A major expansion will more than double the size of the View Royal Casino.
The upgrade will include a 600-seat entertainment venue along with 350 additional slot machines and electronic games. Table games will be added to the current 15, and there will be more dining facilities, including a buffet and a casual lounge and bar. The casino will remain open during construction.
Demolition of exterior walls and roof areas has begun. The project, which will add 42,000 square feet, is due to be completed in the first half of 2018.
Costs for the upgrade have not been released. A $20-million expansion plan was put on hold in 2015 as the B.C. Lottery Corp. considered building a second casino in the region.
View Royal Mayor David Screech said the project will be good for the community.
“I’m really glad to see that they’ve actually got underway,” he said.
Screech said View Royal receives about $1.8 million a year from the casino.
“We use it mainly for capital projects,” he said. “We use it to pay for West Shore Parks and Recreation Society, for our annual fees in that.”
The View Royal casino opened in 2001 and is run by the Great Canadian Gaming Corp. It generated $71.8 million in revenue in the 2015-16 fiscal year and distributed $4.1 million to seven municipalities. Of that, View Royal and Langford receive about 45 per cent each, while the other 10 per cent is distributed among Esquimalt, the Highlands, Sooke, Metchosin and Colwood.
Screech said that BCLC has committed to the View Royal casino being the “destination gaming facility” in the region.
“We’re going to see a real destination, sort of mini-River Rock [Casino] type of idea,” he said, referring to the Richmond casino.
BCLC has decided a second casino would be located at a still-to-be-determined site in Victoria. The corporation is evaluating possible service providers.
“Once an operator/service provider is selected, they will be responsible for finding an appropriate location and property within the boundaries of the city of Victoria,” BCLC said in a statement. “An appropriate location and would consider access from major arterials, available square footage, available parking and must be approved by BCLC.
“At that time, BCLC will work with the service provider to develop a casino for the City of Victoria’s approval.”
The Crystal Garden had been considered, but BCLC decided that it would be too challenging to remodel. City policy does not allow casinos to be standalone developments — they have to be combined with something else, such as a hotel.
Under terms of the Gaming Control Act, Victoria would have to consider community input once a proposal for a new casino is complete, BCLC said. The decision as to whether a casino is wanted lies with local government.
BCLC said Victoria was chosen as a possible casino location because it has “the greatest opportunity to capture the existing untapped market” in the southeast part of the region.
