While U.S. casino giants eagerly woo Toronto, Bay Street buyout firm Onex Corp. is playing a different game.Onex, with holdings including the Las Vegas Tropicana casino-hotel and four Alberta casinos, has hired former city councillor Kyle Rae and Dave McCleary of Strategy Corp. to lobby councillors
Instead of urging them to put out the welcome mat for a downtown casino, the Onex lobbyists are highlighting potential downsides and pouring cold water on predictions of a revenue and jobs bonanza in a city staff report.
“I’m mostly talking to members of council predominately sympathetic to not having a casino and providing them with more information,” said Rae, a longtime casino opponent, now a consultant for real estate developers.
A downtown casino complex with mall, convention space, theatre and hotel would worsen Toronto’s gridlock and take profits from neighbouring businesses, Rae is telling them. “It would negatively impact the local economy,” he said.
Rae is registered to lobby members of council’s political left and centre. McCleary, who did not return the Star’s call, is registered to lobby conservative councillors Karen Stintz and Peter Milczyn.
They swim against a tide of lobbyists for Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts and others touting a downtown Toronto multi-billion-dollar casino-resort as a potential bonanza for tourism, conventions and city coffers.
Onex officials refused comment on their strategy, noting that OLG’s selection process is underway with a recent invitation for companies to “pre-qualify” for casino projects in other parts of the province.
However, those familiar with the company’s intentions say Onex believes the best business case is for a major casino-resort elsewhere in the GTA. Markham is a favourite but they want to leave the door open to a Toronto bid in case momentum moves that way.
Markham council voted 7-6 last June to tell OLG it doesn’t want a casino.
But Mayor Frank Scarpitti informally urged councillors in September to “re-examine the issue” saying a casino-resort could bring Markham $20 million in annual revenue, said Unionville Ward 3 Councillor Don Hamilton.
Scarpitti did not return calls for comment.
Hamilton was among Markham council members who later visited OLG headquarters to be briefed about the casino expansion plans, with OLG chair Paul Godfrey dropping by, Hamilton said. The councillor knows of no move to bring the issue back to council and remains doubtful about the merits of a Markham casino.
Meanwhile, some other potential bidders are wondering if OLG’s expansion plan, and stated preference for a downtown casino, will survive political change.
The Liberal leadership race will decide a new premier, a provincial election likely looms and, if pro-casino Mayor Rob Ford loses his appeal of a conflict of interest case, Toronto council will likely be more concerned with replacing him than a casino vote now expected in March or April.
Godfrey suggested in September that Toronto had to make a decision by early 2013 or risk losing its casino shot. But OLG Rod Phillips said in an interview last week he’s not fazed by the uncertainty.
“We’ve got a direction from the provincial government, we’ve got an (Toronto) executive committee that voted unanimously to take the next step and we’ve got a date in March or April where they’re going to make a decision, so we’re going to stay focused on that,” Phillips said.
“So time matters to the plan but the current time frames Toronto has set—March, April — are reasonable and we’re hopeful they’ll work their way through it.”
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: David Rider
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