Vancouver city councillors are bracing for a furious debate about a plan to put a major Las Vegas-style resort casino downtown.
But the debate won't be about the evils of gambling, they say. Instead, it will be about having such a big commercial operation in the middle of what has become a residential neighbourhood.
"I think it's going to be a nasty discussion," says Councillor Geoff Meggs, in the wake of reports over the past two weeks that the province has finalized a deal with Paragon Gaming of Las Vegas to build a major hotel and entertainment complex with a casino attached to BC Place.
"Paragon is not coming to town to run something the size of the Edgewater [the existing casino in the area] I think there will be all these angry neighbours who are already concerned about the density and lack of amenities down there and they're now facing a casino that's much larger."
Those neighbours are going to expect the city to negotiate some benefits for them. But councillors say that, even though the city is supposed to have the decision-making power over the size and location of any casino, they're in a weak position.
"I think the city holds fewer cards this time," said Mr. Meggs.
The city likely has little power to block a use it doesn't like on BC Place land because it's provincial land and exempt from city zoning. As well, it's already clear the city won't even be able to demand any benefits from the development.
"I wonder if the city has any leverage at all as it will be one of those things where we're just rubber-stamping," he said.
That's because the city already agreed two years ago that any profits the province got from developing the land would be used only to pay for the $400-million upgrade to the BC Place roof.
In the past, city council had extracted some contributions from casinos for inner-city services. That won't be an option this time, said Mr. Meggs.
"I think neighbours are going to come thinking that, if the city decides to support this, there will be some benefits for the neighbourhood. But there won't be."
What council is not expecting from local residents is fierce opposition to the idea of gambling or casinos.
Councillors Ellen Woodsworth and Raymond Louie both say that kind of public controversy appears to have died down.
"I haven't seen the kinds of reactions I used to," said Ms. Woodsworth, whose COPE party had always adamantly opposed casinos and expansions to gambling.
"When we expanded the ability for people to take drinks into the gambling areas a few months ago, there was no reaction at all."
Mr. Louie said, "I think it's less of a controversial issue than it used to be, mainly because there's been little evidence of problems."
That's a sea change from the public opposition of the past two decades. In 1994, the NDP government of the day proposed letting Las Vegas entrepreneur Steve Wynn build a massive convention centre, hotel and casino on the waterfront to the east of Canada Place - something similar to what is now being proposed, minus the convention centre.
That prompted such a furious reaction from city politicians, unions, anti-gambling advocates and churches that the government abandoned the idea.
However, gambling expanded throughout the province steadily after that, under both the NDP and the Liberals, as casinos were allowed in more municipalities. As well, the B.C. Lottery Corporation encouraged putting more slot machines in casinos and other gambling venues, prompting many agonized votes in municipalities that had the final say on whether they would be allowed.
Vancouver city council, under then-mayor Larry Campbell, went through a divisive vote in 2004 when it allowed slot machines to be put in at the Hastings Park racetrack and the Edgewater casino.
B.C. gets about $1.5-billion in revenues from casinos, which accounts for more than half of the approximately $2.5-billion it gets from all gaming. After expenses, government profit from all gaming amounted to about $1.09-billion in 2008-2009.
The biggest question some councillors have now is whether casinos are that profitable any more. Municipalities benefited handsomely when casinos first opened, as the province gave them a small percentage of the profits.
But as more casinos have opened in recent years and as the recession hit, profits have been spread thinner and thinner.
Special to The Globe and Mail
Frances Bula