Snuneymuxw First Nation in Nanaimo has purchased a second casino on Vancouver Island, which will help provide the nation with what Chief Mike Wyse called "a steady, sustainable cash flow."
Wyse made the announcement on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the Snuneymuxw Health and Wellness Centre, revealing that Great Canadian Entertainment has signed a definitive agreement to sell Elements Casino Victoria to Petroglyph Development Group Ltd.
"It's a very exciting day for our community, I thank all the team that's made this day happen and come together," Wyse said. "We're excited to take on this new initiative as a community, as a nation, to work with Great Canadian and to make this come to life. This is going to give us a lot of opportunity to provide this much- needed service for our people and our membership, that maybe struggled over the years, but we're going to have that opportunity to help them now."
The transaction comes just months after Great Canadian Entertainment agreed earlier this summer to sell its other major Vancouver Island Property, Casino Nanaimo, to Petroglyph.
Through purchasing the latest casino, Wyse said the nation won't have to be as reliant on government funding and can be more economically self-sufficient.
"We've always relied on government funding to get us through. Now we're going to be able to look to opportunities here to support [our community] even better and sooner. A lot of the times over the years we've had to say, 'No we don't have the budget to support [that].' Now we do. Now we will."
The purchase is possible thanks to a loan from the First Nations Financial Authority, but the total amount has not been disclosed at this time. Wyse said the interest rate is "lower than the bank," and referred to the organization as a good partner.
Great Canadian's board of directors unanimously approved the transaction, but Terrance Doyle, president of Great Canadian Entertainment, said it may take up to six months for the deal to finalize, as it remains subject to customary conditions and approvals by regulatory authorities.
"That work is well underway with Snuneymuxw to get that done as soon as possible..." Doyle said. "I'd love to say it's tomorrow, but it does take work. The regulators are very busy and they work really well with us, but it's probably a good four, five or six months by the time we get all those regulatory approvals in place and actually hand over the operation of the casinos."
Great Canadian will provide transition services to Petroglyph for up to two years after the deal is done.
For staffing, Wyse said there will be employment opportunities for Snuneymuxw members at both casinos.
"Prior to that, we're going to have to train our people to work in casinos, so that will take some time and we will be putting that out to our membership, if they would like that line of work this is what you need to do to get educated to work in a casino."
The Victoria casino opened in 2001 as View Royal Casino and was expanded and rebranded in 2018 as Elements Casino Victoria.
Wyse hasn't ruled out future purchases in the gaming industry, saying "anything's possible."
