At six to one, the odds favoured the house!

Now that the official opening of the Container Port has come and gone, and with it the all encompassing attention to it, we can retrace a few steps and see if we may have missed any other stories around town in the last week or so.

Wednesday's Daily News had some background on that City council meeting of Monday night, where the Mayor and council, with the exception of one, decided that a sober second thought next week on the liquor licence issue for the Chances Gambling Centre wasn't really necessary.

As a group they turned aside Councillor Thorkelson's concerns on the issue as well as her call for another week of deliberations and instead decided that they would show their cards at the table that night.

After a tour of the facility earlier in the day and a look at the documentation for and against , Council voted at 6-1, and decided right then and there to give their blessing to the Gambling centre's bid for a liquor licence as they have requested it.

Gaming centre gets the city's backing for liquor licence
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Prince Rupert city council gave its approval to the Chances Prince Rupert liquor licence application in a 6-1 vote Monday night.

Coun. Joy Thorkelson was the sole councillor opposed to making the decision that night and communicating council's support to the B.C. Liquor and Control Licence Branch.

Coun. Tony Briglio said that after touring the facility Monday afternoon and after hearing about the dual licencing and stringent standards applied to gaming centres, he felt comfortable with the application for the 390-seat liquor licence.

"I don't think I have heard of any other establishment that has to put up with such rigorous ... monitoring," he said.

"This is good for our community, our community needs to understand we are a destination (for tourists).

"It needs to understand amenities cater to growth and that people who come to Chances will not only come to Chances ... they'll come for other things in the city."

The licence covers every seat in the 37,000-square-foot gaming and convention centre, which is a partnership between the 35 charities in the Prince Rupert Bingo Association and a Prince George-based company.

When the facility was first announced two years ago, the plans were at that time for a $7 million facility. Since then, it has grown to a $13-million project that includes marketing plans to draw custom from B.C. and Alaska.

The top floor of the gaming centre is expected to open some time this month.

"I feel comfortable that provincial law and regulations will ensure that the laws are followed within the gaming centre. I don't need to read the regulations, I can't be an expert in that," said Briglio.

Craig Briere spoke on behalf of Chances Prince Rupert and explained the process by which they are licenced and monitored.

"The gaming facility is not only regulated by the Liquor Licencing and Control Branch, but is also regulated by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and their requirements are much more restrictive than what you would see in the normal liquor licencing process," said Briere.

For example, all staff must have their serve-it-right certification - from janitors to security - in order to have an understanding of their obligations and responsibilities, they can't discount alcohol or price it in a way that would encourage over-consumption, they can't serve more than one drink at a time, and all guests entering the facility are screened to make sure they aren't intoxicated. Anyone who is under the influence is not allowed to enter the facility for 24 hours. If staff, who are required to monitor everyone's consumption, deem someone has had enough to drink, that person has to leave the facility and can't return for 24 hours.

Six out of 10 gaming centres in the province allow alcohol consumption on the premises.
Coun. Joy Thorkelson said she wanted time to look at other provinces and see how they operated, however she was outvoted when council moved to make a decision that night.

Council did receive a number of letters opposing the licence from social service organizations, several nearby hotels and bars and numerous citizens.

Several people suggested council at least request that the province restrict liquor service to non-gaming areas.

However, Chances and the Prince Rupert Bingo Association argued that this would do damage to the business and in turn the charities it supports.