Four years after construction began, the Casino de Montréal steps into the future - The Premier of Québec and the Mayor of Montréal walked the red carpet this evening!

MONTREAL, Nov. 21, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - "Finally, we are now ready to inaugurate the new gaming and entertainment areas of the Casino de Montréal. After 4 years of construction work and an investment of 305 million dollars, the Casino de Montréal can boast an offering that rivals that of its competitors in the Northeastern United States," President and Chief Executive Officer of Loto-Québec Gérard Bibeau began. "The Casino remained open throughout the transformation, and I want to thank our employees, and especially our customers, for their patience and loyalty," he added.

More than 700 guests gathered this evening at Casino de Montréal in the presence of the Premier of Québec, Pauline Marois. The atmosphere of the event was festive; honoured invitees included the Minister of Finance and the Economy, Nicolas Marceau; the Minister for Tourism, Pascal Bérubé and the Mayor of Montréal, Denis Coderre, as well as numerous well-known personalities such as Julie Snyder, Sonia Benezra and Roch Voisine, who all walked the red carpet as they had in 1993, when the Casino officially opened.

"At the heart of this project is our desire to set ourselves apart from our competitors, especially by our customer service but also through an offering of games that stands out in innovation and diversity," Gérard Bibeau explained. "We want to exceed our visitors' expectations, surprise them and create a unique environment that will make them want to come see us again." The renovations have resulted in a more attractive and spacious Casino, with restaurant services that are more adapted to current trends and considerably improved access to parking. All of this was accomplished by capitalizing on the heritage of the building and its natural surroundings as well as the recreational tourism calling of the location, in keeping with the architectural style of the buildings themselves.   

The Casino de Montréal now offers a completely reimagined interior design. The slot machine area now includes 3-D animation with well-known characters from films and a huge volcano that erupts in sound and light. In the very centre of the Casino, we have built three immense structures that are literally suspended in mid-air, where enjoying a drink becomes a unique experience. Finally, say hello to spectacular visual effect images projected on a gigantic multimedia wall 14 metres wide by 21 metres tall that was created in a collaborative effort by the Moment Factory, MENKÈS SHOONER DAGENAIS LETOURNEUX Architectes, Provencher Roy + Associés Architectes and Loto-Québec's Ingenio subsidiary. The Premier had the pleasure of flipping the switch to trigger the very first light show this evening and seeing the pulsating lights show off the many potential uses of this one-of-a-kind attraction.

After four years of work, on time and on budget, the Casino de Montréal is proud to show off its new gaming and entertainment areas. In a highly competitive market where more than 80 gaming houses are only a few hours' drive away, no stone has been left unturned to ensure that this casino remains one of the preferred destinations of Québec gaming and entertainment fans.

This promising project for our city has now become a reality. In addition to having created 4,000 direct and indirect jobs annually throughout its modernization work, the Casino de Montréal, since it first opened in 1993, has been a robust contributor to the local economy and a forceful actor in regional development. As flagship of Québec's casinos, the Casino de Montréal is responsible for maintaining more than 4,400 jobs that cover some 229 different professions. It welcomes an average of more than 13,000 visitors on a daily basis - nearly 30,000 on December 31^st - and each day serves close to 2,700 meals whose main ingredients come from suppliers located all across Québec.

"Starting on November 28^th, we offer a warm welcome to the public in the reinvented casino. It belongs to everyone and we are very proud of it!" concluded the President of Loto-Québec.

About the Société des casinos du Québec

The Casino de Montréal is operated by the Société des casinos du Québec (SCQ), a Loto-Québec subsidiary that also coordinates casino restaurant services and manages the Hilton Lac-Leamy hotel. The SCQ operates three other casinos, each with a distinct cachet at La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region, Lac Leamy in Gatineau, near Ottawa and Mont-Tremblant in the Laurentian region.

Photographs of the official ceremony will be available tonight on the CNW web site and at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, November 22^nd on lotoquebec.com.

SOURCE: CASINO DE MONTREAL

Source:  Marie-Claude Rivet 
Assistant Director
514-499-5079   

Information:   Marilyne Desrochers
Communications Officer
514-499-7114