The city of Vancouver’s newest and largest casino finally gets an opening date after lengthy delays and much controversy.
This month will witness the grand opening of the new Parq Vancouver casino hotel, the $700m project by Nevada-based Paragon Gaming. The Parq, which originally targeted a 2016 opening, will hold a celebratory “first roll of the dice” at 11pm on Friday, September 29th.
Earlier that Friday, the Edgewater Casino across the street from the Parq will officially close its doors after 12 years of operation. Paragon is transferring the Edgewater’s gaming license to the Parq, a process that prompted no shortage of drama on the city’s political scene.
The Parq will boast a 72k-square-foot gaming floor, twice the size of the Edgewater’s casino footprint. Paragon originally planned to fill this space with up to 1,500 slot machines and 150 gaming tables – a significant boost from Edgewater’s 600 slots and 75 tables – but concerns over the impact of this expansion on local residents ultimately caused civic politicians to restrict the Parq’s gaming palette to the Edgewater’s limits.
The size disparity between the two venues will likely leave the Parq’s gaming floor looking a little underutilized, a fact that will be exacerbated by the Parq’s decision to reserve some tables for high-rollers who visit the property’s 11 private gaming salons. The Parq will also have a dedicated poker room and a high-limit slots area.
In terms of non-gaming amenities, the Parq offers two hotels (J.W. Marriott and Douglas) offering a combined 517 rooms, eight restaurants and lounges, the city’s largest ballroom, 62k-square feet of meeting and event space, spa and fitness facilities, and a sixth-floor open-air space dotted with 200 pine trees Paragon is calling The Park.
In other local casino news, last week saw the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) grant preliminary approval of Gateway Casinos & Entertainment’s plan to relocate its Newton Community Gaming Center to the Delta Town and Country Inn. BCLC said it approved the plan following a study that determined the move wouldn’t negatively impact business at adjacent gambling facilities in Richmond, Surrey and New Westminster.
The move still requires Gateway to submit a proposal detailing the size and scope of the new gaming venue, which will require the approval of both BCLC and the Corporation of Delta.
