Coquitlam hit the jackpot again this month with a $1.6-million payout from the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver.
The latest amount is for the casino's second quarter, from April 1 to June 30.
The city, which receives a 10% cut of net proceeds as host municipality, has collected more than $100 million since the facility opened in 2002 — income that council sets aside for major capital projects such as the new Burke Mountain fire hall and for grants to non-profit groups.
The site was rebranded in December 2013 to attract a younger clientele. Today, Hard Rock is the largest gaming venue in the province by gaming space, with 1,000 slot machines, 70 game tables and a poker room inside 80,000 sq. ft.
Last week, Great Canadian Gaming Corp. — the publicly traded company that owns the United Boulevard facility — announced the last three-month period saw revenues totalling $110 million for its 16 Canadian and Washington State properties, a 3% overall dip compared from the same quarter last year (its most profitable site, the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, dropped by 9%).
Still, GCCC president and CEO Rod Baker said the Coquitlam location had its highest return in the last 10 quarters — a 7% uptick versus the second quarter of 2014.
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