Construction on the exterior of Elements Casino Victoria is to be finished by month’s end, a company spokesman says.
A water feature with a pond and northeast stairs are expected to be completed early next week. Landscaping is going in shortly, said Chris Lynn, executive director of Vancouver Island casino operations for the Great Canadian Gaming Corp.
“It looks like it is all going to be done in coming weeks,” he said.
Expansion of the casino that opened in 2001 in View Royal at 1708 Island Highway began in January 2017. An ambitious timeline for work to be wrapped up early this year had to be extended.
The casino complex has grown to 72,000 square feet from 30,000 square feet.
One factor in the extended timeline is the shortage of skilled labour in the capital region, which saw some crews brought in from the mainland. The aim was use all local workers, but the company had to turn to out-of-town employees a couple of months ago to complete interior work in time for the May 5 grand opening, Lynn said.
Today, all workers on site are local, Lynn said. About 20 tradesworkers are on site now, although numbers topped more than 100 earlier on.
Construction is valued at $13.7 million, View Royal Mayor David Screech said.
Of the 25 contractors, 23 were local and the other two were from Vancouver, Lynn said.
Expansion means more jobs. The casino has more than 300 employees now and is continuing to hire.
Elements staged its grand opening when celebrated musician Tom Cochrane and his band Red Rider performed in the new Platinum Room, which has 568 seats.
The Platinum Room is one of a number of features added to create a more diverse offering at the casino. A popular buffet, Asian cuisine and burger restaurant, plus live poker and 200 new slot machines, are among the additions.
“We have been very excited about all the new traffic that has been coming through. People want to come out for more than just gaming,” Lynn said.
