Downtown Sees More Delays

The Great Canadian Casino Co. has announced that they have to postpone their expansion of their slot machine casino. The company has said that they will have to delay the $50 million expansion to their slot machine casino as the recent market uncertainty has made it impossible for them to move forward at this time.

This hurts the downtown Nanaimo revitalization as they were counting on that expansion as a large part of their new plans. The expansion timing for the city had not yet been announced, but the company had gotten permission to expand the casino to more than double their current size – and they would be adding more slot machines as well.

With the addition of 225 slot machines, there is no doubt that there would have been additional revenue coming into the city that would have helped them with their expansion and changes as well. The mayor, John Ruttan, says that they are concerned, but without meeting with the group they cannot worry yet. They have to get a better handle on where they stand.

Ruttan says that although they are disappointed, they are not surprised. He says that the economy is tough all over, so putting another $50 million into the existing slot machine casino may not be the best move for the company right now. Local businesses are disappointed as well as they expected to get more business from the slot machine expansion, but all they can do is wait and see.

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