The Pas dealt another losing hand

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This article was published 27/08/2016 (3323 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Jim Scott got word the Aseneskak Casino was trying to relocate out of Opaskayak Cree Nation, adjacent to The Pas, he uttered a rueful chuckle.

After all, the mayor of The Pas hasn’t had a good few weeks. First, Omnitrax announced it is closing down the Port of Churchill and cutting freight service on a line that runs through The Pas. Earlier this week, the town’s largest employer, Tolko Industries, announced it was shutting down a pulp-and-paper mill employing 332 workers.

Then strike three. On Friday, the operators of the Aseneskak Casino, which employs 147, made public a plan to attempt to relocate closer to Winnipeg — ideally at Assiniboia Downs.

“What’s going on?” Scott said, when reached by phone on Friday afternoon. “Omnitrax. Tolko. And now the casino. Is there any other community in Manitoba that has faced this? This is crazy. If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry.”

Most of casino workers are from OCN, which is just across the Saskatchewan River from The Pas. Scott said both communities will feel the impact if the entertainment centre leaves.

“This is not just my community, this is the entire region taking blow after blow,” he said. “It’s leaking everywhere.

“They say things come in threes. Well, I hope this is the end.”

Suzanne Barbeau-Bracegirdle, CEO of the casino, said the request to relocate has been years in the making. Since opening in 2002, Barbeau-Bracegirdle said profits have fallen steadily.

The casino opened with 210 employees. Now there are around 150.

The casino can run with 600 gaming machines, but only has traffic for 172. There are six gaming tables, while the casino has a licence for 40.

As a result, the dividends to the six First Nations who run the casino — including OCN — have fallen to an eighth of what they were three years ago, the CEO said — to less than $30,000 each.

“We’re making revenue for the casino, but it’s not enough to keep our partners happy,” she said. “It’s very minimal.”

Under the casino’s licence — which was just renewed in May 2015 for 20 years — the operation could only be relocated to another First Nations — and would require provincial approval.

Heather Stefanson, the minister responsible for the Manitoba Liquor and Gaming Authority, issued a news release Friday hinting moving might be difficult given the market in Manitoba.

“The previous NDP government signed one-off, politically-motivated agreements,” the release said. “Our government is currently conducting a broader review of the implications of relocated or expanded gaming in Manitoba. The 2016 Manitoba Gaming Market Study indicates the gaming market is oversupplied throughout the province, including in Winnipeg. Any change in capacity must therefore be supported by a solid market analysis and business plan.”

‘What’s going on? Omnitrax. Tolko. And now the casino. Is there any other community in Manitoba that has faced this? This is crazy. If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry’– Jim Scott, mayor of The Pas, of news Aseneskak Casino plans to relocate closer to Winnipeg

Barbeau-Bracegirdle acknowledged any relocation would take time and the province’s approval. But she also questioned the study’s conclusions.

“There’s growth,” she said. “It’s just how you look at the numbers.”

Still, she said, the end may not be far off.

“The bottom line: if the market is not there and the revenue is not coming in, the casino is not going to be there in five years,” she said.

Barbeau-Bracegirdle said the casino partners have been talking to representatives of several potential sites near Winnipeg — notably Peguis First Nation, which is currently trying to partner with the Manitoba Jockey Club to expand Assiniboia Downs into the city’s largest urban reserve.

The hope is to turn 36 acres into a regional racing and entertainment hub complete with one or more hotels and, down the road, a casino.

Asked about the Downs location, Barbeau-Bracegirdle said, “That would be an ideal world.”

randy.turner@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @randyturner15