Bars Want Slot Machines

Chances Campbell River wants to bring in liquor to their community center – and local businesses say no. They say that the center has slot machines and if they are now allowed to have alcohol as well, then they want the right to have slot machines as well. They say that it should be equal across the board, and that means everyone gets the same thing.

Local bars say that they are not allowed to bring in slot machines which puts them at a disadvantage from the larger casinos because they can have liquor and slot machines. However, if Chances gets liquor with their slot machines, the bars will end up losing a lot of their business to them, and that just isn’t fair.

Jana Code, the manager of JJ’s Pub and the Haida Harbourside Inn, said at the meeting Tuesday night that they cannot compete with that kind of competition, and that they “get the cake and the cream and take away [their] bread and butter.” They say that people will pass up the regular bars so that they can play the slot machines while they drink, and that is taking money out of their establishments.

Code said that they are having a hard enough time with the various restaurants in town that have recently remodeled to be more bar like, so now they can attract the bar crowd too. They say that there are two kinds of liquor licenses – those that are food primary (like for restaurants that serve food on the side), and liquor primary (for those that serve liquor, but very little food – bars, showrooms, etc.).

In the end, the council chose to give Chances their liquor license and it was limited to 169 people. The council said that they didn’t think that it would affect local businesses, and that most people were going to gamble, not to drink. Code’s only comment was, “Have you ever heard of Vegas?”
 

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