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Refinancing debt and finding a new equity partner solves some pressing issues at Parq Vancouver, but also opens new questions about the future of the splashy, downtown Vancouver hotel casino complex.
Sep 06, 2017 (Parq Vancouver) The much-touted Parq Vancouver urban casino resort next to BC Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver will open on Friday, September 29, and a celebratory roll of the dice at 11 pm will officially mark the auspicious occasion. Find breaking Vancouver & COVID-19 news, live coverage, weather, traffic, in-depth reporting, sports, local events and video. Best Casinos in Vancouver, BC - River Rock Casino Resort, Parq Vancouver, Grand Villa Casino, Hastings Park Casino, Starlight Casino, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd, ARIA Casino Software, Great Canadian Casinos, Monte Carlo Nights, Victoria Drive Bingo Hall.
British Columbia’s illicit fentanyl market is conservatively estimated at upwards of $300 million, according to a unique study by local criminologists and drug experts.
Dr. Martin Bouchard, a Simon Fraser University criminologist, and Dr. Michael-John Milloy, a research scientist at the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, presented their findings to the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia Monday.
Bouchard told Commissioner Austin Cullen that the estimate of $200 million to $300 million being spent on the streets for fentanyl or fentanyl-included drugs or stimulants is conservative.
Their research report describes the figures as “plausible, yet imperfect calculations of total expenditures on fentanyl, ‘down’ (i.e., heroin contaminated with fentanyl), and stimulants (i.e., crack/cocaine, methamphetamine, etc.) laced with fentanyl.”
The report is based on studying cohorts of drug users, particularly in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, which has the highest prevalence of drug overdoses in the country.
The authors compiled data from 2017-18. They used baseline investigations of drug use by these cohorts in the DTES; inferred data on overdose deaths from the B.C. Coroners Service and drug prices from the Vancouver Police Department; and also examined court cases.
They estimated there is a minimum of 15,000 to 23,000 people in B.C. who have used or been exposed to fentanyl each year.
“We deem this range to be conservative, representing the floor estimate for fentanyl prevalence of use/exposure within the province,” the report states.
Bouchard, an expert in organized crime networks, explained to the commission that compiling exact data on drug use and illicit revenues for organized crime is difficult because users come and go and most won’t recall the exact amount they use nor the prices they pay. As well, users may not know they’ve consumed fentanyl.
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However, the DTES has the most readily available and reliable data, and the researchers made their estimates there to extrapolate it to the province overall, Bouchard said.
“If we have a good idea of the number of people exposed in Vancouver, we can multiply that number by four …to get an idea of how many people are exposed to fentanyl as a whole,” he said. “We found more ways in which our scope was narrow and not broad.
“Each time you add an assumption you add uncertainty. We wanted to rely on what was most certain,” said Bouchard, who further explained that no such study has been done in B.C. or Canada.
“So we’re in the early stages, unfortunately; so we don’t have the raw data,” he said.
The commission is examining the scope of money laundering in B.C., particularly as it relates to provincial institutions and provincially regulated markets, including gambling and real estate.
“Although revenues do not equal profits, by estimating potential revenues from fentanyl, heroin and synthetic opioids in B.C., our report provides the potential contribution of this revenue source to money laundering within the province,” the report said.
“Fentanyl therefore seems to represent one important source of revenue for money laundering in B.C.”
The study only examines how much British Columbians are spending on fentanyl. It does not account for drug money potentially being imported from other provinces to be laundered through the local economy.
Laundering fentanyl proceeds is doubly concerning in B.C. granted people are dying of overdoses at record levels this year.
The number of overdose deaths in B.C. reached 1,386 between January and October of this year, according to new statistics released Wednesday by the BC Coroners Service. Fentanyl was detected in 1,146 of the victims. In 2018, a record 1,335 people died with fentanyl in their body (of 1,549 total illicit drug overdose deaths).
The commission has so far explored in depth one aspect of laundering proceeds of the fentanyl trade – that being through casinos – and how government regulators and law enforcement handled the situation.
In this scenario, organized criminals connected to China collect cash from the local sale of drugs, which are provided by Mexican and Chinese cartels.
The drug money is dispersed to Chinese gamblers via unregulated money service businesses. The loans are repaid via gambler’s bank account in China, thus skirting China’s capital export controls.
Experts suggest the criminal network in China then sends money and/or products to Mexico.
Known by some academics as the “Vancouver Model,” this scenario may theoretically be applied to any local product or service.
In effect, the fentanyl cash circulates through the B.C. economy in small amounts, and the foreign drug producers still get paid without having to ship cash over borders.
The import and export of products indirectly paid for by proceeds of crime is known as trade-based money laundering, which the commission will examine on Thursday.
The ‘Trade-Based Money Laundering Panel’ includes: Joel Gibbons, senior program adviser, Intelligence and Targeting Directorate, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA); C/M Bryanna Gateley, intelligence analyst, Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit, RCMP; and Sgt. Sushile Sharma, member, Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit, RCMP.
You can drop a few bucks in the penny slots at the Cascades Casino Delta next year.
Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd. this week announced it was given approval by the provincial transportation ministry to proceed building the new $70 million hotel/casino complex. It was the final approval required and demolition of the Town & Country Inn where the new complex is to be located has been underway since last Friday.
BCLC has approved the new Cascades Casino Delta. (Rendering courtesy BCLC)
“We are very excited to finally be starting construction of the new Cascades Casino Delta. We are looking forward to bringing this state-of-the-art entertainment destination to such a vibrant and rapidly growing community,” said Tony Santo, Gateway’s CEO, in a news release.
The casino will have up to 500 slots and 24 gaming tables, as well as a Match Eatery and Public House, Atlas Steak + Fish and a buffet. The company says the new casino is expected to open in 2020, but would not say what month or how much the wait in getting final ministry approval has impacted the schedule.
The B.C. Lottery Corporation last fall gave its approval, following city council’s earlier go-ahead. The lottery corporation noted it gave its blessing following extensive reviews of the market opportunity, business case, health impacts and municipal approval process to ensure that the project meets legislated requirements under the Gaming Control Act.
According to Gateway, the complex at the junction of highways 17A and 99 will be “a full-service entertainment destination with casual ambience, but with the scale and amenities associated with a big-city entertainment facility with exceptional customer service and attention to detail.”
The project includes a five-storey, 116-room hotel and meeting space. There won't be a music lounge or a sportsbook.
Having played host to countless guests and functions for over 50 years, the Delta Town & Country Inn is being torn down to make way for Gateway’s casino/hotel complex. Property owner Ron Toigo is leasing the site to Gateway. Photo by Sandor Gyarmati
BCLC estimates annual revenue coming to Delta would be at the top end of its initial $1.5 million to $3 million projection. The number of slots is smaller than casinos like the River Rock Casino Resort and Starlight Casino, but more than some of the smaller gambling venues around the region.
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The facility will have 800 parking stalls, while the road entrance to the complex is to have the same routing as what’s now in place but with road improvements. A second exit would be available but only during peak times at the facility.
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Gateway also has the Cascades brand in Langley, Kamloops and Penticton, B.C.