More details expected on a potential casino in London

Londoners will get a better idea of what plans Gateway Casinos & Entertainment has for a casino in the city during a committee meeting next week.

Gateway and Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) are both scheduled to speak before a city committee Monday.

Up until now, few details have been released about Gateway’s plans for London. The company has previously said it wants to spend $140 million on a full-sized casino for London, making it their flagship property in the region.

The casino would include a hotel, restaurants, table games and slots and would create about 700 jobs for the local economy. Currently, Gateway employs 300 people in London.

Ideally, the company would like to see the new casino built at the Western Fair, but that has yet to be confirmed.

Gateway, Canada’s largest private casino operator, took over slot operations at Western Fair in May. The company wants to either buy the land or work out a new lease deal. The current lease, which costs Gateway $6 million a year, expires in 2020.

The company has said they would like to begin construction as soon as possible and estimate it will take 12 to 24 months to complete the project.

Last month city politicians held a closed-door meeting about the possible casino in London, but there have been no details about what was discussed.

Ontario’s Municipal Act does grant municipal governments the power to meet behind closed doors for specific issues, including legal advice and financial and personnel matters.