Casino Windsor opens with glittering gala

Tuesday, July 28, 1998 | 10:33 a.m.

Windsor was decked in its nattiest duds Monday night for the gala opening of the Casino Windsor, a $375 million, white-and-aqua wedge on the Detroit River.

An estimated 6,000 invitees jammed the casino, sampling mountains of shrimp, calamari, lobster and crab. Bands played and acrobats strolled through the casino's three-story atrium, complete with a 60-foot waterfall and a garden of fake palm trees.

Television stars Regis Philbin and Robin Leach, and tuxedoed Detroit Red Wings Darren McCarty and Kris Draper paraded up the red carpet from lines of waiting limousines.

"All my life I've dreamed of cutting a red ribbon in Windsor, Ontario," quipped Leach.

Mayor Michael Hurst said the opening of the new casino - which replaces two temporary casinos in Windsor - was a day he had dreamed about.

"I've waited for over six years for this night," Hurst told a crowd in the casino's second-floor ballroom. Hurst was one of those who fought for the passage of a 1993 bill that made gambling legal in Ontario.

"This occasion celebrates possibility, probability and finally, magnificent reality."

The casino will employ about 5,000 people, making it one of Windsor's largest non-automotive employers.

Showgirls in red-feathered headdresses helped Hurst and other officials cut the ribbon and officially open the casino. The crowd cheered as fireworks rocketed through the atrium.

Soon afterward, the casino's 100,000 square-foot gaming area was jingling with the sound of slot machines. Cigar smoke wafted out of the casino's wood-paneled Canadian Club, where higher-stakes gamblers gathered around guarded tables.

The casino has almost 3,000 slot machines, a food court, a sports bar and six other specialized restaurants. The 21-story hotel has a health club and 389 rooms. In the gift shop, there's a humidor stocked with Cuban cigars.

George and Janice McPhee of Windsor said they were excited to come to the new casino. The McPhees, who have a penchant for blackjack, said they came to Windsor's temporary casinos at least once a month.

Janice McPhee said they also enjoy going to Las Vegas, but aren't expecting to go this year.

"With our money now, it's not so good," she said, referring to Canada's slumping dollar.

George McPhee, who works for the Windsor Police Department, said casino-related crime has been minimized because the Ontario government is paying for a squad of 25 officers to patrol the casino area. McPhee said the only major problem with the casino has been the increase of traffic.

McPhee added that he's not concerned about competition when Detroit's casinos open. Detroit could have temporary casinos as early as next spring, and three permanent riverfront casinos and hotels opening by 2000.

"Detroit's casinos are just going to enhance it," he said. "They'll make this more of a weekend destination instead of a one-day destination.

"I don't think just one casino here can stand on its own. In all likelihood, you'll see another one opening here."

The Honorable Chris Hodgson, Ontario's minister in charge of gambling, said Casino Windsor needs to be wary of its competition in Detroit.

"We do have some concern about that. But I think this more than meets the challenge," he said, looking around at the casino's elegant ballroom.

"We're doing much more than playing defense here. We need to be cognizant of Detroit, but we also just need to make sure our quality, service and environment is first-rate."

Hodgson did not discuss revenues, but said the temporary casinos have pulled in about 20 million visitors since opening in 1994. About 80 percent of those are U.S. residents.