• A new 400-room hotel tower with 22-23 stories and full amenities, complementing the existing Four-Diamond hotel
• 5,000-seat entertainment centre
• 100,000 square feet of convention space
• New restaurants and retail space
• A six-bay bus loading extension
• Sky bridges to link the complex to the existing casino

• A two-level entrance space in the central area including a welcoming bar below and entertainment lounge above, replacing the Atrium waterfall
• Showtime Lounge will be renovated and a sports bar added
• The Terrace Café and Garden Buffet will turn into a 24-hour restaurant and a huge buffet will replace the Atrium Food Court
• The “New Casino Windsor” project is set to begin construction in May 2005 to be completed in early 2008, generating approximately 7,000 construction jobs. Once completed, the project will create approximately 400 new jobs.
• Joseph Cordiano, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Duncan Brown, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation CEO, Kevin Laforet, President and CEO of Casino Windsor along with area MPPs Sandra Pupatello and Dwight Duncan as well as Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis, announced expansion details for the “West of Casino lands” and renovation plans for the existing facility during a news conference in Casino Windsor’s Promenade Ballroom.
• Casino Windsor attracts around six million visitors each year and is a key driver of the local economy,” said Minister Joseph Cordiano. Kevin Laforet, Casino Windsor’s President and CEO, agreed, “This new project will allow us to become the leader in the market once again, and we’ll be able to compete like never before with new amenities to attract more customers. This is the beginning of a new era for our company and the promise of more prosperity for the city.”

Updates

April 15, 2005 - Vendor Selection

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced a vendor selection for the $400 million investment in non-gaming amenities at Casino Windsor. After publicly-posted Requests for Proposals, the following were chosen for three key project areas: the selected Architect is WZMH Architects; Construction Manager is Eastern Construction Company; and Cost Consultant is Pendlebury Cost Consultants.

August 9, 2005 - Major Construction Underway

Construction is underway on the Casino Windsor expansion project announced in February of this year. Excavation has continued for the past several weeks.

"It is inevitable that construction will cause some inconvenience as the project gets underway, but every effort is being made to minimize the impact. We ask all residents to exercise caution in the area as there are safety concerns near any construction site."
Doug Singbush, Project Director for Eastern Construction.

Neighbours can also expect some lane restrictions in the near future, on McDougall, Chatham and University streets.

Eastern Construction has set up a hotline for neighbours to use for any concerns they might have: (519) 985-4699. Casino Windsor also has a hotline for neighbours with any other development related questions at (519) 985-5956 and a construction e-mail address: construction@casinowindsor.com.

For more information, please contact:
Doug Singbush, Project Director, Eastern Construction (519) 985-2225

December 16, 2005 - Market Buffet Opens

Casino Windsor reveals the first phase of the $400 million (CAD) renovation and expansion project with the grand opening of the Market Buffet on December 16, 2005.

This new colossal buffet, features seven distinct eateries offering a great variety of menu choices, seats up to 600 customers and covers 26,000 square feet. Located on the lower level, the massive restaurant replaces the former food court and waterfall area.

Five months in the making, the Market Buffet is designed to provide an exciting atmosphere by bringing the kitchen out into the restaurant. More than 95% of the dishes are made fresh on the spot by skilled chefs at each of the seven eatery stations plus a dessert bar.

The Market Buffet is open 11am to 11pm seven days a week. Lunch will be offered from 11am to 5pm for $16.95 (CAD) and dinner from 5pm to closing for $21.95 (CAD).

January 20, 2006 - Continuous Concrete Pour Planned

A major continuous concrete pour for Casino Windsor’s expansion site has been cancelled for January 21 and 22 and rescheduled to happen at 8am on Tuesday, January 24 and running approximately 32-34 hours through to the early evening on Wednesday, January 25. The original plans were cancelled due to poor weather conditions; this new date is also weather dependant.

This continuous pour is the largest planned for the expansion site and will form the foundation for the footings of the new 22-story hotel tower, to be erected parallel to McDougall Street.

Planning a continuous pour is a strategic endeavour:

• CBM (Canada Building Materials Co) will provide 25 trucks with 50 drivers.
  
• A total of 500 truck loads each carrying 8 meters of concrete will deliver a total of 4,000 cubic meters
  
• One cement truck will be unloaded every five minutes
  
• Two Windsor locations will be used to supply the concrete: Santarossa J & Sons located at 5115 Rhodes Drive and CBM’s facility at 3510 Russell St.
  
• From the Santarossa yard, the drivers will take Jefferson to EC Row west to Howard Ave north, west on Eugenie, north on McDougall to jobsite. They will return south on Howard to EC Row eastbound to Central Ave. then to Rhodes Dr.
  
• From the CBM yard, the drivers will travel east on Wyandotte Street and north on McDougall to the expansion site. They will return west on University.
  
• Six trucks will enter the construction zone at a time, with two vehicles each dumping into three separate concrete pumps, which will strategically fill the hole to an overall depth of 2 meters.
  
• Should the trucks that are ready to unload begin to queue, there will only be six at any one time waiting on McDougall Street.
  
• The pour will not cause additional street closures; both Pitt and Chatham Streets will remain open. McDougall Street from Pitt to Riverside Drive will also remain open. McDougall Street from Pitt to Chatham has been closed since January 3, 2006.
  

• Newly designed bus bays, doubling the motorcoach capacity. Now six buses can park to load or unload passengers at one time.
  
• The Motorcoach lounge has grown and is now 2,370 sq. ft. with more comfortable seating.
  
• There are now 13 washrooms including one that is handicap accessible.
  
• The area between the entrance doors and the stairs leading to the Market Buffet or the gaming floor has been transformed into a spacious, airy vestibule and has increased in size from 600 sq. ft. to 3,300 sq. ft., easing the flow of traffic. Seating is also available.
  
• A full service customer service desk attended by Total Rewards Representatives.
  
• An internal PA system for Motorcoach announcements.
  
• Vending and change machines.
  
• New 42” LCD screens will display arrival and departure times as well as property promotions.
  
• Public telephones.