BestCraps.com

Casino Reopens in Calgary After Renovation Amidst Overall Industry Slowdown

Posted on November 20th, 2010

News Sponsored by Go Casino

Rated 5 Stars by BestCraps.com

Read Review

Visit Casino

Download Software

————————————————

The casino industry all over the world is getting into a more stable state than the previous year. Even the sterling performance of the Macau market last year can pull up the sorry state of affairs in the US. With the world economy starting to stabilize, the industry has yet to feel the effects. Most companies based in Las Vegas and Atlantic City are still counting on good performances from the Asian markets to buoy their lackluster markets. Other casino industries in other countries are also struggling, but a lot of them are still counting on patrons to give them a boost.

In Canada, a number of companies have expressed support for gambling in the casinos of Calgary, Alberta. This is despite the reality of decreasing revenue and number of patrons and customers spending less in the gambling facilities. This show of support was seen in last Thursday’s opening of Century Casinos, which had a grand opening at the former location of Frank Sisson’s Silver Dollar. Renovations totaling to $4 million were done to spruce up the place and reopen it. There were new owners of the casino, which acquired the property after the company that used to own it filed for protection from creditors in 2009. After that, another set of owners, the Calgary Stampede bought back the casino which is located on its grounds when the company that bought it went into receivership.

These new activities in the province’s gambling industry came after the government of Alberta filed reports that gambling revenue in the province has declined for the second straight year, in 2009 and 2010. Aside from the new reopened casino, there are six other casinos located in Calgary, which includes a tribal facility, the Grey Eagle Casino of the Tsuu T’ina. The chair of the economics of gaming at the University of Alberta, Brad Humphreys, explained that despite the lackluster performance of the industry, companies are still wise enough to recognize that lots of money can still be made in the industry in the long-run. He claimed, “Casinos are in the entertainment business and that involves discretionary spending, so when the economy’s bad people tighten their belts. I would interpret that these current problems are viewed as short-run problems. There’s no reason to believe that in the long-run the health of the industry in this province isn’t good.”

Meanwhile, the chair and co-CEO of Century Casino, Erwin Haitzmann, said, “Century is extremely confident with the Alberta environment, both from a regulatory point of view, as well as a customer point of view.” Aside from the newly opened facility, the company owns another casino in another Albertan city, in Edmonton. The company bought the casino located on 42nd Avenue S.E. in the earlier months of this year. The deal has been pegged to have a US$10.6 million price tag. This happened after the previous owners of the facility, Evergreen Gaming Corp. asked for creditor protection, which placed the casino into receivership. Evergreen itself purchased the casino for $22 million from its original owners, Frank Sisson in 2007.

The renovations of the casino included interior and exterior touches, which include a new facade, new carpet installations, a paint job, new lighting and a refurbished sound system. With the improvements, Haitzmann confidently said they will do well. He added that he does see the business rebounding soon, and his company believes that their product will be something that customers will like. Furthermore, he said that despite the renovation, “we’ve been able to increase revenues in the year-over-year comparison already. Now with the product being completed there’s an excellent chance to further enhance the economic performance as well as the customer’s experience.”

Doug Fraser, spokesman for the Calgary Stampede, said that the casino industry still continues in its struggle. But he adds “But we’re very confident in the future of our casino. It’s a long-term investment.” The University of Alberta’s Humphreys concluded in a rather positive note by stating, “Gaming is cyclical. In the next few years it will return to previous levels of business.”