In the mid-1990s the Ontario government introduced legal wagering to the local economy with Casino Niagara.

Falling on hard economic times in the early 1990s, it was restructured and replaced with Casino Niagara, a government run casino.

Casino Niagara opened in the building on December 7, 1996; it is still in operation today.

Upon opening, Casino Niagara was known,in the industry, as being the most profitable casino operation, on a square foot basis, in the world.

Casino Niagara has over 1,500 slots and over 40 table games, as well as sports betting.

The legal age for gambling in Ontario is 19, and marketers say most gamblers at Casino Niagara are 35 and older.

And the hotel is right next door to Casino Niagara.

Sightseers stream up and down the main thoroughfares to the falls and the old shopping center where Casino Niagara is housed.

The province gave Casino Niagara permission to start up there in 1996.

But most of all, there is the government-owned Casino Niagara.