In
September 1997, the Ontario
Lottery Corporation awarded Navegante and Trillium Gaming
Inc. (Trillium) five charity casinos located primarily within
the greater Toronto metropolitan area. Trillium, an Ontario corporation,
was established to develop and operate gaming-related projects
throughout Canada and the world. Mr. Woolf is a 20% shareholder
in Trillium.
Over
fifty companies submitted bids to the Ontario Government’s Request
for Proposal to develop and operate charity casinos throughout
the province of Ontario. Six casino operators (several of whom
are publicly traded) were each awarded one casino-cluster
that included five pre-determined casino sites. The cluster awarded
to Navegante/Trillium received more bids (27) than any other casino-cluster.
On
June 26, 1998 the Ontario Lottery Corporation postponed the charity
casino project pending upcoming municipal elections. Subsequently
the Ontario Lottery Corporation cancelled the entire initiative,
citing lack of public support.
Each
gaming facility was to include a minimum of 150 slot machines
and 40 table games. These mid-sized casinos would employ approximately
370 individuals per location in addition to a small central office
for staff functions. Once open, the Navegante/Trillium casino-cluster
was anticipated to generate approximately CDN $140 million in
annual revenues.
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