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Feature Rob Wiser
Beyond Borders
Casino Windsor Reclaims Its Crown

As an American citizen who enjoys a good gamble, you may never have imagined it would be worth your while to explore a casino across the Canadian border. If that’s the case, you’ll be surprised to learn just how popular Casino Windsor is with U.S. players, who comprise a remarkable 85 percent of its customer base.

Located in the picturesque city of Windsor, Ontario, its proximity to Detroit, Michigan, classifies it as part of a four-casino market which also includes MGM Grand Detroit, Greektown and MotorCity. Casino Windsor, located just across the Detroit River and over the U.S. border, is the only Canadian member of this $2 billion annual market—and also its most successful.
There are a number of reasons why. To start with the obvious, the exchange rate is currently $1.55 Canadian dollars for every American one. For the average player who’s looking to stretch their bankroll, this exchange rate means a lot more bang for the buck. While the games, denominations and table limits are the same as you’d find in any major American casino, your money goes farther here—allowing you to spend up to 50 percent more time at the tables and especially at the slots, where you’ll get that many more chances to hit the big one.

Another reason is that all winnings, under Canadian law, are tax-free. Last April, a fellow from Michigan scored a cool $1.8 million slot jackpot and cruised back over the border with a check for the full dollar amount. (It is up to American winners to report their winnings to the IRS come tax time, and pay Uncle Sam the appropriate chunk, but the notion of a “tax-free win” is very sweet nonetheless.)

Gaming enthusiasts may initially be drawn to Casino Windsor for these reasons, but once on the premises, even more pleasant surprises are in store.

Destination: Canada
Though the majority of Casino Windsor’s visitors drive in from states like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, it’s also easily accessible by plane via the Detroit Metropolitan or Detroit City airports. The casino is approximately a thirty-minute cab ride away (you’re looking at around $50 American, plus tip). Windsor has an airport as well, which is 15–20 minutes away.
At the border, customs agents are warier since 9/11, but you don’t need to worry about long waits or hassles. Typically, you’ll pull up to an agent manning a booth, show your license or passport, state your business in Canada, and get waved through. Just like that, you’re in a foreign country. The casino lies literally around the corner.

The elegant exterior announces Casino Windsor as a first-class destination, with an entrance highlighted by water fountains. Once through the doors, the sound of rushing water greets you; a three-story waterfall dominates the atrium, cascading past a miniature forest of palm trees, rocks, streams and South Pacific foliage. At the base of the waterfall, jets of water dance up and down, choreographed to dramatic music and lights and erupting on cue into towering geysers. For American visitors it creates the feel of an exotic getaway, but once you hit the casino—and swap your dollars at either a cashier cage or currency-changing machine for a stack of Canadian bills—you’ll feel right at home.

Let the Games Begin
The casino is divided into two levels, which contain a total of 100,000 square feet. Escalators shuttle players back and forth. On the main level, there are slots galore, as well as more than 100 table games: The lineup includes baccarat, Big Six, blackjack, Caribbean stud poker, Let it Ride, Spanish 21, craps, three-card poker and the Big Six Wheel. Upstairs on the promenade level, the focus is strictly on slots, bringing the total number to over 3,000. Though it now boasts full-blown Las Vegas-style gaming, the casino wasn’t able to introduce craps until April of ’99. Prior to that, a mostly forgotten federal law forbade any game involving dice; a few hundred years ago, King George decreed this ban because his soldiers were spending more time rolling the bones than they were watching their posts. Centuries later, when Ontario entered into the casino business, repealing the archaic law was a matter of practicality—the Detroit market has traditionally contained a lot of big-spending craps players. Shooters now enjoy the action at a number of dice tables.

One aspect of this megacasino that remains different from its American cousins is that its slot jackpots tend to be smaller. “We were the first commercial casino ever to be developed in Ontario, so we never had the ability to run a wide-area progressive,” explains Glen Sawhill, vice president of slot operations. “It wasn’t for lack of desire, it was because there was no one to link to.”

Some of its progressive games are now linked to the machines at Ontario’s other two major casinos, Casino Niagara and Casino Rama (they’re a five-hour drive away, and don’t compete within Casino Windsor’s market). As evidenced by the big winner from Michigan, million-dollar jackpots are now possible here. And they will rise significantly if Casino Windsor is able to link its progressive games with the slot machines offered by the racetracks in the area (Windsor Racetrack, only about 10 miles away, has 750 machines).

This hasn’t prevented Casino Windsor from offering many of the same progressive games found in American casinos. “We’re happy with the performance we have out of these games,” says Sawhill. “Within our market, IGT and other systems manufacturers have actually developed programs so that they can stand alone.”

What these games do offer more of is value. “With a Megabucks game where you might have multimillion-dollar jackpots, you’re really playing for the million dollars—you’re not playing for extended playing time,” Sawhill explains. “On [Casino Windsor’s] games, the way the programs are written, you get a lot more value for your dollar.”

Throughout the two gaming floors, machines are arranged into uniquely themed areas. The Derby Game is one popular draw: Off to one side of the second-floor casino, players sit at betting stations around a miniature horse track. Under a clear plastic dome, eight tiny horses—sculpted and mechanized so that from a distance, they look strikingly lifelike as they gallop along—circle the track. The individual betting stations around the track provide monitors that display the information on each race: odds, power and speed ratings, and so forth. Once the race begins, players can watch the miniaturized models, or take it in on overhead monitors where the race plays out in brilliantly rendered computer animation. The mock “broadcast” lends it the feel of a live event.

In another stroke of creativity, a former sportsbar was transformed into the Big Nickel Mine. It is the casino’s best-producing area, even though it is the farthest point from the parking garage—another testament to the value of creative theming, in this case a rocky mountainscape inspired by Canada’s biggest nickel-producing mine.

Other colorfully designed sections are devoted to favorites such as Quarter Keno, Bingo, Blazing 7’s, Power Slotto and Money Time. The “Land of the Giants” and “Poker City” (the biggest concentration of video poker machines in Ontario) are worlds of their own within the larger universe. A variety of entertainment-themed games (Price is Right, Austin Powers, the Honeymooners, Let’s Make A Deal, etc.) surround the Showtime Lounge. Everywhere you look, there are new avenues to explore.

Fast service is one of the casino’s priorities; management bears in mind that most players have already had to deal with the border (which doesn’t create much of a delay, but is still something to contend with). To this end, they’ve devised ways to eliminate delays and expedite transactions wherever possible. An example is the ATM-style payout machines that are located around the slot floor. When a player is waiting for a handpay on a crowded evening, slot attendants don’t need to make a trip to the cashier’s cage—they simply use a nearby Quick Jack terminal to withdraw the necessary amount. Sawhill says that customers have been astonished at how quickly they receive their handpays.

The casino is currently evaluating different cashless ticket systems, including a system that will use barcoded tickets, allowing players to cash out their winnings at kiosks in either U.S. or Canadian funds. “The customers are going to direct which way we go,” says Sawhill.

Casino Windsor has a strong incentive program with its Players Prestige Club. Players who accumulate 2,000 points within six months rise to Preferred status, which grants 10 percent more cashback than what regular members get, in addition to use of a VIP parking area, front-of-the-line restaurant seating, express hotel check-out, and other perks. Four thousand points within six months gets you membership into the Premier Club, where players receive 20 percent more cashback than the norm, premium rates on U.S./Canadian currency exchange, valet parking, and access to the exclusive Premier Club Lounge. “Reward Yourself” computer kiosks allow players to check their card status, and receive cashback and vouchers on the spot.

All winnings are paid in Canadian currency, and the tables and slots accept only Canadian bills and coins. But when it’s time to head home it’s just as easy to exchange your Canadian dollars for American ones. The action goes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and don’t be surprised by the youthful looks of some of your fellow players; here, the legal age to drink and gamble is 19.

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