British Columbia has become the first jurisdiction in North America to offer legal, online casino gambling. In addition to sports betting, users of the B.C. Lottery Corporation's PlayNow.com.
Great Canadian Gaming Corporation has been acquired by Apollo Global Management in a deal worth CAD $3.3 billion, based on a share price of CAD $39.
The company is the operator of over two dozen casino properties across four provinces, including nine properties within BC.
It also operates most casino properties in the Lower Mainland, including River Rock Casino, Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, Hastings Racecourse & Casino, Chances Maple Ridge, and Elements Casino locations in Surrey and Chilliwack.
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The acquisition price was a 59% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price as of November 9.
Following the conclusion of the deal, Great Canadian will remain headquartered in Toronto, led by a Canadian management team and board of directors.
Apollo, based in New York, states it has experience in investing in companies in highly regulated industries, including the casino business. The American investment firm intends to maintain Great Canadian’s current locations and expand its footprint over the medium- and longer-term.
“Great Canadian is a leader in the gaming and entertainment industry and, based on our experience and knowledge of the space, we see opportunities to work with their talented team to drive additional growth and value,” said Alex van Hoek, partner at Apollo, in a statement.
“With an industry-leading portfolio of assets and established presence in the best geographic markets across Canada, we are excited to help bring an enhanced experience to more guests across Canada.”
The casino operator has been battered by COVID-19 health safety closures across the enterprise, with no end in sight leading to the reopening of its properties. Within British Columbia, Great Canadian is also at the centre of a money laundering inquiry, specifically with its operations of the flagship River Rock Casino.
“We are pleased that this transaction represents a great opportunity for our shareholders, while continuing to support the success of the business longer term. We believe this transaction is beneficial for our shareholders, our team members, our guests, and other stakeholders as we continue to execute on our operational and development plans into 2021 and beyond, while we navigate through this volatile time,” said Rod Baker, the CEO of Great Canadian.
“In addition, we believe Apollo’s extensive experience in the gaming sector will provide additional strategic benefits to help expand our gaming and hospitality offerings and to secure our position as a long-term market leader.”
The acquisition requires not only the approval of shareholders but also various approvals by provincial and federal regulators and the Supreme Court of BC. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.
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The Newest & Biggest – Parq Vancouver
The Parc Vancouver has finally opened its doors at the end of September 2017, The Parc Vancouver was a $700 million project and is now a year behind schedule to open.
The Parc has a 72k square gaming floor, which might feel a little open and empty, as the original amount of slot machines and gaming tables was meant to be double the current available, but was not permitted, this was due to the requested 1000 plus slots and 150 gaming tables being deemed excessive for the location.
The Parc offers 600 slot machines and 75 gaming tables; a few of these gaming tables are reserved for high rollers. The Parc also offers private poker rooms and high limit slots.
The Parc Vancouver also has two hotels on sit, with over 500 rooms. Also on site is eight restaurants, a ballroom, meeting spaces, and other modern amenities.
This Casino is brand new, so a in-depth review is not yet possible. We added this hotel to our list as one to watch, and visit, and we will revisit it’s in depth review once it has fund its groove.
The RiverRock Casino Resort
The highly rated River Rock Casino Resort is always a win to visit. Since its opening in 2004, this casino has remained popular and has about 10000 visitors per day on average.
This casino has hosted the British Columbia Poker Championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
The River Rock has an onsite hotel with over 390 rooms, as well as eight restaurants, food court and live entertainment areas.
The gaming options at this casino is quite large, they offer over 1100 slot machines which could easily rival the amount of online pokies NZ has to offer, a dedicated Poker room , high limit VIP rooms.
Also available are several types of gaming tables, like Baccarat, Roulette, Blackjack and seven kinds of Poker.
Hastings Park Racecourse
With its beautiful mountain and waterfront views, this is a fun venue to enjoy a night or day out gaming in Vancouver.
Vancouver Bc Casino Hotels
The historic Hastings Park Racecourse, which first opened in 1889, offers more than just horse racing, and it has some great dining options as well as some gaming options besides from the racing.
The Casino at Hastings offers over 500 varied slot machines and gets a mention on this list as overall it is a highly enjoyable day/night out in Vancouver, with the thrill of horse racing spiced up with the casino clot machines adding to the fun.
Edgewater Casino Vancouver
The Edgewater casino is located in the entertainment district of Vancouver, along with the BC Place Stadium and Rogers Arena.
The Edgewater has been open a few years and is the only Casino located in the Downtown Vancouver area.
This popular casino offers 600 machines, like slots, keno and video poker as well as 70 gaming tables offering roulette, craps, blackjack and a few types of poker.
River Rock Casino Vancouver Bc
The Casino also has tournaments, hosting Texas Hold’em, Omaha and No limit Hold’em. The Edgewater also has a bistro that is open 24 hours a day, it also has a bar and venues for live entertainment.