Raise the Hammer

Agreed that the blog cherry picked quotes and presented an anti-casino bias overall. Fair comment. But that's why we have the comment feature right?

When I read the article I felt that the key points were: - The initial success and hype of the casino have more-or-less faded away. The key selling points for the casino - easy access and 'cheap money' for Americans - have now gone away. So for the most part it is now just another casino - The casino today may have made a marginal impact on tourism. Tourism levels are now back down below pre-casino levels (there are other factors at play here of course) - The casino is a major city employer. Pay ranges are moderate, well below the car manufacturing jobs of old - Spillover trade did not really happen - Building a successful city, a downtown in particular, takes more than one 'sliver bullet'

So Windor's experience is a note of caution for Hamilton, especially if citizens feel it will make a massive all encompassing difference to the downtown. Of course employment will spike, but as with all industries we seek to attract, we need to look at the kind of jobs we are going to get as well as any other implications related to the venture. I would prefer an entertainment venue which positively impacted the surrounding area not a virtual bunker such as casino.

There are many differences with Windor's offering and Hamilton's. Hamilton will have other casino rivals in fairly close proximity so it's not going to have a unique advantage of any kind really. I expect it's casino would attract mainly locals (who could distribute their income more effectively at local independent businesses or else save it) or else the usual casino travellers (many gamblers routinely do the round of OLG casinos).

Overall I think the net value will be a few more jobs, a dead zone downtown, more money for the province and no gain (and possibly a loss) for local businesses. Oh and more addicts! Not worth it in my opinion.

Cheers

Ben