Do you not wish that you could be part of the great casino adventure? The Toronto Star has even brought in its own Princess Leia from Vancouver to show you how to defeat Darth Vader Godfrey and the Killer Casino. The excitement keeps on growing.
First, we need to update the scene. It seems that Darth Vader Godfrey and his people from the Casino dark side have brought in a death star to be built by MGM and Cadillac Fairview. The plan is for this vast $3 billion casino to take over the entire Exhibition Place Grounds. This dastardly plan was only revealed last Wednesday after city officials and key councillors had secret showings of the scheme at the hotel across Queen Street from City Hall.
The Toronto Star had determined that there was no suitable Princess Leia character among the thousands of actors struggling to make a buck in dear old T.O. The Star brought in a ringer heroine from Vancouver. It seems she had helped found a movement to help stop another (larger) casino in Vancouver. The movement was called Vancouver Not Las Vegas.
Since nobody really wants another Las Vegas, you would think that sensible people would discuss the issue sensibly. Or is that asking too much? It seems that the pseudo Princess Leia was dealing in opinions rather than facts. That is convenient if nobody has any facts but we hope that city councillors leave their biases outside the council chamber when dealing with the issue.
But you really wonder just who MGM and Cadillac Fairview are working for when they promote such a hair-brained scheme? Why would Toronto citizens ever want a casino resort to take over their beloved Exhibition Place? Is there no other place for it in Toronto? Is Toronto that short of development lands?
But the key question is why would Toronto want a resort casino complex? Toronto is already a destination. People come to Toronto for many reasons. It is a city with theatres, entertainments, fine restaurants, year-round activities, hundreds of conventions, fine art galleries and hundreds of attractions. A casino is just another entertainment. What is needed is a casino—that is perfectly legal—and will help complete the mix of activities that are available in an exciting, open-minded and vibrant city.
Princess Leia’s only argument seems to be hearsay evidence about gambling addiction. The only problem with the argument is that if you continue to send addicts to illegal gambling facilities, they will never get the help they need.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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