The Dresden Slots are no more.
The gaming facility officially closed its doors on Sunday night at 8 p.m. as the new Cascades Casino in Chatham gets ready for its soft open on Tuesday.
Built in 2001, the Dresden Slots were home to over 140 slot machines. North Kent Councillor Joe Faas said it's a sad feeling to see an active spot in the community leave the area.
"I know a lot of people sure enjoyed going there. They enjoyed the small size rather than the big casinos... so I'm sure it'll be missed by probably lots," he said.
As for what kind of economic impact that slots leaving will have on the area, Faas said it's hard to say. He said he believes most people who attended the facility were going there strictly for the slot machines so the trickle-down effect of it leaving might not be felt too much by area shops and restaurants. The one place he said the loss of the slots will be felt is the Dresden Raceway, which is located right next to the Dresden Slots building.
"Race days you know, a lot of people would go to the races and then go to the slots after... so that will be sort of missed by those attending the race track I'm sure," said Faas.
When it was initially announced that the Dresden Slots would be closing to make way for Cascades Casino, officials with Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited assured Dresden employees that they will be transferred to the new location and get first crack at job opportunities there.
Although the slots were originally located in Dresden, all the money that the municipality made from hosting the facility was spread out across Chatham-Kent. Even though the community is losing something that Faas called part of their "identity," he is hopeful that a larger casino facility will be a bigger benefit to the area.
"The revenue that the municipality received from the slots went to all the [communities] in Chatham-Kent," Faas explained. "By having a full-scale casino, I think that they increase that revenue, which will increase the bottom line to the municipality as far as revenue coming in."