SURREY 鈥� With the closure of the Summit Theatre at 91原创鈥檚 Cascades Casino, operators of Elements Casino in Cloverdale are looking to pick up the live-entertainment ball, so to speak.
Michael Worth, who is just two months into his role of GM at Elements, said the casino鈥檚 300-seat could become busier in the coming months.
鈥淒oing more live music here is something we鈥檙e definitely looking into doing, and I鈥檝e got our marketing team on that,鈥� Worth told the Now-Leader.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something I鈥檝e been talking with our team about, because I think that will have a big impact for (Cascades), with their theatre closing and going with bingo,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 probably going to hurt them a bit, and there鈥檚 not many venues around where people can go for that type of entertainment 鈥� full-service, anyways.鈥�
Operators of Cascades Casino have closed the 420-seat Summit Theatre to make way for a new bingo hall opening in February. The changes are part of the casino鈥檚 23,000-square-foot expansion.
鈥� READ MORE: , from Dec. 28.
The 91原创 property is operated by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment, while Cloverdale鈥檚 Elements is owned by rival Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.
At Elements, live entertainment was to be a major focus of the casino when the renovated and rebranded facility was opened in December of 2015. Great Canadian spent close to $11 million to refurbish the 56,000-square-foot property, formerly known as Fraser Downs Racetrack Casino and first opened 40 years ago.
鈥� READ MORE: , from December 2015.
The venue鈥檚 live-entertainment venue, originally called Escape and since renamed Dragon Lounge, was created in what was a multi-tiered clubhouse area where patrons watched harness racing. To start, the Escape stage featured dance bands and other performers two or three nights a week, but that schedule has not been followed at Dragon Lounge in recent months.
鈥淲e started scaling back (live entertainment) six or seven months ago, and we really haven鈥檛 done much in there,鈥� Worth explained.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good size, and it鈥檚 also gone through some physical changes,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he stage has been moved from the front entrance area, to the left of the door, to the back, by the bar, so the music is playing people as they walk in, it鈥檚 hitting you, instead of having to go into the room.鈥�
鈥� READ MORE: , from Jan. 3.
Currently, the most popular event at Dragon Lounge are the Desi Nights 鈥� billed as 鈥淪urrey鈥檚 only monthly South Asian event鈥� 鈥� held there on the last Friday of every month, in partnership with and .
鈥淔or that, we get a packed house, and it鈥檚 been growing over the past six months,鈥� said Amar Sohal, Great Canadian鈥檚 regional marketing co-ordinator.
鈥淔or our Desi Nights, it鈥檚 a lot more of a lounge/club feel in here,鈥� Sohal added. 鈥淭he response to that event, people like the safe environment and they don鈥檛 want to drive to Vancouver all the time, and this is on that level, with the top-quality DJs, everything.鈥�
The next Desi Nights event is set for Jan. 26, featuring no cover charge.
Other than that, the only other public event on the at the moment is an 鈥淎fternoon Delight鈥� concert on Jan. 29 featuring a Michael Bubl茅 tribute singer. The $20 ticket includes a pasta lunch buffet and performance starting at noon.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still tweaking what we have in here,鈥� Sohal explained, 鈥渁nd we鈥檝e tried some different things 鈥� Vietnamese nights, Chinese nights. So adding things like Desi and Bollywood nights, that鈥檚 part of the experimentation here, and we are looking into offering more weekly events, but that鈥檚 still in the works right now.鈥�
The Dragon Lounge is also rented out for private banquets, staff parties and other events, Worth noted.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still looking at different options (for the lounge space), what鈥檚 going to move the needle for people,鈥� he added.
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On Dec. 31, the venue鈥檚 New Year鈥檚 Eve party was played by popular show band .
鈥淲e rang in the New Year in style at the Elements Casino!鈥� the band posted on its . 鈥淕reat food, music and friends. The energy in the air was infectious!鈥�
Reached on Monday (Jan. 8), bandleader Dan Hare said the local casinos have been good for bands, including his own, and that he hopes operators of Elements do decide to host more live entertainment at Dragon Lounge, moving forward.
鈥淭wo years ago, when they renovated, they had big plans for the room, in a nightclub setting and they could do sort of corporate events in there,鈥� Hare said. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think the energy was there, and the budget was dropped and it all ran out of steam.
鈥淭o bring it back,鈥� Hare continued, 鈥渢hey would have to have sort of a mindset reset and just say OK, we鈥檙e going to put some energy into this, hire somebody or have somebody to make sure it flies, put more budget into the bands and get bands that actually draw people, and stage events rather than just hiring bands. They have to have a different mentality, because you have to stage an event and create a hype around that, rather than just hiring bands and just expecting people to wander in.鈥�
As for the Summit Theatre closure in 91原创, Hare said he was a bit surprised to see that happen.
鈥淚 thought they could have made it dual-purpose, instead of completely repurposing it as only a bingo hall, exclusively, maybe it could have been repurposed as duel-purpose, to find a way to make revenue during the daytime and then keep the bands there on the weekends, but apparently that wasn鈥檛 in the cards and they鈥檙e going to make it exclusively a bingo hall.
鈥淚t鈥檚 too bad,鈥� Hare added, 鈥渂ut I鈥檓 thankful for still being able to do this for a living. Things are a little tighter but I鈥檓 able to weather that, and the band is doing as well as ever, as far as that goes. It鈥檚 a little more challenging and we have to come up with different shows and maybe travel a bit more, whatever, to continue making a living at this. I鈥檓 happy, it鈥檚 good.鈥�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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