Ganonoque fearful of losing casino to Kingston

Hundreds of Ganonoque residents show support for their local casino with the threat of it moving to Kingston Thursday, August 2, 2012.

Ganonoque residents say they’ll continue rallying to keep their casino from moving to nearby Kingston.

Hundreds of people from the eastern Ontario town showed up at a demonstration Thursday night, hoping to keep the Thousand Island Casino and its economic spinoff in their community.

"(They may be interested in) Kingston due to the fact that bigger is better, maybe they want their share," said Leeds and Thousand Islands Mayor Bruce Bryan.

"I think they are going to lose a lot of gamblers if they move the casino,” said another resident. “Kingston doesn't have a chance."

OLG rules mean only one casino can operate in that part of eastern Ontario.

At stake are about 400 jobs and $3 million in revenue for the area, which goes towards grants, recreation facilities and supporting the local police and fire departments.

"Mostly our gear, it has to be replaced every couple of year . . . maintenance on the trucks," said one firefighter.

"Without that money, nothing gets fixed," said another.

Residents said they’re afraid of what other things will happen if the decade-old casino moves.

"I'm positive our taxes are going to skyrocket,” said one.

"The Americans come here all the time, it’s one of the major border crossings for them,” said Barry Lewis.

With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Stefanie Masotti