Is gambling coming up snake eyes in Terrace?

The debate over whether to allow slot machines to be installed at the Lucky Dollar Bingo Hall in Terrace may very well be turned over to the people.

With a city council split down the middle on the issue, it fell to Terrace Mayor Jack Talstra to say yea or nay on the controversial issue, so he said No, maybe, kind of, sort of.

Actually Talstra voted against the plan, but did suggest that he wouldn’t be against the issue going to a referendum to decide if the City welcomes the machines, which it is anticipated would bring in 330,000 dollars in revenue annually.

The debate was clearly an emotional one as many of the councilors put forward the belief that the introduction of the machines to their city would have a negative impact on the city and its social fabric.

Others stepped up and set that responsible citizens who enjoy that particular lifestyle should not be denied that option by their elected officials.

The decision by council was the second time that an expansion of gambling options was defeated by the elected officials of Terrace. It was back in 2003 that the Best Western Hotel in Terrace put forward casino plans of their own, only to have the idea shot down in a similar split.

With Prince Rupert in the process of building their own gambling emporium on the waterfront at the old Legion site, there was some concern expressed over whether two gambling locations in the Northwest could survive in competition.

Unless that referendum suggestion is acted upon, it would seem that those concerns over too many gambling centres might be a moot point.



Mayor backs gambling referendum


By DUSTIN QUEZADA
Terrace Standard
Oct 25 2006

MAYOR JACK Talstra says he'd be in favour of holding a referendum to decide if city residents want slot machines.

Talstra, who broke a tie on council last week that did away with plans by the Lucky Dollar Bingo Palace to install slots, says a referendum would accurately judge the community's wishes on the matter.

Judging what the community wanted when it came to slots was difficult, he added. "Council is divided on the (slots) issue and that generally means the community is divided on the issue," Talstra said late last week. "There are reasons on both sides to consider."

Talstra's support of a referendum to decide the issue comes after describing slots as a form of "aggressive gambling."

"On principle, I'm personally against aggressive gambling and against aggressive gambling for the community as a whole," said Talstra last week following the decisive Oct. 17 city council meeting.

And if voters were ever to say 'yes' to slots in the city, Talstra favours a trust or foundation so that the profit from slots would "be given back to the same people from whom it's been taken."
Talstra's tie-breaking vote that did away with the Lucky Dollar plan represents the second time in three years city council has rejected gambling expansion.

Talstra also broke a tie on council in 2003 when the Best Western Terrace Inn presented the city with a casino plan.

This time council was asked to do away with a bylaw prohibiting slot machines and video lottery terminals.

Citing the societal cost of aggressive gambling as being too high, Talstra's opinion proved to be the fatal one to the efforts of local businessman John Becher to install slot machines at the bingo facility.

"I would say 'no' to slots and 'yes' to a referendum," said Talstra.

Based on opinions from a Oct. 16 public meeting, the naysayers outnumbered the slot machine supporters, said the mayor, but that didn't make it easier to do what he felt was best for the community.

Along with the social problems slot machines might create, Talstra said revenues that would come back to the city would likely be offset by the need for more police officers were crime to also rise.

Estimates from the B.C. Lottery Corp. had pegged maximum annual revenues from the proposed machines at $330,000.

Talstra said a more probable figure would be $300,000.

If crime were to spike, the RCMP could conceivably ask for two to three more officers at $90,000 each, added Talstra.

"The money would probably go out just as fast as it would come in," Talstra said.

The mayor followed the city's six councillors, who were evenly divided in their support for the bylaw amendment.

Speaking first, Marylin Davies said she supported the slot machine idea because of the economic impact their implementation would create and because she didn't believe policing would be significantly impacted.

Nor did she think the societal impacts would change greatly.

"We can top up addiction services if necessary," said Davies of monies the machines would generate for the city.

Davies finished by saying the city should offer a wide range of lifestyle amenities.

"Why discriminate against the vast majority of people who do gamble responsibly?"

Councillor Rich McDaniel made his position clear calling the expansion of gambling a "social evil."
"The moral argument is overwhelming," said McDaniel, adding gambling proponents are good at downplaying the social costs of such expansion.

"The economic argument doesn't hold water," he added.

McDaniel said he has no problem with occasional gambling but couldn't support large-scale public gambling.

Councillor Carol Leclerc said her decision was greatly affected by public opinion.

"I listened to what the people have to say and the majority of people do not want slot machines in Terrace," Leclerc said.

Leclerc said she was convinced that slots are highly addictive.

"It's sad when society expects instant gratification," she said.

Leclerc added she doubted two gaming centres in Prince Rupert and here could be supported, making the economic argument a moot point.

Councillor Lynne Christiansen said she too took stock of opinions in the community and at the public meeting.

She said people were very aware of the societal impacts of gambling that wouldn't be balanced by possible economic benefits.

"There are now fewer addiction services," Christiansen said. "We don't want to prey on the people that can least afford it."

Christiansen added that a one per cent increase in municipal taxes would be a much better way to replace lottery monies than to "make it on the backs of gamblers."

In supporting the amendment, first-time councillor Brian Downie said the city already has a level of problem gambling.

"Individuals will gamble regardless of slots," said Downie, adding gambling is a socially acceptable activity.

Downie said he sought public opinion in other communities with gaming centres.

"None of them could say definitively there was a change," Downie said. "They didn't see a (negative) impact."

Downie added the jobs that would have been created at the proposed centre could go to people struggling with addictions.

Brad Pollard, another councillor new to the issue, said he felt the benefits of slot machines would outweigh the negative societal impacts.

He, too, felt that there are already problem gamblers in Terrace.

Pollard cited estimates that 10 per cent of the population in the north are problem gamblers and one per cent would be considered pathological gamblers.

Pollard said council wouldn't be honest if it said the addition of slot machines would significantly increase those numbers.

"Refusing to allow slot machines is unjustified," Pollard said. "I'm concerned that [council] is setting the course where we limit opportunities because of people who cannot enjoy gambling responsibly."

The proposal to amend the bylaw would have seen 75 slot machines installed at the Lucky Dollar Bingo Palace on Legion St. Had the application been successful, the building would have become a part of the Chances Community Gaming Centre chain.