City council voted 5-4 Tuesday to allow Parq Casino to expand its number of slot machines from 600 to 900, despite concerns raised by the deputy chief medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health over a potential increase in problem gamblers.
Parq Holdings Limited Partnership and the BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) had submitted parallel applications to the City of Vancouver to add 300 slots to the Parq Casino at 39-65 Smithe St.
Five ABC Vancouver councillors approved the increase, with councillors Pete Fry (Green Party), Sean Orr (COPE), Lucy Maloney (OneCity) and Rebecca Bligh (Vote Vancouver) opposed.
Mayor Ken Sim and ABC Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung were absent for the vote.
