Gateway Casinos and Entertainment is a Canadian gaming and entertainment operator. It operates 31 casinos in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. The corporate offices of Gateway Casinos and Entertainment are located in Burnaby, British Columbia. It is owned by The Catalyst Capital Group Inc., a private equity investment firm founded in 2002.[1]
Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited is one of the largest casino and entertainment companies in Canada and has grown from 2 facilities with 150 employees to 31 facilities with over 7,000 employees.
Starting in 1992, Gateway Casinos has provided operational services for casinos in the Greater Vancouver Regional District of British Columbia. In April 1992, Gateway Casinos acquired two casino operations in the Vancouver area: a 5,000 square foot facility on the second floor of the Mandarin Centre in Vancouver’s Chinatown and a smaller 4,000 square foot operation on the top floor of the Royal Towers Hotel in New Westminster, BC.
In March 1994, Gateway Casinos purchased a third casino, located in Maple Ridge, British Columbia with the intention of relocation in the future, which ultimately became Gateway’s Burnaby Casino.
June 1994 saw the Gateway relocation of the Vancouver casino from the small premises on the second floor of the Mandarin Centre to newly renovated premises in the same building. At this time, Mandarin Centre was the largest casino in British Columbia. In January 1996, Gateway Casinos relocated its operation in New Westminster from the top floor to expanded premises within the hotel.
Gateway Casinos ceased operating the casino in Maple Ridge in November 1996. The new operation was opened on the second floor of the parkade across from the now Grand Villa Casino in Burnaby, British Columbia.
November 1999 saw the Gateway acquisition of the Palace Casino (now Starlight Casino) in Edmonton, Alberta where an extensive renovation which more than doubled the size of the facility, was substantially completed in October 2001.
The year 2002 was pivotal for Gateway due to the acquisition of the Baccarat Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, in June[2] and the August purchase of the Lake City Casinos in Penticton, Kelowna, Kamloops and Vernon.
In May 2005 Gateway Casinos opened the Cascades Casino in the heart of Langley, British Columbia[3] which brought about a new era of gaming for the company, boasting over 60,000 square feet of gaming space, 77-room hotel and more than 25,000 square feet of convention space operated by Coast Hotels & Resorts Limited.
The Starlight Casino and Grand Villa Casino were opened in 2007 and 2008 respectively and are currently operating as Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited’s flagship properties. In 2011 Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited purchased three existing Community Gaming Centres located in Squamish, Mission and the Newton Surrey area. In April 2015 Gateway Casinos & Entertainment revealed its plans to build brand new casino located in the Edmonton Arena District.[4]
In 2013 Gateway was determined to change the way people experienced a gaming facility. The desire was to create amenities that would attract both a gaming and no-gaming visitor. Their signature MATCH Eatery & Public House restaurant was born out of this vision. With warm woods, and fun red accents, MATCH offers guests with a casual, yet airy and electric atmosphere. Many locations boasts a multi-season outdoor patio that takes advantage of its world-class setting, spectacular views, and include outdoor fire tables and misters; allowing patrons to take in the unique location elements in comfort and style.
In December 2015 Gateway casinos bought Playtime Gaming Inc.[5] expanding their properties with 4 new CGC (community gaming centers) and 2 commercial bingo halls making them the largest casino company in British Columbia.
In December 2016, Gateway casinos purchased 11 Casinos from OLG in Ontario ranging from Thunder Bay to London with rights to build in Kenora and North Bay hereby now employing 6000+ people and making its way into the Ontario market.
In March 2018, Gateway was selected as the service provider for OLG's Central Gaming Bundle, which includes management of Casino Rama and slot operations at Georgian Downs, and the rights to build a new casino in Collingwood or Wasaga Beach.[6][7] Wasaga Beach was selected as the site of the proposed new casino in April 2019.[8]
At the beginning of 2019 Gateway acquired Chances Casino Kamloops. The acquisition made Gateway the sole gaming provider in Kamloops, as the operator of both Cascades Casino Kamloops and Chances Kamloops. In the spring, Gateway followed with the acquisition of Chances Signal Point in Williams Lake. This allowed Gateway to expand its footprint into the Cariboo region of the Central Interior of British Columbia. Also in 2019, Gateway launched its Playtime Casino brand in Ontario with the spectacularly transformed Playtime Casino Hanover opening its doors on April 11th.
On July 21, 2021, Gateway announced the expansion of its food and beverage operations. It now includes mobile restaurant service with the launch of two “Match on the Move” food trucks – one operating in the Lower Mainland and one operating in Southwestern Ontario. The vision for “Match on the Move” is to bring the MATCH brand of pub tastes to the streets of the communities they operate with the familiarity of the bricks & mortar experience.
In 2022, Gateway celebrated the official opening of two new Cascades Casino branded locations. The first on April 21 in North Bay, Ontario and the second on September 29 in Delta, BC. the addition of these two locations represents an investment of million into each community as well as the creation of hundreds of new jobs.
2023 started with the grand opening of Playtime Casino Wasaga Beach on January 27th. First announced in 2019, the new casino located at 88 Lyon’s Court represents a $34.3 million investment in the community of Wasaga Beach and has created 140 new jobs.
2023 Cyberattack
Playtime Casino Wasaga in Wasaga Beach, Ontario closed during the 2023 cyberattack, with repair crews on site
On April 16, 2023, the company was the victim of a cyberattack, which resulted in the closure of its casinos and most of their associated restaurants and other facilities in Ontario.[9] As of May 2, casinos were being re-opened.[10][11][12]
Wasaga Beach is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. Situated along the longest freshwater beach in the world, it is a popular summer tourist destination. It is located along the southern end of Georgian Bay, approximately 150 km (93 mi) north of Toronto and about 40 km (25 mi) northwest of Barrie. To the west, Collingwood and The Blue Mountains also attract visitors much of the year. The town is situated along a very long sandy beach on Nottawasaga Bay in Georgian Bay and the winding Nottawasaga River. The beaches are part of the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park; the park area totals 168 hectares. Wasaga Beach has a year-round population of 24,862 as of 2021, but during the summer months the population increases with many seasonal residents.
Casino Niagara is a commercial casino located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened on December 9, 1996, on the site of the former Maple Leaf Village amusement park. With a prime location beside Clifton Hill, it was originally conceived as a temporary facility until Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort opened but has remained open as a permanent facility. It is the second casino to open in Ontario and the first to feature electronic roulette. Casino Niagara has over 1,300 slots and over 40 table games, as well as sports betting. Apart from the pandemic, the casino has operated for 25 years.
The Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, commonly known as Fallsview Casino, is a resort casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened publicly on June 10, 2004. The $1 billion complex overlooks the Horseshoe Falls and is one of the most prominent features of the Niagara skyline. The complex is owned by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and operated by Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment.
The Western Fair is a fair held annually in London, Ontario, Canada in early September.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, known for corporate branding purposes simply as OLG since 2006, is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario, Canada. It is responsible for the province's lotteries, charity and Aboriginal casinos, commercial casinos, and slot machines at horse-racing tracks. It was created in April 2000 when the Ontario Lottery Corporation (OLC) was merged with the Ontario Casino Corporation (OCC), established in 1994. Prior to 2006, the combined entity was known in short form as the OLGC. OLG employs over 8,000 individuals throughout Ontario; 1,400 in Sault Ste Marie and the GTA offices. There are approximately 9,800 retailers operating more than 10,000 lottery terminals across the province.
Delta Hotels by Marriott is a four-star brand of hotels and resorts located primarily in North America.
The BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) is the governmental body responsible for distributing alcohol and cannabis products in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The BCLDB operates under the Ministry of Finance and was established in 1921. The BCLDB head office is located in Burnaby, with distribution centres in Delta and Kamloops.
The Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) is a men's Senior A box lacrosse sanctioned by the Canadian Lacrosse Association. It consists of seven teams, based in cities throughout southwestern British Columbia. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the right to compete against the Major Series Lacrosse champion for the Mann Cup every September. The championship is hosted alternately between Ontario and British Columbia every year.
Save-On-Foods is a chain of supermarkets located across Western Canada, owned by the Pattison Food Group.
Aberdeen is a neighbourhood in the southern area of Kamloops, British Columbia. It is bordered by Highway 5A to the east and the Trans Canada Highway to the north. Located on the slope of the southern hills overlooking Kamloops, Aberdeen overlooks the city and surrounding Thompson River valley from the south. The neighbourhood gets its name John Hamilton-Gordon, seventh Earl of Aberdeen, Governor General of Canada from 1893 to 1898. He visited Kamloops in November 1894.
Shaw Spotlight was the name of locally based community channel services operated by cable TV provider Shaw Communications. The channels are available only to Shaw Cable subscribers and are produced in communities throughout western Canada.
The Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL) is a Canadian developmental junior ice hockey league. The league has primarily had teams in the Greater Toronto Area, Central Ontario, Northeastern Ontario, and Quebec.
Gateway Casinos Sault Ste. Marie is a casino in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Owned an Operated by Burnaby based Gateway Casinos & Entertainment, it was Northern Ontario's first full-time casino when it opened in 1999. The casino is located near the International Bridge which links the city to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Vantage Airport Group is an airport management, development and investment company with 10 airports in Canada, the United States, Cyprus, The Bahamas and Jamaica.
Ice District is a $2.5 billion mixed-use sports and entertainment district being developed on 10 hectares of land in Downtown Edmonton and a portion of the neighbourhood of Central McDougall. Its main attraction is Rogers Place, the home arena of the Edmonton Oilers professional ice hockey team. When completed the area will be Canada's largest mixed-use and entertainment district. The developers of the district are the Katz Group and the ONE Development Group. On July 13, 2015, it was announced that the area of the city surrounding the arena from 101 and 104 Street to 103 and 106 Avenue would be referred to as "Ice District" – a name created by Daryl Katz.
Great Canadian Entertainment is a Canadian gaming, entertainment and hospitality company. Prior to its acquisition by Apollo Global Management in September 2021, the company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and was part of the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
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