Peterborough Casino Opens Its Doors

The new Shorelines Casino in Peterborough, Ontario, opened its doors earlier this week, creating quite a buzz. Though the opening was scheduled for 5 PM, patrons had already started lining up by 1 PM to make an entry. The media was also provided with a “sneak peek” of the venue prior to its scheduled opening.

 

The casino, which costs an estimated $49 million, took a year to enter the launch phase since breaking ground. It is home to a 40-seat a la carte restaurant and a 230-seat buffet restaurant. But, its main attractions are the 22 table games and the 500 slot machines.

 

More jobs and revenue

 

The casino has also managed to create around 188 jobs and will be pumping in around $6 million every year into the city’s coffers as part of its revenue-sharing agreement. The revenue, according to city councilor Lesley Parnell, will be used to fund capital infrastructure projects, which are a top priority for the city right now. Parnell added that several roads had to be fixed.

 

One resident, a Lois Phillip, stated that the city needed more parking instead of more hotels.

 

The Peterborough casino is said to have been inspired by the popular Belleville casino, which opened its doors in 2017. Now, the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which runs Shorelines, is considering opening another gambling venue in Pickering by mid-2019.

 

Customer trouble

 

Despite the grand opening, the casino already managed to attract some criticism and controversy on the first day. It is believed that people who had lined up since 1 PM to enter the casino were forced to give up their spots for VIPs, who supposedly had special invitations.

 

One of the customers, a Rick Bowser, said that he felt insulted. He was one of the first people to stand in line and had come all the way from Kinmount with his wife. He said the casino should have at least allowed the VIPs to enter from a different door.

 

There were two queues outside the casino on the day of the opening. The first was for new customers and the other, for old patrons of Kawartha Downs, who had been invited specially.

 

One customer, who referred to herself as a casino “diehard,” had arrived at 1 PM, only to be left waiting for hours. The venue also ran out of parking space by the time everybody could make it in.