The final price tag on the huge addition that transforms Casino Windsor into Caesars Windsor is CAD 439 million, says Kelly McDougald, the new CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. "That's as of yesterday," McDougald said Thursday as she prepared to travel to Windsor to take part in the first public tours of the new building on Friday. The new casino opens officially Thursday with a gala party for thousands of invited customers and other guests from all over North America.
Casino Windsor avoided its fourth strike in five rounds of talks Wednesday by agreeing to keep one of the highest ratios of full-time workers in the industry. Ken Lewenza, president of CAW Local 444, said his casino members should be extremely grateful to have dodged both a strike and a major concession on the number of them who work part-time.
Casino Windsor officials are putting in a quarter, pulling the arm and hoping for the best. The casino's massive construction project, which has added a second tower to the Windsor skyline and is adding a 5,000-seat arena and convention center space to a remodeled casino and hotel, is expected to be done by June. Business was strong when the casino committed to the project in 2005, but that's no longer the case.
