Stay classy Ottawa: Send gamblers to the suburbs

Apparently, the greed of the City of Ottawa knows no bounds.
Unless you've been living under a rock somewhere, you've probably heard that Ottawa city council voted yesterday to allow the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission to proceed to the bidding process for a new casino for the City of Ottawa.
That's exactly what we need -- another gambling establishment in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. People can already lose their money at Lac Leamy, along with their houses and church funds. They can also meander down to the Rideau Carleton Raceway and Slots to play the ponies and machines.
Why do we need another place for people to lose their pension cheques and their children's university funds?
Because all of our Ontario gambling revenue is going into Quebec. That's why.
Mayor Millhouse and Uncle Daltie want that money to stay in Ontar-i-ar-i-ario. They're also hoping that a full blown casino will pick the pockets of all the conventioneers who come here to learn, network, fornicate and drink.
All the touristas and conventioneers could go to Rideau Carleton but there is no infrastructure set up to help them get there. No little buses taking them to the slots for free. No lining of pockets of meeting planners to get them to ferry spouses out to the track for lunch and a few pulls.
I've been on those spousal programs myself, and I can tell you, I would die to get in a little dice and slot pulling rather than be put on a bus to see the fall foliage or yet one more art gallery.
The trouble is not that we don't have the facility, or the capacity for a facility out at Rideau Carleton; it's that OLG is a lousy, awful marketer.
Have you seen their commercials? That's what you get when you put public servants in charge of marketing. They spend half the money trying to cure gamblers from the addiction they themselves have created.
The people at Lac Leamy don't give a hoot about your addiction problem.
They want to increase your chances of gambling more.
The folks at Lac Leamy are smart.
Everywhere you go in the region, you see Lac Leamy promotion -- in the hotels, at trade shows, even at festivals. What do you see for Rideau Carleton?
Squat.
Plus, more people would go to Rideau Carleton if they built a better facility. I used to be a frequent flyer at the Slots, back when I had disposable income and three kids to get away from, and it was a lot better 10 years ago. Since then, the place has been reduced to a friggin' cow palace with no cache, cranky slot attendants -- those who have not been replaced by technology -- and a restaurant that peddles stale toast and cold eggs to seniors.
I can bet my last dollar that if the OLG built a facility like FallsView, with entertainment, great food, tables and shops, people would flock to the place. And when they lost most of their money, the gamblers could spend the rest on harness racing and save the lives of countless animals and luckless horse owners.
We don't need a friggin' casino in downtown Ottawa so public servants can spend what's left of their pensions or escape the effect of their affected notices. We certainly don't need more traffic in the downtown where you can't find a parking space if you tried.
We need Ottawa to stay classy and send the addicts to the outskirts of town.
It's a question of making the facilities we have now bigger and better.
We can also save harness racing in the meantime.

What Bell isn't telling you about Fibe TV

Update: This week, we switched back to Rogers after spending far too long using Bell's crappy television service. For those with Bell, read and weep. For those considering Bell, think twice even if you hate Rogers. RS I've always been an early technology adapter. I had a Betamax. That tells you everything (if you're over 50 at least). My first computer was a "Portable". It weighed 40 pounds and I had to lug it around town on a gurney. I've been through probably 15 computers in my lifetime. Apple is the best. It's also too expensive so I have a piece of shit HP, the one I'm writing this blog on. I've had cable, internet and now Netflix. American Netflix . That's how far ahead of the curve I am. I get all the newspapers for free. How? I disabled my cookies so they can't track me when I'm on the newspaper sites. Even the New York Times hasn't cottoned on to that trick. Hahaha. That will be a fifty buck consulting fee. Bein...

Ashley Simpson: Please sign this petition to help her family

Those who read this space regularly know that my family is frantic with worry about my cousin, Ashley Simpson , who has been missing 40 days now. Both her boyfriend and her landlord reported that she had left with no money, no car, no resources from her Salmon Arm, B.C. home after a domestic dispute over money. Since then, there has been no trace of her. The RCMP now considers this a homicide investigation, but the family has not heard any updates from them in more than three weeks. Just after she disappeared, her father, relatives and friends set out from St. Catharines on a long trek to B.C. to find her. They all left their work, and their lives, intent on finding Ashley who had always kept in touch. It was completely out of character for her to lose touch. Her parents have been consumed by worry. They have been unable to work, and are having a hard time functioning. As a result, they are now relying on donations from family and friends to keep the wolf from the door...

The strange case of Greg Etue

I got out of the daily news reporting game, I'll admit, because I didn't have the stomach to cover the many sad stories that came across my desk. I remember clearly once when I had to call an RCMP sergeant after his young son blew his head off with the officer's service revolver. "Please," he pleaded. "I really can't talk right now." "It was your gun, is that correct?" He slammed down the receiver. I was ashamed of myself. People have a right to some privacy in difficult times like that. I also used to hate having to go to the door of a dead child's home and jostle the competition for a picture. Really, it felt more like ghoulism than journalism. That said, I still believe that these stories must be told in an honest and forthright fashion with all the facts and none of the flourish and emotion that is all the rage in reporting these days. Over the past two years, we, in this community, have been treated to a lot o...

Rose's Cantina

Search This Blog