All things Niagara Falls tourism…
From Niagara This Week:
For the better part of the 1980s and in to the 1990s, Niagara Falls was in an economic downward spiral.
Residents were losing good-paying manufacturing jobs as large factories in the city’s industrial sector were shutting down. The unemployment rate was among the worst in the country, reaching a high of 11.7 per cent in 1996.
Average household incomes dropped to under $30,000 by the mid-1990s and the housing market was in decline. The city’s tourism industry stagnated.
From the Niagara Falls Review:
Despite a downturn in tourism and fewer players, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming says it is committed to Casino Niagara’s long-term future.
“Both casinos, for us, are part of a larger vision to revitalize the Niagara Falls region … into a unique, year-round destination,” said OLG spokeswoman Teresa Roncon. “We certainly feel the casinos add to the success of Niagara Falls as one of the world’s most popular destinations.”
Earlier this year, OLG inked a two-year deal with Canadian Niagara Hotels, which owns the property where Casino Niagara is located.
From the Niagara Falls Review:
Toddlers with water-wings, splashing about in the YMCA’s leisure pool, seem a world away from the ringing bells, stacks of poker chips and whirling roulette wheels at Casino Niagara.
But there’s a link that might be easy to overlook.
Niagara’s casinos donated $250,000 toward the construction of the MacBain Community Centre, the year-old Montrose Road facility home to the YMCA.
A plaque outside the pool indicates it’s named after the Cares Foundation of Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara.
That long handle is the full name of the casinos’ philanthropic arm. Almost as soon as Casino Niagara opened in 1996, its management company and employees got into the spirit of giving.
From the Niagara Falls Review:
Slots. Poker. Blackjack. Roulette. Expect to win some and expect to lose some when you go to a casino. The same thing when the casino comes to you.
After 10 years of having casino gambling in the community, some Niagarans recognize the benefits while others question how much it has done and why it can’t do more.
On Dec. 9, 1996 when Casino Niagara opened, The Review interviewed dozens of people. Ten years later, the perspectives of two of them show just how different feelings are now.
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