Lloydminster To Get Saskatchewan's New Casino

The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is to open their ninth casino in the Canadian province at Lloydminster after approval was received earlier this year from the Liquor and Gaming Authority.

This brand new casino is to be built in Lloydminster which is located near the border with Alberta. The cost of this casino is expected to cost the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority approximately $20 million. This price will provide the venue with around five gaming tables and approximately 50 gaming machines. Besides the actual casino, the development is also expected to consist of a 250 roomed hotel for guests. There facility will also include a convention center with plans to seat approximately 1,500 attendants.

This may seem like a rather ambitious plan but it will also introduce a large number of jobs and revenue into the city of Lloydminster. The actual construction of this new casino development will not move forward until the community has consulted on the development process and a final plan is agreed upon.

Minister Don McMorris of the Liquor and Gaming Authority of Saskatchewan gave and interview with CBS where he stated that any plan that the community decides upon will be overseen by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, and they will determine the consultation that is needed before any construction will take place. Once this state of the development process has been completed the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority will then step in and construction of the casino will being. McMorris was firm in his statement that the Liquor and Gaming Authority has no intention of overstepping the authority of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority in the decision on how development should move forward on their land. He stated that such decisions will be handled by the local community prior to them stepping in.

The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority currently employs 1,800 staff members and around 1170 of them are First Nations people. All of the employees are spread out over six different Saskatchewan casinos and the impact of this new development is one that will probably be taken into consideration when deciding on how to move forward.

Bobby Cameron, the Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations has already stated his interest in the project. Lloydminster has a population of approximately 27,800 people and is the perfect home for a new casino. It will make use of the many people who regularly pass through the city and will also compliment some of the other economic projects that are in motion including the residual effects that are still being felt after the recent Saskatchewan First Nations Winter Games.

Cameron stated in an interview with Saskatoon StarPhoenix that nearly every market in the local economy experienced a significant boost in revenue and overall business during the week of the Winter Games. He suggested that the inclusion of a casino would also benefit from similar events in the future, and that is would also be an attraction in itself. He went on to say that once the casino is in operation half of the revenue it receives will go directly to Canada's First Nations Trust, and one-fourth to the general fund of the government and community initiatives.