Record casino take for Richmond
The City of Richmond's take from River Rock Casino Resort reached a record high in 2012, according to the city's director of finance.
Year-end financial statements tabled Monday reveal the city collected $15,585,000 from the casino in 2012.
Jerry Chong suggested the rise could be due to the casino's addition of a second hotel. Built above a parkade shared by Canada Line commuters and casino patrons, The Hotel opened in the fall of 2011, nearly doubling the resort's total rooms to 395.
Overall local gaming revenue rose by 13.5 per cent in 2012 over the previous year. Revenue from the fourth quarter alone totalled $4.49 million—a 12.8 per cent increase from the same quarter in 2011.
Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, the publicly-traded company that owns River Rock and nine other casinos, issued its 2012 financial statements Wednesday afternoon. In a news release, the company attributed higher revenues to its Richmond property.
“Great Canadian’s financial results during the fourth quarter of 2012 reflect the positive contributions of River Rock,” said Rod Baker, Great Canadian’s president and CEO. "River Rock continues to benefit from both strong gaming volumes and growth associated with The Hotel at River Rock."
Of Great Canadian's $408.7 million in total earnings for 2012, $294.9 million came from gaming—five per cent greater than last year.
Casino cash flow helped boost the city's 2012 surplus to $3.7 million. Other increased revenue came from development. But in a report to council, financial reporting manager Cindy Gilfillan cautioned an expected slowdown in the housing market "may moderate these favourable amounts in 2013 and 2014."
Cities receive 10 per cent of net gaming revenue from casinos within their jurisdiction. According to the latest statistics from the province—in a report dated Oct. 15, 2012—Richmond has received $115.5 million in gaming cash since 1999
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.