Little interest in slot machine rules

Published: April 30, 2009 6:00 PM Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star

Apparently Vernonites don’t have an issue with how many slot machines are in the city. The City of Vernon held a public hearing Monday on a proposed bylaw that would increase the number of slot machines from 300 to 400. But no members of the public provided input on the plan. “More people were concerned about the relocation of the casino and the actual numbers aren’t a concern,” said Coun. Bob Spiers. The bylaw would also only permit 10 gaming tables in Vernon. Last fall, the previous council established a limit of 300 slot machines in Vernon, although the B.C. Lottery Corporation and Lake City Casinos wanted 400 for the new casino opening soon on Anderson Way. City officials have previously stated that even with the bylaw limiting slot machines to 300, Lake City Casinos could still have 400 because the devices were shown in designs submitted to the city.

But that would make the operation legally non-conforming under bylaw, something BCLC is not used to being in for the slot machines it owns. Coun. Jack Gilroy believes the current rules treat the casino unfairly because BCLC and Lake City Casino have met all of the necessary planning requirements. “They built the building for that size and if people don’t go, they will have to deal with it (too many machines),” he said. Gilroy also insists that more slot machines will be financially beneficial for the city because it receives 10 per cent of net casino revenue under legislation. Gilroy wasn’t surprised that there wasn’t any public opposition to increasing the number of slot machines at Monday’s hearing. “We’ve had all the public hearings and done our due diligence,” he said. Some members of the former council had hoped that restricting the number of slot machines would force Lake City Casinos to provide money for a social responsibility fund, but the company declined to do so. Now that the public hearing has been held, council must consider final adoption of the bylaw.

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Lack of protest speaks volumes Editorial Morning Star April 30:

The public has spoken. Or perhaps, a more apt description, is the public hasn’t spoken. Therefore the issue should be laid to rest. The City of Vernon held a public hearing Monday on a proposed bylaw that would increase the number of slot machines allowed in the city from 300 to 400. And nobody showed up to speak about the plan. That’s because the public knows this has been a council-generated tempest in a teapot that really didn’t involve the public in the first place. It was actually the former council that backtracked on the number of slot machines after 400 of the machines were shown in designs for the soon-to-open new facility by Lake City Casino to the city. Following that, the previous council created a bylaw establishing a limit of 300 slot machines that was an attempt to leverage more money for a social responsibility fund.

No matter how well intentioned the tactic may have been at the time, it wasn’t fair or business-like, nor did it achieve its goal. Although the casino could open and be non-conforming to the 300-machine bylaw, that is less than ideal for Lake City and the B.C. Lottery Corporation. “We’ve had all the public hearings and done our due diligence,” said Coun. Jack Gilroy, who quarterbacked the new bylaw and wasn’t surprised by the lack of public opposition to making things right. Now that the public hearing, or perhaps lack of hearing is more accurate, is completed, council can consider final adoption of the bylaw. Please, council, also consider it a done deal.