Arson Investigation Underway at New Gaming Centre In Rupert

Tuesday, July 03, 2007 02:55 PM

Insurance adjusters are looking at the damage to the nearly completed Chances Gaming Centre in Prince Rupert.

Early Monday morning, the Prince Rupert Fire Department was called to the construction site. The fire was quickly extinguished, but not before damage had been caused to the building.

One confidential source told Opinion 250 there had been several small fires set, and the RCMP are now investigating the case.

The $13 million dollar Chances Prince Rupert Gaming Centre planned to open in September.

There is no estimate of damage at this time, facility General Manager Craig Briere says the damage was mostly from smoke, so the planned September opening should go ahead on schedule.

"From the pictures we have seen , this looks like some construction materials were set on fire and there has been no structural damage to the building itself." Briere says he believes this to be an act of vandalism "I think soome people were celebrating Canada Day, and we are in the vacinity of those celebrations, so I think in the hours after the festivities wound down, some people wanted to see more action." He doesn’ t think the fires were directed at the Gaming Centre itself "The community accepts this facility and is looking forward to the opportunities it presents" says Briere.

The facility features 16,000 square feet of gaming space, plus a further 16,000 main floor for a convention centre and ballroom. The lower level can be sealed off from the second floor so events for those under the age of 19 can be held at the site.

Each of the two floors features floor to ceiling windows which frame the view of the Prince Rupert Harbour.

When complete, the gaming centre would create 50 full and part time jobs. The gaming centre will be home to 125 slot machines, and 120 electronic bingo seats.

There would also be room for 150 people in the restaurant and lounge.

Investigators have seized some evidence and are examining the evidence for fingerprints.

Police in Prince Rupert are asking for the public’s assistance in the investigation. Anyone with information or who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in the area is asked to contact Cst Richards of the Prince Rupert RCMP at 627-0700 or Crime Stoppers at 627-8477

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Posted on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 02:55 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: REALIST on July 3 2007 3:07 PM

Perhaps a member of the public has voiced their opinion of our wonderful government's investments into allowing gambling. Then again with all the corruption we have seen in getting cities to back casino's maybe the fire was set by a competing communities Mayor.

Posted by: owl on July 3 2007 5:29 PM

some points to note:

1. A convention centre the same area as the gaming space ... a real convention centre is nice .... but may just be future gaming expansion at little cost if we look at the PG direction.

2. floor to ceiling windows which frame a view of the harbour - must be nice, none of that wall painting stuff without any windows. That is the real thing.

Posted by: Runner46 on July 3 2007 7:44 PM

who doth have that franchise?

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on July 3 2007 10:10 PM

John Major I believe.

Posted by: Runner46 on July 3 2007 10:48 PM

yama

fact or hearsay?

Posted by: bohemian on July 3 2007 11:08 PM

Runner46

It's Major's baby.

Posted by: metalman on July 4 2007 11:26 AM

Major's league all the way. pun INTENDED. That place was practically hewn from solid rock, they have spent a lot of money to get it up out of the ground, so I guess there is 'Major' money to be made there. I doubt very much he and his partners are building the casino as a humanitarian gesture towards the people of P.R. Does the phrase 'cruise ship destination' seem appropriate here?
metalman.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on July 4 2007 7:45 PM

It is built on the site of the former Canadian Legion overlooking the harbour next to the Crest Hotel.(which by the way,is a very good place to stay)
This is a pretty prime piece of real estate considering there is very little waterfront to buy in Prince Rupert.
CN owns all the best land on the water.
I am not sure where the legion moved to, but they should be fairly flush with cash!
Unfortunately the casino will only compound an alcohol and crime issue in the downtown area.
Guess that in itself is not unusual,but it always seemed a bit worse than normal there.
They really didn't need this in Prince Rupert.
The only reason it is there is to exploit the high native and asian population and that is disgusting!
A good part of town to stay away from after it opens!