History
In 1993, the Ontario government selected a joint venture of Caesars World, Circus Circus Enterprises, and Hilton Hotels to build and operate a state-owned casino.
Casino Windsor opened in a temporary location in September 1994, as Ontario's first casino. The former Art Gallery of Windsor located on Riverside Drive was refitted to house the interim casino. The casino saw record numbers, attracting millions of customers from the U.S. and Canada. Line-ups wrapped around the building. In response, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced it would bring a riverboat casino to the riverfront. The Northern Belle was located at the foot of Ouellette Ave. on the Detroit River. It was open from December 1995 to July 1998.
During this time, the permanent casino was under construction on the former Windsor Market site, a few blocks west of the temporary casino. It opened on July 29, 1998 with a grand opening celebration with a James Bond 007 theme. Daisy Fuentes and Regis Philbin were among the stars that attended. The new site included a waterfall and tropical entrance, hotel, five restaurants, gift shops and an entertainment lounge.
On February 14, 2005, representatives from the Ontario Government, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Executive team announced a $400-million expansion project which was completed in June 2008. It added a convention centre, a 5,000-seat entertainment centre and another hotel tower. Renovations also began at the current facility, adding new bars, a large buffet and repositioning many of the slots and table games. The official relaunch happened on June 19, 2008.
In 2006, the first licensed sports book in Canada was opened in the casino at Legends Sports Bar. Players can bet on select professional and college sports through Game Picks sports wagering. The venue is designed with booths and large high-definition televisions above the gaming boards as well as in a theatre style seating section. Unlike in Las Vegas, players are not allowed wager on single sporting events at the sports book - the reason for this is that single-sports wagering remains explicitly prohibited in the Criminal Code of Canada.
Effective May 31, 2006, Casino Windsor became one of the few smoke-free commercial casinos in North America. This was to comply with the Smoke Free Ontario Act, which bans smoking in all enclosed workplaces and public places.
Read more about this topic: Caesars Windsor
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