In doing so, LaRocca believes the Ontario government has violated the terms of their deal. The sprawling space features 145 table games, 4,800 slot machines, 10 restaurants, and a soon-to-be-opened hotel and concert venue.Īll of these offerings have led some Indigenous communities who also operate casinos to believe the deck has been stacked against them.

Speaking with CTV National News just hours before the venue opened to the public, GCE vice-president Chuck Keeling proudly proclaimed that, 'This will be the largest casino resort in the country.' The casino spans 33 acres and shares the grounds with Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack, making it one of the largest private developments in the country. This week, they added a massive new casino to their impressive stack of properties with the opening of the Great Canadian Casino Resort in Toronto. Since that deal was signed, the GCE and OLG opened a new casino in Pickering, Ont., in 2021 and operate another in nearby Ajax. In 2016, the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation signed a revenue-sharing agreement with the Ontario government, which in part states, 'The Province and the First Nation intend that the Great Blue Heron continue to operate and be commercially viable.' While the First Nation owns its casino, it's actually operated by Great Canadian Entertainment (GCE) and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. However, Ontario has green lit multiple new casinos in recent years and LaRocca believes the Ontario government has broken the terms of a deal the two signed seven years ago. 'It has brought us clean drinking water, enhanced health-care services and education,' she said. Sitting down with CTV National News, Chief Kelly LaRocca calls the casino 'the economic foundation and lifeblood of our community.'

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The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN), north of Toronto, owns the Great Blue Heron Casino. A First Nation community in Ontario believes it has been dealt an unfair hand by Doug Ford's government that could threaten its very existence.

New casino in pickering