The city councilor who represents the west of downtown promised Loto-Québec a “bumpy ride” on Tuesday for its plan to create a gaming hall at the Bell Center.
Serge Sasseville, councilor for the Peter-McGill district, spoke at the city council on Tuesday to express his opposition to the project and his desire to block it.
“It’s a neighborhood where we already have huge problems with crime, vulnerable people, homelessness, violence, drug trafficking, prostitution. So it’s out of the question for such a project to be open at the Bell Center, as far as I’m concerned,” he told city council.
La Presse revealed at the end of February that Loto-Québec had been planning for several months the creation of a gaming lounge at the Bell Center, in collaboration with Groupe CH. The establishment, installed in the premises of the former 1909 Taverne Moderne restaurant, would have hundreds of slot machines and sports betting terminals.
Mr. Sasseville believes that the project should necessarily pass before the borough council of Ville-Marie, where he sits with five other elected officials. “I only have one voice on the borough council, but I can assure you that I will make it strong enough to oppose this project so that it never sees the light of day” , he said. “I’ll paraphrase Bette Davis in All About Eve: Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. »
