Controversial casino licence changes hands in $5.8M deal

The licence for a casino set to be moved from Camrose to south Edmonton, while still sending charity proceeds to rural Alberta, has been sold in a $5.8-million deal.

The finalized sale to Capital City Casinos is the latest step in the long-proposed relocation of a licence associated with the Camrose Casino Resort to a new site at 420 Parsons Road SW. The proposal, which has seen rural and city interests pitted against each other since 2022, was twice denied by Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, only to reemerge and be approved. However, the matter has entered court-monitored receivership proceedings to oversee the sale. Meanwhile, Edmonton's city council has become divided on how to respond, and details on who owns the company behind the casino remain scarce. The matter will now land on the next council's lap — including, potentially, having to fund millions in road expansion to accommodate increased traffic to the south Edmonton site.

Edmonton currently has six casinos that offer the city's charitable organizations the opportunity to run casinos to raise revenues. The new casino, however, will send its funds to charities in the Camrose region, functioning as if the current Camrose Casino Resort were teleported here. The Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations and the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues have warned that introducing a seventh casino to Edmonton without keeping the money here will decrease the amount of revenue available to city charities, many of whom rely heavily on such funds.

Rural politicians, however, have felt shortchanged by the system. "You know that Northern Alberta money has supported Edmonton's charities for years, but now, when it is time to give Northern charities their fair share, Edmonton refuses to share the largesse it has received," Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA Scott Cyr wrote in response to Edmonton's opposition to the casino move.

Edmonton's city council has been almost unanimous in that opposition. In August 2022, when Capital City Casinos first applied to move it, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi sent a letter on behalf of everyone on council to AGLC detailing concerns such as the potential harm to Edmonton charities, the short consultation process, and the potential "cannibalization" of existing casinos. But in August 2024, when the matter was again before the AGLC despite a previous rejection, Sohi was joined by just nine other councillors in a decision to send another letter to AGLC, urging it to again deny the application. Three councillors voted against sending this letter: Tim Cartmell, who is now running for mayor; Jennifer Rice, who is seeking re-election in Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi; and Karen Principe, who is seeking re-election in Ward tastawiyiniwak.

That lack of unanimity was notable to Keren Tang, the councillor seeking re-election in Ward Karhiio, where the casino is proposed to be built. "We heard pretty loud and clear from Edmontonians, not only from my ward but the rest of the city, different community organizations, and even the business community, about the harm this relocation would mean to the city," Tang told Taproot. "Edmontonians benefit when council speaks with one voice to external stakeholders on an issue this important."

Despite Edmonton's opposition, the AGLC approved Capital City's application on Oct. 10, 2024.

Some who live near 420 Parsons Road SW told Taproot they feel the community's voice has been ignored, at least by provincial bodies. "I just see zero net benefit and a whole bunch of actual and potential net negatives from this decision, which is extremely surprising to me given that an overwhelming majority of (neighbourhood) residents have clearly indicated concern," said Greg Miskie, who lives in Summerside. "It hasn't even been a discussion item, it hasn't even been a 'We understand your concerns.'"

Taproot asked all of the council members seeking election on Oct. 20 about their position on the casino and whether they were in contact with the casino proponent during the application process. We received no response from Principe, Andrew Knack (who is running for mayor), or Anne Stevenson, who is seeking re-election in Ward O-day'min. Here's what the rest said.

Where candidates stand

Tim Cartmell's campaign team said he had no contact with the proponent and offered no help to connect them to community groups. Campaign manager Alex Hryciw said via email that Cartmell chose not to support council's second letter based on what he saw as the alternatives the province was putting on the table.

"As Tim understood it there were two options," Hryciw said. The first, she said, was to allow the casino to come to Edmonton yet support Camrose non-profits. The second was to see the Camrose pool that casinos send money to merged with the Edmonton pool. "Option A had less overall impact on the Edmonton non-profit community," Hryciw said. (See below for more on how those pools work.)

Rice told Taproot via email that she had no contact or connections with the proponent. "The motion in question directed that Edmonton provide a formal response to the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission outlining Council's opposition to the relocation," Rice said via email. "I voted in favour of that motion, which means I supported Council taking a position opposing the proposed casino move into Edmonton."

The public record shows Rice voted to draft the letter but voted against sending it to AGLC.

Tang, in whose ward the casino would be built, told Taproot that proponent Capital City Casinos reached out to her in 2022 about its first AGLC application. She noted via email that she did not have direct contact with the applicant "until after the AGLC decision in 2024," and that the contact was to acknowledge the decision, note the difficult position for the ward, and offer support as she would "any new business" in the ward.

Tang noted in October 2024, after AGLC announced the casino was approved, that frustration "doesn't even begin to describe" her feelings on the project.

She also noted in later conversations with Taproot that an April 2021 council approval of a rezoning application for 420 Parsons Road SW, from industrial to commercial, was potentially council's last big lever to pull to prevent the project from proceeding.

"On any given permit applications, there are various checks and balances, some of which are within the city's control," Tang later added, via email. "They are in place to ensure due diligence, and prevent undue political influences. This development is no different and includes a variety of levers such as rezoning, licensing, development permit, appeal processes at different levels etc. The city needs to manage what's within our control and ensure fairness and logical process, as we do for any business or development. But in this case, there are decisions outside of our authority that further complicate an application."

Tang said the entire system feels designed to create division, pitting charities that are dependent on a resource against one another, and depending on the AGLC to make decisions.

"Why does this model exist at all?" she asked. "It naturally pits communities against each other. In my conversations with rural communities, we found common ground such as a need to reform the charitable gaming model overall (an advocacy priority shared between Alberta Municipalities and Rural Municipalities Association, and one that I support wholeheartedly) because the status quo is deeply unfair. We agreed that win-win solutions are needed and should be explored in this context."

Tang also noted British Columbia has a model where urban casino revenues are shared with rural charities, and that could be a fix.

The other candidates reached by Taproot — Ashley Salvador, who is running for re-election in Ward Métis; Jo-Anne Wright, who is running for re-election in Ward Sspomitapi; Michael Janz, who is running for re-election in Ward papastew; Erin Rutherford, who is running for re-election in Ward Anirniq; and Aaron Paquette, who is running for re-election in Ward Dene — said they had no contact with the proponent.

The AGLC said in a press release that its decision was careful and considered. "In balancing all the options, the decision to approve the application will support continuous business operations, provide jobs for Albertans and will significantly improve returns for rural charities with minimal impact to charities assigned to the Edmonton pool," it said in the release.

How did we get here?

Who is the proponent?

Capital City Casinos has purchased the casino licence from Mayfield Investments. Taproot contacted numerous people to determine the basics of the sale.

Jason Pechet with Stagewest Hospitality was the sole person to respond. Pechet is mentioned in numerous court documents that detail Mayfield Investment's sale to Capital City. He is the grandson of Eugene Pechet and the son of Howard Pechet, who built Mayfield Investments and a hotel company with properties across Alberta. Jason Pechet, who was listed as president of Capital City Casinos in a 2023 document, told Taproot via email that he is no longer involved and that the person buying the casino has decided not to comment.

In June 2023, Pechet issued a press release responding to the AGLC's decision not to allow the licence to move. "AGLC's unfair treatment of rural charities has been going on for decades, shortchanging rural communities hundreds of millions of dollars," he wrote. "Rural communities and their leaders should be alarmed by their mistreatment by AGLC and the failure by the AGLC Board to approve a relocation that would help to resolve this disparity."

Court documents identify the purchaser as Scott Mather, and list his email linked to NewStar Capital, a company headquartered at 625 Parsons Road SW, just beside the empty field at 420 Parsons Road SW where the new casino will be built. Mather, who is listed as the president of NewStar, did not respond to interview requests.

Court documents nonetheless show Mather signed the sale as president of Capital City Casinos. The documents also detail that Mather Gaming and Entertainment Investments Inc. is also potentially involved in the deal, though the specifics are not clear.

NewStar Capital lists the Ace Casino Blackfoot in Calgary as one of its businesses.

Despite the sale, and the AGLC's new decision, the Camrose Casino relocation was still on AGLC's list of pending gaming facility applications as of October 2025.

How does the casino charity pool work?

Under AGLC rules, Alberta has 10 casino boundaries — Grande Prairie, St. Albert, Red Deer, Calgary (rural), Calgary, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, Camrose, Medicine Hat, and Edmonton. Charities in a region are assigned to casinos in that region and can hold their own bingo, casino, and pull-ticket events to raise revenues.

Demand is high. An AGLC document suggests waits for slots to hold casinos can stretch as long as 41 months. Edmonton's wait time, that document notes, is lower than all but Medicine Hat and Fort McMurray.

Casinos within Edmonton all currently offer the city's charitable organizations the opportunity to run charity casinos to raise revenues. The proposed casino, however, will run charity casinos that send funds in the Camrose region. The only other instance where urban revenues flow out to rural groups is in Calgary, where one casino is assigned to rural charities.

What's next?

An AGLC document suggests the forthcoming casino in Edmonton will be 88,000 square feet (or the equivalent size of the Bowker Building downtown). It is expected to offer 498 slot machines, 25 table games, and eight poker tables.

Court filings note that a condition of Capital City Casinos' March 31 purchase deal is it must operate the Camrose Casino in Camrose for at least 20 months before it can move the new licence to Edmonton, meaning it would be able to move here by 2027.

The next council, to be chosen on Oct. 20, may be called upon to consider providing the infrastructure needed to service the new site. Council's August 2024 letter suggested that upgrades to Parsons Road and Ellerslie Road may be needed.

Header image: Slot machines at a casino. (Elizabeth Ferreira/Pexels)