EMC News - "The casino stays here!" That was the message delivered loud and clear at a Save Our Casino rally held outside the Lou Jeffries Recreation Centre in Gananoque last Thursday, Aug. 2. Close to 200 people attended the event which aimed, in part, to counter growing fear the gaming facility could face a murky future in light of new rules set out by the provincial government earlier this year. "This is the place for the casino. It was the place they decided it should be and it should stay here," Gananoque mayor Erika Demchuk announced to the crowd. Faced with a massive debt and ongoing budget deficit, the province has taken some steps to get its financial house in order. One of those steps is to turn the operation of Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) casinos over to the private sector. This opens the door to the possible establishment of facilities in neighbouring communities "namely Kingston" and resulting shutdown of the Thousand Islands Charity Casino. Read article