A Canadian partnership has won hotly contested rights to expand and operate GTA casinos, including one coming to Woodbine race track.B.C.-based Great Canadian Gaming Corp. and Toronto-based Brookfield Business Partners won the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. bidding process, they announced Tuesday. Rivals reportedly included Nevada-based Caesars Entertainment and Asia-based Genting Group.Woodbine, which now hosts slot machines, is expected to become a full-fledged casino and entertainment/hotel complex, something Toronto council agreed to in June 2015 after initially rejecting the idea along with nixing a push for a downtown, waterfront casino.The 22-year deal will give the partners the right to redevelop and operate: Great Blue Heron charity casino on Scugog Island near Port Perry, owned by Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation; Ajax Downs race track, which has slot machines, and a fourth gaming site, to be named later.Pickering’s mayor has made the case that any new operator should build a casino resort in his community, not neighbouring Ajax.Ajax, which has earned about $6.4 million in fees hosting slots at Ajax Downs and expects to earn $9.5 million to $12.3 million from a full casino on the site, said in a statement it looks forward to working with the partnership “to ensure Ajax continues to be a popular destination for gaming, horse racing and entertainment . . . . At this time, the location does not change. The decision on the future of the site will not be made until well into the future.”The new partnership is holding its cards close to its chest, refusing to make the winning bid public just yet, said Chuck Keeling of Great Canadian Gaming.The partners are “eager and excited,” he said, but, “in a proposal this large and complex, there a lot of vested stakeholders,” and it is important to brief them on plans and get feedback before making details public.“We do have a vision for the GTA market ...
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