Joe Millican - Abbotsford News Published: January 03, 2009
The chances are that a new gaming centre in Abbotsford, which will include 100 slot machines, will be open by mid-March. That’s according to Art Villa, the business development co-ordinator for Playtime Gaming, who said Chances Abbotsford is likely to be open for business within 12 weeks. Abbotsford city council passed a bylaw in November 2007 which allowed the Abbotsford Bingo Hall at 30835 Peardonville Rd. to transform itself into a community gaming centre and install up to 125 slot machines. Community gaming centres, which are already operating in six B.C. cities, were introduced by the provincial government as a way to boost a flagging bingo industry. Once complete, Chances Abbotsford will be open only to adults and include updated electronic bingo games, a bistro that will not serve alcohol, and an entertainment area. Work on an extensive overhaul of the premises was initially predicted to be finished in April 2008, but the gaming centre – which will be operated by Playtime Community Gaming Centres Inc. – encountered a number of delays. Changes to the lottery corporation’s requirements, as well as the introduction of the smoking ban, resulted in some of the holdups. That then saw Playtime change the estimated completion date to December 2008. “Construction issues” have now further delayed the project, Villa said, pointing out that while the interior of the building will be completely rebuilt, it took longer than expected to dismantle. “With the weather last week, nothing happened,” said Villa. “It’s pretty slow. You always want it to be faster but it’s just the way it is.” Building work on Chances Abbotsford started in September, and the bingo hall has been closed for business since then.
Like casinos, municipalities receive 10 per cent of the net revenue from slot machines in community gaming centres. Based on 125 slots, it has been estimated the City of Abbotsford would receive approximately $1 million per year.
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