Ontario's lottery and gaming agency confirmed Wednesday that three border slot machine locations will permanently close as part of a plan to modernize gambling in the province.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. said unprofitable slot facilities in Fort Erie, Windsor and Sarnia would shut down permanently on April 30.
The employees learned their fate Wednesday morning when all three locations were temporarily closed to the public for staff meetings.
At the Fort Erie slots, all 230 employees were called to a local hotel where they were told that they would be out of work at the end of April.
"This is big, next to losing your partner, or losing your child, this is pretty much it," one woman told CTV News outside the morning meeting.
Though only the slots are closing now, employees at the Fort Erie race track are also worried about the future.
"I've been there 26 years," said Andrew Cady, an OLG employee who starts horses at the track. "I live in Fort Erie. Got a family here. Got some properties here. But it looks like it's all coming to an end."
Cady expects the racing will eventually end, too, and he'll be forced elsewhere to find work.
"I think the whole town is going to be in a lot of trouble," he said.
Horse trainers, blacksmiths, feed mills, bars and many other local businesses will also suffer if both the slots and race track close, said OLG employee Anthony Adamo, who also works at the Fort Erie track.
The slots will re-open March 15 at 9 a.m.
"We regret the impact today's decision will have on employees who are affected by these impending closures," OLG President and CEO Rod Phillips said in a statement. "We hope our customers in the Windsor, Fort Erie and Sarnia areas understand our decision to temporarily close these three locations for 24 hours so we can properly attend to and support our employees."
CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss first reported the closures Tuesday, citing shrinking border traffic and a stronger Canadian dollar as reasons for their recent financial troubles. According to OLG, each of the three locations had seen their revenue levels dip drastically, to the point where it was costing the province money to keep them open.
The province said that the border casinos brought in more than $800 million in revenue a decade ago. Now, that number has dropped below $100 million.
Numbers, by venue:
- The 750-slot venue at the Windsor Raceway was first opened in 1998 and employs 150 full-time workers and 60 part-time employees.
- The location brought in $69 million in revenue in 2000, but only $41 million last year.
- In Fort Erie, where 401 slots were located at the local racetrack, 160 full-time workers and 50 part-time workers will lose their jobs.
- The site, which opened in 1999, brought in $123 million in revenue in 2001 and only $29 million last year.
- The OLG slot machine hall in Hiawatha, near Sarnia, first opened in 1999 and currently employs 90 full time positions and 50 part timer positions.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said he was angry about the way the OLG delivered the news of the closures, saying it was "unprofessional" and calling the OLG "morally bankrupt."
"They walked in today and served their papers like it was a divorce," Bradley said.
The closure will be a huge loss to the community and to the entire region, where there aren't many jobs to begin with, the mayor said.
"It has provided many jobs to the community and the owner has invested a lot of money and still continues to invest money because they didn't have the moral courage to tell him that they were planning to terminate his operation, and they knew that for some time," Bradley told CTV News.
In 2001, the Sarnia's 452 slots machines earned $45 million. That number dropped to $29 million last year.
The OLG said on Wednesday that it expects to continue making "reasonable financial contributions" to the affected towns until March 31, 2013, to help with the transition.
The news comes after OLG championed a plan to build a casino in the Toronto area and modernize gambling in the province, including a push toward online options.
