The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has chosen an operator for Flamboro Downs and the Brantford casino — and it's the company that already runs the Flamborough facility.
Great Canadian Gaming Corporation will operate the "west GTA gaming bundle," OLG said Tuesday. It will partner with Clairvest Group Inc. to do so, forming the Ontario Gaming West GTA Limited Partnership.
That means the company will operate Flamboro Downs and the Brantford casino, as well as the Grand River Raceway in Elora and Mohawk Racetrack in Campbellville.
"(The partnership's) expertise and significant investment will help create up to 1,650 jobs while providing customers with exciting new entertainment options in newly improved facilities," said Stephen Rigby, OLG's president and CEO.
The operating agreement is for 20 years. The partnership will take over day-to-day operations in spring 2018.
The move dates back to 2012, when OLG announced a modernization process and offered Hamilton a potential gaming facility. That led to a heated, months-long debate about whether Hamilton should have a downtown casino. In the end, council voted to keep gaming at Flamboro Downs unless it was found to be "not a viable site."
The OLG issued a request for proposals last October to run the west GTA gaming bundle.
Under the agreement, the partnership will retain workers at their current positions and locations for at least a year.
