineups began four hours before grand opening, but invited VIPs were first to play
People started lining up outside Peterborough’s new casino at 1 p.m. on Monday for the 5 p.m. official opening of Shoreline Casino Peterborough — only to have a group of VIPs, with special invitations in hand, ushered in to play at 3 p.m.
“This is a real insult to those of us standing outside,” said Rick Bowser, one of the first people in line, who’d come from Kinmount with his wife.
“They’ve screwed up .... They should have brought them in some other door — not right in front of us,” he said.
There were two separate lineups outside the casino on Monday: one for guests who weren’t VIPs, and another for longtime patrons of Kawartha Downs who’d been issued special invitations to start gambling at 3 p.m.
Lois Philip was the very first person in the
non-VIP lineup.
The retired nurse from Peterborough, who describes herself as a casino “diehard”, arrived at 1 p.m. thinking she’d be the very first person in the casino — but she was left waiting while the VIPs went inside.
By 5 p.m., when everyone was allowed in the casino on Crawford Dr. at The Parkway, there wasn’t any parking left and yet a long string of cars circled the lot.
Inside, gamblers had their choice of 500 slot machines and 22 table games.
During a tour for the media at 2 p.m., general manager Bryan Buchanan said the new casino will be open 24/7.
“There’s a lineup outside — it’s very exciting,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of hype in the community.”
There was also concern on Monday morning when Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs employees came to work to find they were locked out.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming issued a statement Monday saying Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs would be closed for about two weeks while they “reconfigure” the interior of the Downs (it’s expected to reopen with 150 slot machines, down from 500).
Buchanan was hired as general manager of the Downs in June 2016; he’s now managing Shorelines Casino Peterborough.
He didn’t say much about the temporary closure of the Downs: “Our focus now is the launch of this casino,” he said, meaning the one he now manages in Peterborough.
Buchanan said there are 310 workers at Shorelines Casino Peterborough.
Mayor Daryl Bennett said in a written statement on Monday that’s 180 new jobs (in addition to those transferred from the Downs).
Through a revenue-sharing arrangement, plus additional taxes generated by the casino and the new hotel (which is under construction next door), Bennett has said the city stands to gain at least $6 million annually — money he’d like to see spent on infrastructure projects, he states, while “reducing the burden on property taxpayers”.
“Congratulations to Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Great Canadian Gaming and to the entire team of employees at Shorelines Peterborough on the opening of the new facility,” he said.
The casino will have a 40-seat modern casual restaurant called the Windward Restaurant and Lounge along with a 280-seat daily-themed all-you-can-eat buffet called The Buffet.
The 30,000-square-foot casino was expected to cost $49 million when construction first began.
Meanwhile construction continues on a new Hampton Inn and Suites hotel that will open beside the casino next year.