Public hearing slot moved for casino

By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star Published: July 17, 2008

A postponed public hearing on limiting the number of slot machines allowed within the City of Vernon has been re-scheduled for next month. Vernon council voted Monday to hold a public hearing on Monday, Aug. 25, in council chambers, on a motion that would restrict slot machines to 300 city-wide. A motion to allow 400 slots was defeated by a margin of 4-2, with Couns. Patrick Nicol and Jack Gilroy voting in favour of the higher number. In June, council gave three readings to a bylaw that would limit the number of machines to 300. Coun. Barry Beardsell then suggested that slot machines should be at one location and not spread around the city. With that, a special meeting was called and the original July 14 public hearing date was postponed.

Gilroy was upset that the higher number wasn’t considered. “We have a beautiful facility (Lake Country Casino) and we’re not going to fill it with machines,” he said. “I don’t know what we’re doing here. I get tons of phone calls from people who appreciate that I support the casino, and I think we should all be doing that. They do a lot of work in this community with Funtastic and everything else. “But, council voted and I support what council does, so I’ll have to go with what council’s passed.”

Council also agreed to accept an offer from the British Columbia Lottery Corporation to join the B.C. Partnership for Responsible Gambling. The partnership brings together representatives from BCLC, Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, service providers such as Lake Country Casinos and B.C. municipalities to identify community-based initiatives that address policy issues related to responsible gambling. Council unanimously passed a motion to accept the offer, as well as accepting an annual contribution of $50,000 from BCLC. The money is earmarked for a responsible gambling initiative in Vernon that is identified by council and agreed upon by BCLC and Gaming Policy and Enforcement. Council’s motion will read that it will accept an annual contribution of $50,000, though BCLC’s letter of intent is unclear as to whether it will be annual or one-time contribution.