Parq Casino Vancouver looks to add 300 slot machines, boost capacity by 50% | Daily Hive

Parq Casino Vancouver proposes 50% slot machine expansion with 300 additional machines

Parq Casino Vancouver and the JW Marriott and Marriott's The Douglas Autograph Collection hotels. (Kenneth Chan)

Parq Casino Vancouver is aiming to significantly expand its gambling facilities with a new proposal that would boost its slot machine capacity by up to 50 per cent.

The downtown Vancouver casino has applied to add 300 slot machines, raising its total from 600 to 900, in what would be the largest expansion of its gambling operations since the mixed-use casino and resort complex opened in September 2017. The number of table games would remain unchanged at 75.

According to the application submitted to the City of Vancouver, Parq Casino currently has the lowest density of slot machines among casinos in the Lower Mainland, with its existing gambling mix failing to meet demand. The casino notes that about two-thirds of gambling revenue from Vancouver residents is instead diverted to casinos outside the city, elsewhere in the Lower Mainland.

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Parq Casino replaced the former Edgewater Casino at the Plaza of Nations, maintaining the same gambling capacity of 600 slot machines and 75 table games. Before it closed, Edgewater had not expanded its slot machine count since 2005 or its table games since 2007.

Over the past 20 years, Vancouver’s population has grown from about 560,000 to roughly 700,000, while the regional population has expanded from 2.1 million to over three million. Tourism has also surged, adding further pressure on local gambling demand.

Parq Casino argues the expanded slot machine capacity would also help accommodate spikes in visitors during major events at BC Place Stadium and Rogers Arena, located just steps away from the casino.

Existing casino space enables slot machine expansion

To accommodate the 300 additional slot machines, there would be zero physical changes to the building’s exterior walls or structure. If approved by the City, the slot machines would be rolled out gradually over a period of one to two years.

The existing casino spans 72,000 sq. ft. across two floors and currently has a highly spacious configuration, especially for the second level. This existing floor space set aside for casino use within the complex can easily handle the proposed 50 per cent increase in slot machines.

In fact, according to the application, there is technically enough space to comfortably double the number of slot machines from 600 to 1,200. But this is not being pursued at this time.

Slot machines at Parq Casino in downtown Vancouver. (Parq Casino)

Under provincial policies, each local municipal government stands to receive 10 per cent of net gambling revenue generated from casinos located within its jurisdiction per year.

The City of Vancouver received $6 million from Parq Casino’s revenues in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, and it is expected that 300 additional slots would provide the municipal government with an additional $2.7 million to $3.1 million over the first three years.

Furthermore, Vancouver’s municipal government received a total of $159.1 million in casino revenue from 1999 to 2023/2024. Over the last three fiscal years, the City saw $19.3 million in combined gambling revenue from Parq Casino and Hastings Racecourse and Casino.

Parq Casino ranks 4th in B.C. for revenue, but 7th for number of slot machines

The expansion would also provide more revenue for the provincial government.

According to provincial Crown corporation BC Lottery Corporation, Parq Casino generated a total casino revenue of $145 million in 2023/2024, including $75 million from table games and $70 million from slot machines.

In terms of total gambling revenue, Parq Casino ranks fourth in B.C. The downtown Vancouver casino trailed Richmond’s River Rock Casino at $255 million ($99 million from table games and $156 million from slots), Burnaby’s Grand Villa Casino at $231 million ($74 million table, $157 million slots), and Langley’s Cascades Casino at $156 million ($29 million table, $126 million slots).

Parq Casino’s revenue performance was just ahead of Coquitlam’s Great Canadian Casino Vancouver at $140 million ($30 million table, $110 million slots) and Starlight Casino in New Westminster at $121 million ($36 million table, $85 million slots).

With its current capacity of 600 slot machines solely due to municipal regulations, Parq Casino trails Grand Villa Casino (1,352 machines), River Rock Casino (1,271 machines), Cascades Casino in Langley (984 machines), Great Canadian Casino Vancouver in Coquitlam (975 machines), Starlight Casino (950 machines), and Elements Casino in Victoria (754 machines). Parq Casino currently has the seventh most slot machines for any gambling venue in B.C.

But when it comes to the number of table games, Parq Casino ranks third — behind River Rock Casino (96 tables) and Grand Villa Casino (77 tables).

Parq Casino in downtown Vancouver. (Parq Casino)

According to the application, Parq Casino employs over 700 people, including over 200 individuals who live in the local community and/or have traditional barriers to employment.

In addition to the casino, the complex also features over 500 hotel rooms across the JW Marriott and Marriott’s The Douglas Autograph Collection hotels, 60,000 sq. ft. of conference and meeting space, and various casino and hotel restaurants, including The Victor, Honey Salt, and D/6 Lounge. There is also a major rooftop outdoor space with a reflecting pool.

Ending Vancouver’s moratorium on gambling expansion since 2011

As part of its application, Parq Casino is also asking the City to lift the municipal government’s moratorium on new or expanded casino facilities that has been in place since 2011 by the Vision Vancouver party-led Vancouver City Council. This request follows the ABC Vancouver party-led City Council’s May 2024 decision to amend the moratorium to allow the consideration of such proposals, although the original ban on net growth in such facilities technically remains in effect.

The May 2024 decision was in response to a request from BCLC to consider the expansion of both Parq Casino and Hastings Racecourse & Casino.

Since opening in 2017, Parq Vancouver has undergone one major ownership change. Originally developed by Paragon Gaming in partnership with PBC Group and Dundee Corporation, the casino resort saw Paragon sell its stake in 2019, transferring greater control to PBC Group. Since then, PBC has held the majority interest in the property, with Dundee remaining as a minority partner.

Hastings Racecourse & Casino at Hastings Park. (Kenneth Chan)

Parq Casino is not the only Vancouver gambling destination on the verge of potential change.

This past spring, the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation reached a memorandum of understanding with Great Canadian Gaming Corporation for an agreement in principle to acquire the “casino business and related real property interests” at Hastings Racecourse & Casino. The First Nation is looking to diversify its revenues by entering the casino business.

Great Canadian’s lease for the historic horse racecourse and casino property at Hastings Park expires in 2026. The site is also the assumed location of the potential proposal to build a new purpose-built soccer stadium for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC — a move deemed to be critical to prevent the team from relocating to another city.

Last month, the City of Surrey announced the termination of the lease that enabled the operation of Fraser Downs racecourse, ending horse racing at the Cloverdale fairgrounds with immediate effect. However, Great Canadian’s Elements Casino Surrey at the fairgrounds remains open. Surrey’s municipal government is envisioning a mixed-use residential and commercial development of the racecourse. Following the closure, Hastings Racecourse & Casino is now the only remaining horse racecourse in B.C.

Parq Casino Vancouver and the JW Marriott and Marriott’s The Douglas Autograph Collection hotels. (Kenneth Chan)

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