Land-based resort casinos in the Canadian province of Ontario lost almost $46m in 2010. While that sounds dire, it’s actually an improvement over the $74m loss recorded in 2009. Caesars Windsor led the red-ink parade with a net loss of $16m in 2010. So is this proof that gambling isn’t, as widely believed, recession proof? Rick Laporte, a spokesman for a union representing Windsor’s casino employees, provided the Ottawa Citizen with a list of blame-worthy culprits: passport requirements that went into effect in 2009 kept many Michigan residents from crossing the border into Ontario, as did the opening of casinos in Detroit, high gas prices and a strong Canadian loonie vs. the US buck. But the biggest blow to Ontario casinos’ bottom line was domestic, not foreign. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation takes 20% off the top of all casino revenues as a “win contribution,” a sum that in 2010 amounted to $271.75m. Someone better call Charlie Sheen, because OLG appears to have a monopoly on the term ‘winning.’