MadMax
Active Member
^^ I agree...wholeheartedly!
How about we build it over the rail yard at Union?
The air space over the tracks is wasted. You could attach it to Union station and the ACC. You could link it to the path and dozens of hotels and entertainment facilities. You could use it to create a new connection to the lake as well.
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As someone who is supportive of a casino in Toronto for reasons other than general revenue haul (i.e. more for tourism and additional attractions) - I think we need to be very careful about tying that project to infrastructure improvements - it can help, but it's not a magic bullet some would assume that it is. And whether we like it or not, there will be negative consequences for the surrounding communities AND society as a whole - the question is whether it is worthwhile overall. I think so, but it is something that requires scrutiny.
AoD
Dntn Toronto people whine continuously that their Yonge subway is over crowded, they need DRL etc etc ... and then they turn around and reject casinos, which could easily fund all those things.
I said that the province needs to do something to raise our per capita profit for gaming. Status quo is unnaceptable.
At one time Vegas had no casinos either, you gotta start someplace.
In a place like Toronto casinos would be surrounded by great entertainment and shopping, and yes people may come and spend 20 bucks on gambling, but then they'll get hungry and need to eat, or see something nice they wanna buy, and end up spending 200 bucks on non gambling things.
I have yet to see an area in North America where a new casino created a pedestrian friendly environment or a great tourist area. I had high hopes for Niagara Falls but even there, the casino did not help to create a fun, lively district. It's pretty dead around the new casino. Thankfully, Clifton Hill was already fully developed with it's tacky attractions, so it already had its tourist draw but even there, the casino seems to have taken away some of the liveliness. (or maybe it's just the drop in tourism to NF) Both Vegas and Atlantic City are pretty bad but in different ways. A casino would be the worst thing that could happen to Ontario Place. At the very least, I'd prefer McGuinty just left it as open parkland, if he is not up to the job of a proper redevelopment.
I absolutely agree that casinos make poor neighbourhoods.