Canadian Gaming News.

Issue 126 October 2005 Ontario Problem Report Released 1 In the winter of 2004 former Ontario (racinos). Lottery & Gaming Corporation The strategy has a three-pronged Board Chair, Stanley Sadinsky, was approach consisting of treatment, asked by the Government of Ontario preventiodawareness, and research. to undertake a review of Ontario's After eight years of operation, the problem gambling initiatives. More annual financial allocation for the specifically, Mr. Sadinsky's Terms of strategy has increased from $1 mil- Ivan Sack Reference were: lion to over $36 million, together I I 1) To identify and describe the current with a multi-faceted strategy that since, immediately after having said structure, role, funding arrangement involves many different service that there is no responsible gaming and programmes of the partners, providers and initiatives. This, Mr. strategy, he goes on to say that vari- stakeholders, operators, and adminis- Sadinsky says, is the largest single ous stakeholders are involved in edu- trative agencies in the area of problem commitment to addiction research/ cating the public on responsible gam- gambling and responsible gaming in treatment by a political jurisdiction ing practices. The point he intends to Ontario; in the world. make, perhaps, is that the later initia- 2) To conduct an inter-jurisdictional In 2002 the government agreed that tives have not been tied together in a review of what other selected jurisdic- up to $5 million of this money predetermined way. tions are doing, including the identifi- could be used for substance-abuse Last winter we heard rumours to the cation of evidence based practices, treatment, recognizing a fkquent effect that the government was not and the resources available to them, cross-addiction between gambling spending all of the $36 million set and the allocation of resources and substance addictions. aside for gaming addiction on gaming amongst the various components of According to Mr. Sadinsky, ap- addiction though we could not find the strategy; proximately 83% of Ontario adults anyone who would confirm this. In 3) To assess the existing problem- take part in some form of legalized his comments, Mr. Sadinsky says that, gambling strategy and responsible gambling. The highest participation in 2003-04 only $21.7 million of the gaming in Ontario and the funding rate is in the purchase of lottery $36.0 million was actually spent on levels from all sources available; products (64%). While prevalence the intended purpose. Surprizingly, he makes no mention of where the 4) To identify, where possible, the studies vary, they indicate that ap- results achievable through the compo- proximately 0.9% of the adult pub- missing $14.3 million went beyond nents of the current strategy in On- lic that gamble (64,500 people), saying that the government has com- tario including an assessment of value have serious gambling problems. mitted to spend all $36 million on for money; and An additional 3.9% (288,000 peo- addiction in 2004-05. $1 1 million of ple) are at moderate to high risk of this new money will go to treatment. 5) To recommend the future roles of becoming problem gamblers. Yet, the partners, stakeholders, operators, The $21.7 million suent in 2003-04 in fiscal 2003-04, only 3,800 people was allocated as fol Ilo transfer payment agencies, and minis- presented themselves for help or tries in the delivery of the problem- treatment for their gambling prob- gambling, and responsible-gaming Treatment, lem, or for the problem of a person including multiple T strategy and the programmes associ- close to the gambler. ated with it. addictions Mr. Sadinsky says that the govern- Ontario's problem gambling strategy Prevention1 ment has never articulated a respon- awareness has been in existence since 1996. sible gaming strategy though it does Since 1999 it has been funded by a have a problem gambling strategy. Research formula of 2% of gross From our perspective he does not revenue from charity and slots flesh out the distinction which he Total at Ontario's horse racing tracks makes between the two sufficiently As for who does what, Mr. Sadinsky -Page 2 Canadian GAMING News - says that ongoing treatment services further $6.8 million on its own re- Long-Term Care is responsible for are provided by 47 community treat- sponsible gaming strategy. the funding of most of Ontario's ini- ment agencies. These agencies were In 2004-05, $9.2 million of the $36 tiatives. This, Mr. Sadinsky says, already involved in the treatment of million will be transferred to sub- should change. substance abuse problems with the stance-abuse agencies with $2 mil- He sees the ministry as having a con- new funding allowing each agency to lion of this going to 150 substance- flict given that it is responsible for add at least one full-time equivalent abuse centres - 103 of which do not funding gaming addiction while at the problem gambling counselor. Nine of treat problem gamblers. This will same time being responsible for the these agencies specialize in treatment increase Ontario's 2004-05 treat- delivery of treatment services in the for seniors, women, youth andor ment budget to approximately $24 substance-abuse sector. This he con- ethno-cultural communities. million which Mr. Sadinsky says is cludes has lead the ministry to use Briefly, the Centre for Addiction excessive considering the number funds earmarked for responsible gam- and Mental Health provides training of clients presenting themselves for bling for non-gaming related treat- and support materials for profession- treatment. ment. als and communities. The Ontario Consistent with this, and as men- He also highlights the fact that the Problem Gambling Helpline pro- tioned earlier, approximately 3,800 $36 million set aside for gaming treat- vides a 24-hour province-wide infor- people were treated for problem ment annually is only 0.12% of that mation and referral service; the Re- gambling in 2003-04. Mr., Sadin- ministry's total budget. This, he con- sponsible Gambling Council- sky says this is in fact down from cludes, means that gaming addiction Ontario develops and provides the previous year but does not pro- is very low on that's ministry's list of awareness, prevention and education priorities. programmes to the community at Treatment Prevention Research Total He says addic- large; the Department of Public Awareness Health Sciences at the University of tion initiatives Toronto provides an interactive web- Ontario $13.2 (60%) $4.7 (22%) $3.8 (18%) $21.7 need a 'strong advocate' and site focused on promoting responsible British $1.6 (40%) $1.O (26%) $0.3 (8%) $4.0 gaming practices by youth. The Columbia recommends YMCA of Ontario delivers preven- that bureau- tionlawareness workshops to youth Quebec $10.5 (62%) $5.0 (29%) $1.5 (9%) $17.0 cratic respon- between the ages of 8 and 24 years, Alberta $4.0 sibility for the funding of while eight Aboriginal organizations Manitoba $1.1 (39%) $1.5 (54%) $0.2 (7%) $2.8 deliver programmes on and off re- Ontario addic- serves. Nova Scotia $1.3 (73%) $0.2 (10%) $0.3 (17%) $ 1.8 tion initiatives be moved The Ontario Problem Gambling New South $6.0 (64%) $3.0 (31%) $0.5 (5%) $9.5 Wales from the min- Research Centre funds research pro- istry to the jects, builds research capacity, and Queensland $3.6 Alcohol & disseminates the results of research. New $7.9 (62%) $3.8 (3 1%) $0.9 (7%) $12.6 Gaming The centre itself does not conduct Zealand Commission research. of Ontario. How funding was allocated The commission, he says, is much 2003-04 vide the first figure. If we divide closer to the industry and is therefore the $2 1.7 million spent by the 3,800 better positioned to not only develop 47 treatment agencies $12,000,000 who received treatment, this works policy and allocate funding, but to Centre for Addiction $ 670,000 out to $5,710 per client. advocate within the broader bureauc- and Mental Health Mr. Sadinsky makes a total of 72 racy on behalf of addiction treatment. Responsible Gambling $ 1,900,000 recommendations the last one being One of the things we watched for as Council-Ontario that his report be released for public we read the report was Mr. Sadin- comment. Ontario Problem $ 500,000 sky's take on the cost-effectiveness of Gambling Helpline We wrote earlier of his having con- the treatment and services being pro- cluded that Ontario does not have a vided. This was point #4 in his man- University of Toronto $ 130,000 responsible gaming strategy. One date. Simply put, we hoped he would YMCA $ 1,520,000 of his most important recommenda- answer the big question of whether tions is therefore that a Problem we have fewer gaming addicts in On- Aboriginal Gambling $ 1,000,000 Gambling and Responsible Gaming tario today because of these expendi- Research $ 3,800,000 Strategy be created. This strategy, tures and programmes? While he Total $2 1,520,000 he says, should promote two main says there is a need to collect better objectives: harm minimalization data, and makes a brief reference to Mr. Sadinsky also points out that in and a culture of responsibility. too much being spent in one area, he 2003-04 the Ontario Lottery & Ontario's Ministry of Health and unfortunately says little more in re- Gaming Corporation also spent a sponse to this question.

Canada's glass , Edgewater Edgewater offers 600 slots, and 48 A smaller indoor, 500-seat theatre fea- Casino, above, is jointly owned and gaming tables including four . tures regular casino entertainment. operated by Gary Jackson, former Its new gaming floor is situated in The casino's interior has soft, modem owner of the Royal Diamond Casino the glassed in building behind the lines which give it a Scandinavian and Len Libin, former owner of the flags (top picture). feel. Grand Casino. Edgewater officially The area to the left of the flags is a You will note the absence of perma- opened in the City of Vancouver's nent exterior signage. Municipal by- Plaza of Nations February 3,2005. 50,000 sq. ft. outdoor performing stage which seats 5,000. This com- laws place restrictions upon signs with This $20 million interim facility em- plex was originally built for Expo the casino working to gain approval ploys 600 people with a permanent 86 and now hosts community festi- for larger signage. The casino is also complex to be built. vals and other events. awaiting a liquor license. - Canadian GAMING News Page 5 - The method and the system that we use to deploy our technologies is the method required by government and Scott White insurance companies. It assures that the computer knows that it has the President & CEO winning card. Sack: How does your technology A lawyer by profession, Scott White lottery, keep your bingo cards 'alive' when a is a graduate of the University of To- soft gaming, and casino entertain- player is temporarily disconnected ronto and University of Windsor. ment. In 2004 more than 1,850,000 from the Internet? In addition to practicing law, Mr. paying players played our games on White: We use a random number gen- White has been involved in a number our licensees' gaming websites. erator which generates the bingo calls of private and public enterprises, in- We presently have 34 customers, before the game is played. The card cluding as a Director with Vista Inter- who operate more than 70 websites is then played against these pre- national Petroleums and as Corpo- (52 bingo and 18 casino). Some of selected numbers. You can also pre- rate Secretary with Nova Continental the largest brands in the world now buy cards which will automatically be Development Corporation. offer internet Bingo through our played for you at the proper time and software - such as AOL, Virgin, date. Mr. White is a cofounder of Parlay Yahoo, Gala, and Aqua Caliente. Entertainment Inc. (PEL TSXV) which Sack: Does this introduce a risk of is based in Oakville, Ontario. Sack: You just made reference to cheating, when the outcome is known lottery and casino entertainment before the game is played? Sack: You're a lawyer with a back- software. So your software devel- White: The outcome of the game is ground in oil. How did you get into opment is not restricted to bingo? Internet bingo? not known to anyone but the com- White: As the dominant licensor of puter that generates the bingo calls. White: It wasn't my idea! Perry on-line bingo technologies, ap- This is done just before the com- Malone, who is the inventor of our proximately 85% of our revenue mencement of the game and after the technology and a co-founder of the comes from royalties generated cards are purchased. Accordingly, company and Ted Coliuas, adso a co- from the use of our bingo software. there is no possibility that anyone founder, are our computer guys. They We do, however, offer other com- could cheat. come up with the ideas and make panion technologies for soft gam- things happen. They brought me on, ing, which include instant win lot- Sack: I didn't hear of your company as president, to take care of the busi- tery games, along with a variety of until it went public. Has it been ness and to be the face of the com- casino-type games such as slots, around for a while and has it always panye video poker, and blackjack. Al- been an Internet gaming software de- though our focus is on bingo, we veloper? Sack: Tell us about Parlay Entertain- develop other games in order to ment Inc. White: We have been around since meet the needs of clients who want 1996. From 1999 to 2003 we oper- White: Parlay Entertainment was to offer additional products. ated under the name dot com Enter- listed on the Toronto Venture ex- tainment Group Inc., which was a change on June 17,2005. It holds the Sack: You also made reference to fully reporting SEC registered com- Parlay holding a patent in Internet distinction of being the world's lead- pany. We moved the company to ing developer, and dominant licensor, Bingo. I gather your proprietary Canada on October 18, 2003, and of Internet bingo solutions. product? prior to our TSXV listing in order to White: Yes it is. It's a very unique directly face Canadian public mar- Sack: How do you know you're the product in that we have figured out dominant licensor? how to keep a bingo card alive even Parlay Entertainment Inc. White: Because we have 60% to 65% if a player is unfortunate enough to of the worldwide Internet bingo mar- become disconnected from the Price (Oct 3) $1.45 ket! Internet during a game. 52 wk HiILo $1.70-$1.10 There are really only two ways to Sack: Well said, please continue. Market $21 million operate on-line bingo software. capitalization White: As the inventor and patent The way we do it, which is patent holder of our flagship bingo product, protected, and offering bingo in a Revenue 2004 $3.8 million (US) Parlay is the first company in the live environment. Operating a live Revenue (Q2) 2005 $1.3 million (US) world to develop and deploy a com- game simply does not work given EPS (Q2) 2005 $0.0 1 mercial Internet bingo product which the instability of the Internet and offers 75-number and 90-number the possibility of being discon- Shares 12.5 million bingo. This software also includes, nected. Outstanding --Page 6 Canadian GMING News - to $500 million to $700 million Sack: How does Parlay make its ' Kevin Cleland 1 within the next 18 months or so. money? As to how I know, there is some White: In several ways. We license leaves industry I $70-$90 billion deposited in land software from which we receive 15% Kevin Cleland, who for the last based bingo halls every year. We declining to 10% of net sales. Net several years has been a WMS anticipate that I % of this land based sales being defined as the amount Gaming representative in Canada play will move to the Internet by spent by players minus the amount is 'moving on'. the end of 2006. Onejust has to see they win back. Our percentage de- Widely known and respected the on-line success of all other clines as dollar values increase. types of gaming to understand that We also receive on average between across casino gaming, Kevin and * the late Ron Robinson were bingo could be larger than all of US$75,000 and US$125,000, depend- IGT's presence in Canada during these e-gaming verticals combined. ing upon the technology, as an imple- the last half of the 1990's and at a It is a more socially acceptable mentation fee from each new client. time when many of today's casi- form of wagering, played in most countries in one form or another. And unlike Internet poker and casino nos were opened. gaming, for example, our profit mar- Sack: Geographically, and hm gins are not being squeezed by in- kets. We did not raise capital when your perspective, where is Internet creased competition. we listed on the TSXV. bingo biggest and growing most rapidly? Sack: Does Parlay also operate Inter- net gaming sites? Sack: How big is your company? mite: Bingo is growing fastest in White: We're small, 50 people, with the U.K. This is a £1.4 billion mar- White: No, that would place us in a a very flat organizational structure. ket with 90 million bingo hall ad- potential conflict of interest. missions annually. Gala PLC, the Sack: Why the emphasis upon a flat largest bingo operator in the U.K., Sack: Any new products coming out? organization? and the world, has 40% of the U.K. mite: We're always working on new White: We find that a flat organiza- bingo market. Gala has set a target products and ideas though I can't tional structure allows decision mak- of moving 5% of its land based comment beyond this. ing to be more collective and rea- players to the Internet. soned. As I mentioned, bingo is also grow- Sack: You referred earlier to your ing rapidly in Mexico and countries proprietary internet Bingo product Sack: Why is Parlay attracted to such as the Philippines. It's very offering 75-number and 90-number bingo given that some say it's a dying common for a young couple, per- bingo. As I understand, 75-number game? haps out on a date, to play bingo in bingo is played in North America. Mexico. It's a very 'in' game there. Where is 90-number bingo played and White: It's dying in North America what are its attractions? though vibrant and growing in many other countries, particularly in the Sack: I expect your software is White: You're right about 75-number U.K., Europe, and places such as therefore offered in multiple lan- bingo being played in F rth America. Mexico. guages? 90-number bingo is played more inter- nationally including in Europe and The world is only now starting to ap- White: Yes, we just launched a Spanish speaking site last week un- South America. I believe that 90- preciate the stickiness of on-line number bingo will become a very bingo and therefore its potential. Our der the name of www.juegobingoya.corn. popular game on the Internet, bringing recent creation of 'bingo networks' is players on-line who would normally now aggregating on-line bingo play- Sack: Do you have an idea if Inter- not play 75-number bingo. As the on- ers into large networks where prizes line bingo pie expands, players will can become larger. This aggregation net bingo is attracting players away from traditional bingo halls? find other bingo offerings - meaning of players and prizes will, increas- 75-number players will try 90-number ingly, draw more participants into White: That's a worry, particularly and vice versa. This being the case, it large on-line jackpots and with the for bingo hall operators in North is possible that Canadian halls could recent launch of solid mass-media America, though I don't think it's offer a 90-number product, but given brands like AOL and Yahoo, players happening - at least not to a signifi- the infrastnrcture costs, it may not be will trust that their jackpots are se- cant extent. For most who play attractive for a long while. cure. Internet bingo its simply another channel, or opportunity to play the Sack: Thank you! Sack: Tell us about the international game. If they like going to the local Internet bingo market. How big is it, bingo hall they'll continue going to Drafrs of our interviews are and how do you know? this hall for the reasons that have reviewed by our guests White: Today it's a $125 million to always brought them back. before publication. $150 million market which will grow - Canadian GAMING News Page 7 - /'- ', all its required approvals, this last What's next for step, while important, is not ex- ABS Casinos pected to pose a problem. ( ) Kate Moss? Great Canadian says it expects to The career of superstar model have a development permit, and an Kate Moss has been dealt a severe agreement signed with the city for setback with photographs showing the use of the Hastings Park Race- her snorting cocaine. course lands which the city owns, We recently saw this on the Inter- by the end of this year. net and thought you might find it of interest. Sportdnteraction.corn CGTV has posted the following odds In April we carried a Feature Inter- with regard to her future: view with Terry Debono, President Rod Bailey 0 Kate Moss signs into rehab: of Canadian Gaming TV (CGTV). 1-5 Rod Bailey was appointed Vice CGTV is Terry's brainchild with President & Chief Operating Offi- Kate gets convicted of drug the network privately held by Terry, cer mid-September. In this ca- charges: 5-1 The Kilmer Group (which last pacity he will be responsible for year purchased a number of Ontario the overall operation of ABS's Kate marries Pete Doherty by bingo halls in addition to opening a the end of this year: 5 1- 1 four casinos - Yellowhead Ca- second generation bingo hall in sino, Casino Edmonton, Casino Kate is signed by a cola com- British Columbia), and Len Stuart. Calgary and Casino Lethbridge. pany to advertise its product: 51-1 CGTV intends to offer a wide range Prior to joining ABS casinos, Mr. of entertainment from small camera Bailey was Executive Director of Kate & Pete release a cover systems located in Canadian and version of Cocaine: Gaming with the Ontario Lottery 10 1- 1 U.S. casinos to gaming-related & Gaming Corporation. While Bets anyone? movies and live, issue related pro- with OLGC he also served as graming. General Manager of Point Ed- There has been no announcement to ward Charity Casino and Fort Hastings Park this effect though we understand Erie Racetrack Slots. CGTV will shortly make an an- Rod also holds the distinction of racino nouncement concerning its pro- having been Director of Opera- gramme schedule. Stay tuned. Great Canadian Gaming's plans for a \ tions at Casino Sydney. gaming floor at Vancouver's Hast- Alain Cousineau ings Park Horse Racing Track with Cirque du Soleil. This office cleared another hurdle October 4 provides casino/ will respond to requests for informa- when city council, following a Sep- tion and maintain a dialogue with in- tember 22 public meeting, approved a VLT updates dividuals and organizations with an public benefits package which the interest in the project. Data is also company had negotiated with city Main Cousineau, Chairman & CEO, Loto-QuCbec, used a Sep- being collected for the use of the in- officials. This package addresses ter-ministerial committee with market concerns relating to the impact the tember 28 address to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal studies and financial analyses under- track's racino could have upon the way as well. community. to outline the impact which Loto- Quebec's proposal to build a new According to a study conducted by One additional approval remains. On casino on the Montreal waterfront UniversitC du QuCbec a Montreal, the October 24 development plans for the will have upon that city. (See also project has the potential to create installation of 600 slot machines, to- our July issue). 14,200 jobslyear during the casino gether with associated improvements An inter-ministerial committee has complex's planning and construction to the Hastings Park facility will be phase. The complex would create presented to the city's Development undertaken to have a submission to the government by the end of De- another 3,150 direct and indirect jobs Permit Board. This Board, composed while 3,300 more direct and indirect of senior city officials, will give final cember. Gaming minister Michel Audet will then review it and make jobs would be created within the tour- review to Great Canadian's plans for ist sector. such things as parking, traffic as well his recommendations to Cabinet. as related legal agreements. As part of his update, Mr. Putting the prestige of his position behind this initiative, M. Cousineau With city council having now given Cousineau indicated that a project office has been created in concert stated that this is a project which -Page 8 Canadian GAMING News - North American Casino Market Comparisons Atlantic City California Canada

1 Table Games I 1,600 (+14%) I 1,402* I 1,854 (+9%) 1 * This total is for card clubs only. We provide our annual comparison provide a valid comparison. We Next to Nevada, California now of the Canadian gaming market with have therefore replaced Mississippi ranks as the second largest slot mar- that of several other high profile with California though we will con- ket in the U.S. with 54,800 slots as North American regional gaming tinue to follow Mississippi once its compared to 41,760 slots in Atlantic markets. A regional market being market is rebuilt. City. defined as a concentration of gam- In previous years the Canadian slot1 Our table games total for California ing outside of Nevada which is obvi- VLT market was almost the size of includes only card clubs regulated ously the continent's premier mar- the Atlantic City and Mississippi by the California Gaming Control ket. markets combined - in 2004 76,072 Commission. The commission told In previous years our chart included machines in Canada as compared to us it does not regulate table games Mississippi which, given the hum- a combined total of 78,390 ma- in California casinos and has no idea cane damage there, would no longer chines in the other two markets. how many there are. 'must go ahead'. He added that a performance meeting and at times recent survey of public opinion found exceeding projections. The complex, to be 75% owned by 57% support for the initiative. It will be interesting to see to what Edmonton-based Mayfield Invest- Mr. Cousineau also stated that since extent the bridge linking Prince Ed- ment Ltd, and 25% by the Camrose the government announced a reduc-. ward Island to New Brunswick will Regional Exhibition, will have a tion in the number of VLTs in that impact attendance on the gaming gaming floor with 199 slots and 15 province, the number of licensed es- floor. A return ticket across the tables. A separate poker area will tablishments offering VLTs has bridge costs $39. There is specula- have an additional six tables. dropped 37%, or by 423, with 1,142 tion that this will prompt PEI slot A hotel with 72 suites and a water- sites remaining. players to stay home - thereby hurt- park will be included as will a 250- Loto-Quebec has said that it will ing play at Casino Halifax, and seat showroom and a conference cen- eventually remove all VLTs from dissuade mainland slot players from tre with seating for 350 people. The sites housing one to four units within crossing the bridge to Charlotte- 20-acre site will have ample parking the cities of Montreal, Quebec City, town's gaming floor. areas. Laval, and Longueuil. They will also be removed in areas where the aver- Camrose VLT Responsible age household income is below $50,000, and where the ratio of VLTs casino Gaming Device is more than the Quebec average of Work is proceeding on plans to In last month's Feature Interview with two units per 1,000 residents. build a $20 million casino complex Marie Mullally, President & CEO, in Carnrose, Alberta. The City of Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, I! Charlottetown Carnrose, with a population of she made reference to a VLT pilot I 15,000 and a market area of project being conducted by NSGC update 100,000, is located approximately with the objective of promoting more 1 Given that the Atlantic Lottery Cor- an hour's drive south-east of the responsible VLT play in that prov- poration's new gaming floor at City of Edmonton. ince. Charlottetown Driving Park (225 All city development permits have The pilot, which began this past slots), Prince Edward Island, has only been received with ground breaking Spring in the Mount UniackeIWindsor been opened since August 8, it is too set for the end of this month. It is region of Nova Scotia, involved 120 early to have figures which indicate anticipated that foundations and VLT players who were given cards how things are going. This said, additional concrete work will be in which provided account summaries, ALC says Old Home Week, which place before the ground freezes this spending limits, and even limited the kicked-off the opening, was stronger the winter. amount of time a player could spend than expected with the floor's overall Opening is targeted for midJuly, on a VLT if a player wanted to use it -Canadian GMINGNews Page 9 -

Letter to the Editor this kind of hall may be the future, tions, food specials, community and the salvation, of charitable events, and jackpot prizes. British Columbia's bingo. The overall room is divided into Let's begin with its name. It calls two parts by a floor-to-ceiling glass dynamic new itself a Gaming Center not a bingo partition to comply with the law hall. and separate smokers from non- bingo halls smokers. Because of this, all opera- I want to share with your readers It has been designed and pro- grammed to attract a younger cus- tions - food, sales, lotto tickets, some of my impressions of British caller, administration, and wash- Columbia's new community gam- tomer. It already offers live enter- tainment on the weekend and a VIP rooms are in the non-smoking sec- ing centres. A case in point is a tion. new charitable bingo center in the Room for community activities. rural community of Mission, Brit- Future plans, dependent upon the Sales and caller areas are centrally ish Columbia. Mission is a commu- Government's approval, may in- located-againstthe partition provid- nity of nearly 33,000 farming and clude a lounge (yes, alcohol would ing visibility and easy access. The lumbering people and an easy be served); Class 11 electronicbingo gaming center operates from 11:00 hour's drive from metropolitan equipment or slot machines; off- AM - 10:OO PM on weekdays and Vancouver. Mission's new commu- track betting; and a small card to midnight on weekends. Continu- nity gaming centre is a rebuilt drug room. ous drop-in games are offered dur- store in an older retail mall. Its layout is more casino than bingo ing the day with specific hour ses- hall. Colour, flooring, and furnish- sions in the evening. Player track- What makes it special is that de- ing also allows the gaming centre to spite its high ceiling and box-like ings are accented by lighting which allows proper vision without the customize its games and promo- shape, it radiates welcoming tions to its customers. warmth as soon as you enter. Part glaring brightness of a supermarket. of its charm can be credited to its Bingo play is offered on paper, The Mission Gaming Entertainment smaller size (10,500 square feet); its hand-helds, and consoles. Center was built in 16 weeks at a smaller seating capacity (330 peo- There is a variety of seating which cost of $1.2 million. The phrase, ple); its well-trained staff and, in creates more intimate player space. 'Build it and they will come,' has my opinion, its overall.design. There are 2 and 4 seat booths; bar proven to be absolutely true in Mis- sion. Affendance and revenue have A moment to digress. Bingo halls stool types of tables and chairs; extra wide 4 person tables with exceeded budget from the Gala throughout North America are hurt- Opening Day. Mission's new gam- ing. Hurting because they can't oversized chairs (let's admit it - every generation has bigger back- ing centre is owned and operated by compete with the luxury, the glitz, Boardwalk Gaming. and the comfort of most other rec- sides); and an area for 6-unit elec- reational facilities - gaming or non- tronic bingo consoles. Large plasma Lou Hilford gaming. It's for this reason that screens, in addition to bingo boards President & CEO and TV monitors, advertise promo- Loudon Consultants for this purpose. A player could, for findings of its stage one research. Coquitlam example, deny himherself the ability The objective of the stage one re- to play a VLT on payday or on a day search, undertaken and analyzed by Casino when helshe should be doing some- Omnifacts Bristol Research Firm, thing else. was to test the usability of the card Great Canadian Gaming Corpora- In the interview Ms. Mullally indi- and the features accessed by it. tion says that construction of the cated that the first phase of the pilot While some technical problems gaming floor portion of its Coquitlam had gone well with NSGC having were identified with the card- Casino expansion and the casino's decided to broaden it, in a second reader, they have been corrected. new parkade is complete, and that set- phase, to include all VLT players in up, testing, and the implementation of Omnifacts found that 87% of play- plans for a large public event to ac- that same region - approximately ers who took part in the Responsi- 4,000 people. company the gaming floor's official ble Gaming Device (RGD) research opening, is almost complete. The Stage two of the pilot began this support the mandatory use of player casino will have 1,000 slots and ap- month and will continue for six cards. More than 90% of respon- proximately 70 tables. months. At that point NSGC will pro- dents also gave high marks to the vide the government with advice as to usefulness of the card's features. We are told the casino's new gaming whether this initiative should be made floor will open in four to six weeks. The entire stage one study can be Construction has been slowed by a permanent and introduced province- found on the NSGC website at: wide. competition for trades within Vancou- www.gamingcorp.ns.ca. ver's booming economy as well as by On September 22 NSGC released the -Page 1 0 Canadian GAMING News - / River Cree Resort and Casino Canadian Gaming Summit & Exhibition I Vancouver, B.C. April 2527,2006 1

A high school drama called Caught In The Game will deliver a strong message to high school students about the risks of gam- bling. This Responsible Gam- bling Council play will visit stu- dents in Halifax, Sydney, Yar- mouth, and new Glasgow; interactive Community Education Work is well underway on the $1 70 million River Cree Resort and Ca- Displays will visit shopping malls sino complex which is being built on the Enoch Cree Nation. The in Halifax, Dartmouth, Sydney, Enoch First Nation Reserve is located on the western border of the City of Yarmouth, Wolfville, and New Edmonton, and a short distance from the Gateway Income Trust's Pal- Glasgow to provide the public ace Casino. with facts about responsible gam- All steel girding is up with the casino's nine-story hotel having been bling and information about the topped off this week. Roofs are on with the exterior walls of the Sports risks of gambling; Complex, which includes two NHL-sized hockey rinks, and casino also the official opening of a Respon- up. A protracted dispute between the Enwh and the City of Edmonton sible Gdling Resource C2enb.e over the provision of water and sewer utilities has been resolved. at-Casino Halifax; River Cree will have a 62,600 sq. ft. gaming floor with 600 slot machines, a two-day conference, Creating a 40 table games and 12 poker tables. As well as a high limit area, bar, Better Balance: Nova Scotia's three restaurants, and a player loyalty club, the casino will also have a Responsible Gambling Confer- 2,050-space parking area. ence, will be held October 3-4. The 255-room hotel, to be managed by Marriott Hotels, also includes a This conference features speakers 13,500 sq ft conference/meeting space facility as well as a business centre on such topics as: The Intema- and indoor pool. The casino will also host an entertainment lounge and a tional Context: Lessons in Re- Nightclub. sponsible Gambling from Around The construction and design of River Cree Resort is being managed by the Globe; Internet gambling; and Nevada-based Paragon Gaming which will also operate the casino. To Straight Talk: How to Educate do this Paragon and the Enoch have entered into a partnership the terms Youth about the Risks of gam- of which have not been made public. bling; NSGC President & CEO, Marie a strike at the Port of Vancouver. This event, to be held October 2-8: Mullally will speak to community audiences in Halifax and Yar- Coquitlam's current gaming floor is will include province-wide events with a focus on seven target com- mouth about that province's gam- one of the strongest in the province ing strategy and the future of re- with insiders speculating that the new munities: Halifax Regional Mu- nicipality, Yarmouth, Sydney, sponsible gambling in Nova Sco- 1 Coquitlam could prove even more tia; profitable than the company's River Wolfville, New Glasgow, Mill- Rock casino. brook, and Membertou. all VLT retailers in RGAW target The week's activities include: communities will be part of an Responsible an interactive post-secondary Information Programme that de- awareness programme called livers factual information to help gaming week Know the Score. This pro- players make responsible choices; The Nova Scotia Gaming Corpora- gramme will educate students at NSGC will also be working to tion has announced its fourth annual Dalhousie University about the launch the fmt RGAW First Na- Responsible Gambling Awareness myths, facts, and risks of gam- tions Community Education Pro- Week (RGAW). bling. gramme in Millbrook and Mem- bertou. -Canadian GAMING News Page 11 - 26 CryptoLogic Canadian Gaming said that it will repurchase 10% Stocks of its outstanding shares, or 1.34 52 Name million shares, wk during this same 121 Foodservice, Franchise & Hospitality Consultants 13 1 Lo period. All . 3.45 Chartwell Tech shares will be Inc. (CWH) 2 cancelled. Make more from your 3.2 1 Creation Casinos On September 14 foodservice operations! Inc. (CSNO) 4 Chartwell also 4 Increase sales 7.10 CryptoLogic Inc announced its 4 Increase profits (CRY) I earnings for Q2. I During this quar- 4 Increase excitement 2.50 Fun Technologies ter the company 4 Increase guest counts (FUN) 1 had revenue of 4 Increase satisfaction $4.5 million as i compared to $3.6 Call us and get results! million during (GCD) I the same year- earlier period. 16.51 Douglas Fisher, BAS, MSG CFE, FCSI, FCMC J Gateway Casinos P. (GCLUN) I Operating mar- Fellow Certified Management ConsulIant gins (revenue Fellow Hostelry Institute 1.10 Parlay minus operating Entertainment expenses), how- Successfully serving major Canadian clients for over 21-years (PEI) 2 Toronto: 416-489-6996 Toll free: 888-838-4740 ever dropped to www.fhgi.com 0.19 Pacific Lottery 26% from 39%. ,,, ,, ,,,,,- , . . --- Corp (LUK) 2 Net profit 1.. I 5.59 Magna Entertainment Deerfoot Inn & Casino will proceed (MEC.SV.A) 1 $0.04jsh& com- pared to $1.2 million, or $0.071 with the land purchase. 0.12 Las Vegas From share. The release of this informa- Home.com(LVH) Great Canadian Gaming announced tion was followed by a host of ana- October 3 that it has received ap- Where traded: lyst downgrades. proval from the Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario and the On- 1) TSX 2) TSX Venture 3) NASDAQ- Magna Entertainment announced over-the-counter 4) see www.cnq.ca September 8, that Bally Gaming tario Racing Commission for the ac- will provide 302 of the 650 slots to quisition of all the shares of Georgian be located on the racino gaming Downs Holdings Inc. and Georgian September, despite its reputation as a floor it is building at its Remington Downs Ltd. The latter two compa- tough month for the markets, was a Park, Oklahoma racetrack. Rem- nies own and operate Georgian better month for our companies than ington Park is to open its gaming Downs racetrack which is located August. While Chartwell was down floor late this fall. along highway 400 and a short dis- another 9% after having tumbled 40% On September 19, GameHost an- tance south of the City of Bame. last month, and CryptoLogic was nounced that the Land Use Amend- The Ontario Lottery & Gaming Cor- down another 5% after having also ment Application submitted on a poration, which operates 401 slot ma- dropped 42% last month, GameHost 2.27 acre piece of land adjacent to chines on the racetrack's gaming floor was up $2.35, or 7%. GameHost its new Deerfoot Inn & Casino has (Q2, 2005 gross revenue $23.7 mil- touched a new high of $36.00 mid- been approved by the City of Cal- lion) has also given its approval. month. Great Canadian, Gateway, gary. GameHost Trust holds a 40% Magna, Parlay were all flat. Great Canadian says Georgian interest in this. The land will be Downs' slots have the second highest CryptoLogic and Chartwell each used to increase the number of average win per day in Ontario. sought to shore up their share prices parking positions at the casino by by announcing share buy-backs. 275 and casino seating by 400. The company had said that it would dispose of its interest in Georgian Chartwell announced September 22 This land has been leased with an that it intends to repurchase 5% of its Downs if required regulatory approv- option to purchase. Now that all als were not received by September shares, or 970,000 shares, during the approvals have been received, next twelve months. On September 30. -Page 12 Canadian GAMING News -

10th Annual 1 Champion Poker players from across Canada Canadian Gaming Industry Awards and the U.S. will meet at Casino Dinner Award Nominations Regina November 9-12, 2005 to compete for the title of Canadian April 26,2006 Poker Champion. This title will River Rock Casino Resort be awarded at the casino's 9th annual Harvest Poker Classic. Anyone working/volunteering within Canadian gaming may make a nomination. When submitting nominations please follow these guidelines: This year's Harvest Poker will have an estimated pool of I) You may nominate only one person for each of the seven awards. $575,000 including $150,000 for 2) For each nomination, please forward a short statement (200 words or the Canadian Poker Champion- less) saying why you wish this person considered. ship. / 3) You must include your name, and telephone number with each nomina- tion. Also include a phone number for the person being nominated. The closing of this transaction follows 4) An independent panel offormer winners will review all nominations the June 30 transfer of the shares of and select allfinalists. Georgian Downs to a bare trustee, Great Canadian Gaming (Ontario) 5) The names of all nominees will be kept confidential. Nominees Ltd., to hold for the benefit of the will be told of their nomination and the name of their nominator company and until such time as regu- 6) Each winner will be provided with one complimentary conference latory approvals were received. registration and dinner tickets for two. Other expenses will be borne The shares of Georgian Downs were by the recipient / employer. transferred from the bare trust to Great Canadian on September 30. Outstanding Contribution to the Canadian Gaming Industry Award Georgian Downs offers live standard- bred horse racing two days a week Nominees for this award (only one award) may come from any sector (casino, throughout the year and simulcast oingo, lottery, supplier, volunteer) and any position within that sector. The wagering 364 days a year. person nominated must be employeda volunteer within the Canadian gaming industry at the time of nomination (not retired) and, through hisher work Casino Calgary iemonstrate an extraordinary contribution and commitment to it. on strike Display of Excellence Awards On September 19 Casino Calgary em- One (1) award will be made in each of the following categoGes: ployees represented by the Canadian > Casino - Class 1 (601 slots or 5 1 tables or more) Union of Public Employees (CUPE), > Casino - Class 2 (600 slots or 50 tables or less) went on strike. ABS Casinos, which > Bingo owns Casino Calgary, and CUPE > Lottery have been in negotiations since May 5 > Gaming Supplier though were unable to resolve their > Volunteer differences. We are told money, Nominees for each of these awards may come from any position within each rather than working conditions, is the 3f the above six sectors. Each person nominated must be employeda big issue given Calgary's hot employ- volunteer within the Canadian gaming industry and the sector for which he/ ment market. ;he is nominated at the time of nomination (not retired) and, through hishe1 Approximately 40% of the casino's work, demonstrate an extraordinary contribution to that sector. 395 employees (including 43 manag- ers) continue to work with 31 union- Please send your nominations to: ized employees who initially walked Ivan Sack, Chair, Canadian Gaming Summit & Exhibition out now also back at work. While the Fax: (905) 855-1869 E-mail: [email protected] casino continues to operate with re- All nominations must be received by February 6,2006 ductions in some areas, we are told there has nevertheless been a 25%- Winners' names will be published in the March 2006 issue of 30% drop in attendance and revenue. Canadian GAMING News There has also been some minor van- dalism such as slashed car tires.

Gateway's new Cascades Casino

Above is Gateway Casinos Inc.'s centre at the middle of the complex. The casino's gaming floor curves 1 new $40 million Cascades Casino. In addition to covering a portion of around the complex's semicircular, Cascades (500 slots, 25 tables, 10 the complex's frrst level, the con- 420-seat Summit Theatre. The Sum- poker) is located in the lower British ference centre, the main area of mit offers live music and theatre. At Columbia mainland city of Langley, which seats 1,000 people, occupies the centre of the gaming floor is a and about a 30-minute drive south- a portion of the complex's second spacious oval area. Glacier Bar is east of the City of Vancouver. Cas- level. It then extends over the gam- located to one side of the oval with cades opened in May. ing floor. the casino's high limit area on the Referring to the top picture, the ca- On the right of the complex is a 77- other. A poker area is to the left of sino's gaming floor is located on the room hotel which is owned by the casino's main entrance in the bot- lower level of the white structure at Gateway though operated by the tom picture. We have no statistics left with a 25,000 sq ft conference Coast Hotel chain. though we are told play and atten- dance are ahead of expectations. -Canadian GAMING News Page 15 - 20 Hippo Clubs. Hippo Clubs are and will not have horse racing tracks. Qukbec sites with teletheatres. The winning company must purchase racino RFP As a condition of the purchases, the and operate all facilities. successful company will build garn- At this point it is not known how Last month we wrote of seven compa- ing floors at the Quebec City and many of the seven companies which nies, including Magna Entertain- Trois-Rivikres tracks, as well as expressed an interest will be allowed ment and Quebec-based RemStar, relocate Montreal's track, and build to submit formal proposals by the Oc- having met the September 2 deadline stand-alone gaming floors in Sher- tober 13,2005 deadline. The office of for the submission of expressions of brooke and at the Mont Tremblant the Minister of Finance, the minister interest for the purchase of Quebec's ski resort. The latter two do not, responsible for this initiative, has four major horse racing tracks and its Canadian Casino Revenue and Visitor Statistics City Month Total Table Total Slot Gross $ Change Daily Change House tables change slots change million gross attend attend $Win/ 1 House previous previous month previous previous Player $ Win/ month month month month Player Alberta 19floors July 424 +71 7,319 +304 93.3 +19.1 56,271 +!IS26 53.49

British Columbia 19 casinos Aug 421 -7 6,856 +10 88.8 +0.0 53,016 -2,418 54.02

Casino Halifax Halifax May 41 720 5.9 +0.3 3,727 +81 50.66 -0.60 Casino Sydney Sydney May I1 3 78 1.6 +O.O 1,470 -51 34.55 Casino de MontrCal Montreal Aug 124 +I 3,203 +20 42.0 -5.3 18,012 -1,480 75.19 -3.12 Casino de Charlevoix Pte-au-Pic Aug 24 +I 830 +7 5.4 -1.1 4,764 -780 36.66 Casino du Lac-Leamy Gatineau Aug 70 +I 1,920 +7 18.1 -1.9 10,531 -137 55.57 Casino Windsor Windsor June 85 3,267 -31 38.0 +0.3 11,773 -748 106.40 Casino Rama I Orillia / June 1 110 I -2 2.408 1 +24 1 49.0 -1.3 110,134 [+698ISP28 Casinos Niagara ** Niagara / June 1 213 / -20 15,007 1 -487 1 50.9 / 14.1 1 29,168 1 -3,390 1 57.53 I Palls Brantford Casino Brantford June 55 452 Great Blue Heron Casino Port Perry June 50 452 (slot operations only) Point Edward Casino Point June 38 -1 452 Edward Sault Ste. Marie Casino Sault. Ste. June 17 +I 451 Marie Thousand Islands Gananoque June 22 453 I I I I I I I 1 I 1 Thunder Bay Casino Thunder Bay June I5 -2 1 452 4.4 +0.2 4,149 +285 34.66 I I I I I I I I I I 1 , Club Regent Casino Winnipeg May 32 1,206 6.6 -0.2 n/a n/a / n/a McPhillips Street Winnipeg May 29 I, 194 7.0 +0.3 n/a n/a n/a Station Casino Saskatchewan Indian N. Battlefordl 31 995 8.4 -+0.8 5,692 +889 49.22 Gaming Authority *lbertl Yorktonl Carlyle

' ReginaIMoose Jaw Regina1M.J Aug 38 995 7.6 +0.5 7,975 -483 30.61 * Above statistics are the most recent available ** Both Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort -Page 16 Canadian GAMING News - however told us that the names of by Fairmont Hotels which employs its operations, MLC, with guidance companies making submissions will the strikers, we understand that the from the Foundation, is funding an- be released following the due date. strike is impacting the casino to the nual tree planting programmes to re- extent that fewer tour buses are ar- absorb the greenhouse gases emitted QuCbec class riving. by its operations and to achieve car- bon neutrality. action MLC carbon MLC releases greenhouse gases from Quebec City lawyer Jean Brochu direct and indirect emission sources received international attention when neutral including natural gas consumption, a QuCbec court, in May 2002, gave Manitoba Lotteries Corporation electricity use, fleet vehicle gasoline, him the right to bring a class action announced September 19 that it has and 10% ethanol blended gasoline law suit against La Societ6 des been awarded the status of a consumption from the decomposition loteries du QuCbec, the Loto-Quebec 'carbon neutral organization7 by of landfill waste. subsidiary which operates its VLT The Tree Canada Foundation. MLC says it is the first Canadian To offset these climate change caus- programme. However everything ing emissions, 10,000 trees need to be then went quiet. gaming corporation to be so recog- nized. planted in a forested area. On Sep- While Loto-Quebec was some time tember 20, Courtander Enterprises, a ago given an opportunity to submit In an effort to fbrther reduce and First Nation tree planting group, information in support of its position, offset the harmful effects of green- planted the10,OOO seedlings at a cost it is only recently that a date has been house gas emissions associated with of $40,000. set for the trial. The trial date is Feb- ruary 14,2007. Alberta Gaming Profits Manoir Richelieu 2004-2005 Fiscal Year strike Employees at the Manoir Richelieu Hotel, a luxury hotel 50% awned by Loto-Quebec and located adjacent to Revenue Pointe-au-Pic-based Casino de Char- Casino slots levoix, have been on strike since late VLTs August. While the hotel is operated - Lottery tickets Canadian Gaming Electronic bingo News- is published monthly Prizes and Cost of Product To Subscribe Casino slots Tel: (905) 855-5370 VLTs Fax: (905) 855-1 869 Lottery tickets [email protected] Electronic bingo Editor: Ivan Sack Address: Gross Profit 1690Truscott Drive Mississauga ON L5J 126 Commissions and Federal Canada Payments ISSN # 1203-1623 %her income www.canadiangaming.com *rating expenses e-mail: [email protected] - Net Operating Results The reproduction of this publication, or the information contained herein, is prohibited