Rose's Cantina

Photo courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net (Salvatore Vuomen) My son Stef called to say he'd had a successful trip to Vegas. He won a $2,000 slot jackpot on the first night which basically paid for all his entertainment for the rest of the week. "Mum, you can't believe the place," he cooed. "There was an actual Venetian canal that ran through our casino." Funny, in Ottawa, there is a horse track that runs around ours. Las Vegas was built in the desert and millions visit it and lose their shirts every year. Ottawa's casino is in a cow pasture and its revenues are declining. That's because casinos in the U.S. are run by the mob, 'er, business people. In Ontario, they are not run. They are controlled by the government. I saw the other day that city counsellors were pissed that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission will be controlling the number of slot machines that are placed at Rideau Carleton. There are a few councillors wh...

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 lea...

There has been much handwringing in this town about a plan to restructure the gambling activities of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission. Harness racers are chomping at the bit because the plan to build a big casino could mean euthanasia for the Rideau Carleton Entertainment Centre. Without the slot and now bingo activity, as well as lucrative incentives from the government, farmers, breeders and racers say it will be the end of harness racing and thousands of horses could be put down and farms sold. In other parts of the province, the OLG is shutting down racetracks throwing hundreds of folks out of jobs. This is all because the OLG is not seeing the $800 million worth of gambling dollars it once pocketed. Revenues are way down, to about $100 million and the government is worried about its crackbaby. Governments, after all, count on problem gamblers to fund its hospital operations and other social programs. So, the thinking goes, building a huge-assed ...