Racino still losing millions, report says
Last Updated: Thursday, July 19, 2007 | 6:20 PM AT
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The race track-casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park is still in the red, with the province losing $4.6 million in 2006-2007, according to the annual report of the Atlantic Lottery Commission.
Revenues at the harness racing park's entertainment centre, commonly called Charlottetown's racino, were $8.4 million last year while expenses hit $11 million, for a $2.6 million shortfall, said the report, released Thursday.
But the province was also supplying $2 million a year to supplement purses at the race track, money that was supposed to come from racino profits. So the province's total losses were $4.6 million last year, the report said.
The racino, which opened in August 2005 with 225 video lottery terminals, lost $2.5 million in its first eight months of operation. It now offers 210 slot machines and Texas hold’em poker, according to the Charlottetown Driving Park's website.
Premier Robert Ghiz told CBC News he does not support turning the racino into a full-fledged casino to turn its fortunes around. He said he would rather see the number of VLTs in the province decrease over time.
The report also said gambling on the Island, including lottery tickets, was down overall with revenues at $13.3 million last year, compared to $14.5 million the year before.
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