Canada: slot machines return to Hiawatha Horse Park

Now known as Gateway Casinos Sarnia, the 150-machine gambling site was officially in late January described by Gateway Casino and Entertainment spokesperson Rob Mitchell as the “little sister” of its larger Starlight Casino down the road in Point Edward.

“Slots are back,” Jamie Papp, Gateway Casinos vice-president, said at an opening ceremony held before the doors opened to the public on Jan. 30.

"It represents another opportunity for Gateway to invest in our communities across Ontario," he said.

The gambling site has 60 employees and will be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sarnia This Week reports.

After it was selected by the province to run casino gambling in the region, Gateway spent $26 million at the Point Edward casino. It also opened a new casino in Chatham and began work on a new site in London.

“I think I ran two elections on bringing the slots back,” Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey said Thursday.

Following the election that brought his party to power in Ontario, Bailey was able to announce that the government was bringing slot machines back to the horse park.

“I give Bob Bailey all the credit for driving this to get the slots back here,” said Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley.

“We lost them in 2012 and it was a foolish move on OLG’s part, and the government of the day.”

Loss of the slots at tracks left the horse-racing industry “wounded deeply,” Bradley said. “I’m just glad common sense came back.”

As host municipality, Sarnia will receive a percentage of the slots revenue through an agreement Bradley helped negotiate with OLG in 2000.

The city is estimating the slots will mean another $400,000 a year in revenue Sarnia plans to use for capital projects, Bradley said.

Henderson said it felt good to see the slots operation open again.

“Now we’ve got another anchor,” Henderson said about having Gateway as a tenant at the horse park which has continued to offer harness racing, as well as other activities.

“The horse racing is starting to pick back up,” he said.

Slot machines and horse racing are an “awesome” combination, Henderson said.

With 164 acres in total, the horse park property still has plenty of room for new development, Henderson said.

Gateway did “a considerable overhaul” to prepare the site for Thursday’s opening, Mitchell said.

The gaming room covers more than 22,000 square feet and includes a licensed Express Bar also serving sandwiches and appetizers.

“They’ve done a fantastic job,” Coun. Bill Dennis said at the opening. “I think the customers that come in here are going to be super impressed with what’s been done.”