Lounges betting on change in luck, atmosphere if province gives OK for VLT play

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This article was published 26/02/2021 (2063 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AS the province considers further loosening pandemic health restrictions, some Winnipeg lounges are looking forward to bringing back VLTs for a bump in revenue and to liven up the atmosphere.

Kaely Dyck, who manages several Smitty’s locations in the province, said the empty VLT stations have become a “dead spot.”

“In terms of lounge feel and people having something to do and having an activity, we’re definitely missing that vibe of people there being competitive, or playing together,” Dyck said Friday.

“It’s nice to have a reason for people to come in and, obviously, VLTs contribute to the business being profitable.”

Smitty’s locations have between five and 35 VLTs, she said. The impact on revenue from their shutdown has varied from restaurant to restaurant, but overall it has hurt.

“Even where we can have 25 per cent capacity in other places, that whole VLT section… is just sitting there as space we’re paying rent on but can’t do anything in,” Dyck said.

At Bailey’s Restaurant and Lounge on Lombard Avenue, the dine-in area has been quiet in the weeks since the restaurant reopened.

“We’re hurting. VLTs are always a little bit of a bonus for us,” manager John Kovac said Friday.

While he couldn’t say what percentage of revenue comes from the lottery machines, Kovac said it makes a noticeable difference to be missing the extra money — and the regular patrons.

“The regulars that we have, they’d be more than happy to come back,” Kovac said. “It’s definitely going to help us on the revenue end.”

On Thursday the province floated the idea of reopening VLT stations — provided they’re properly sanitized and two metres apart — as part of a string of rolled back restrictions to replace the current set of public-health orders that expire late next week.

Both Kovac and Dyck said VLTs would be easy to keep clean and properly distanced.

Before the pandemic, Bailey’s had six machines, but will have half as many to ensure proper distancing once the province gives the green light to turn them back on.

At Smitty’s, most locations already have protective dividers between machines or they’ve been placed at the proper distance from each other.

“It hasn’t really been a challenge to make it a sanitary environment for people,” Dyck said. “It will be an easy and welcome transition into getting them back open for people.”

For both restaurants, resuming VLT operations will ultimately be about restoring some of the lively in-person energy of the long-emptied lounges.

“People are nice, they’re friendly; it is a good vibe out of it,” Kovac said. “I hope they open them up. I miss them a little bit, too.”

Smitty’s VLT players are mostly regulars, Dyck added, so bringing familiar faces back into the restaurant will likely boost morale for all.

“Bringing in some of the familiar faces and those relationships that the staff and those guests bring is so much fun,” she said. “And it’s kind of exciting for people to see their favourite guests again or have a conversation with their favourite server again.”

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jsrutgers