In the face of mounting criticism of a massive casino complex proposed for downtown Vancouver, the people behind the plan are fighting back, promising they'll leave their Las Vegas style at home.
The $450-million, 680,000-square-foot project was announced by the B.C. government last year for the land between BC Place and the Cambie Street Bridge. Plans call for a casino the size of two football fields, two hotels and five restaurants.
Paragon Gaming CEO Diana Bennett says her company will bring in expertise earned through decades of developing casinos along the Las Vegas Strip. The company also took over Vancouver's failing Edgewater Casino six years ago.
"We're behind such projects as the Excalibur and the Luxor, and we grew up building destination entertainment resorts; that's our history," she told CTV News.
But she insists: "We're not looking to build a Las Vegas model in Vancouver. We're looking to build the type of property here that's really going to reflect what the City of Vancouver would like to have in their downtown market."
That message seems directly tailored to counter opponents in the "Vancouver not Vegas" coalition, which has been fighting the development.
"Companies have DNA. They're from Las Vegas -- this is what they do," said the coalition's Sandy Garossino.
"They don't live here, do they? It's not them that will be living with all the social ills, all the problems -- this is a city that has its full share of social problems."
She's one of 120 people signed up to address city council at a public hearing on the casino proposal next week.
"We have confidence that when councillors consider all aspects of this, when they understand what the people want, they'll do the right thing," Garossino said.
But her counterpart at Paragon is just as confident.
"We're very positive that the city is going to approve the project," Bennett said.
With files from CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson
