A free shuttle bus from Barrie to Casino Rama will cease to run at the end of the month.
Natasha Borutski, the spokesperson for Casino Rama Resort, confirmed to Village Media that the complimentary bus service will end Aug. 31.
“While the shuttle service is no longer running to Casino Rama Resort, transportation services will continue to be provided to our sister property, Gateway Casinos Innisfil,” Borutski said. “This service is complimentary and open to all members of the Players Plus Club and Casino Rama Resort’s Players Passport Club.”
Both memberships are free to join, she added.
A Barrie woman, who didn’t want her name published (“gamblers don’t like people knowing their habit”), said it was “very upsetting” to hear the bus would be eliminated, particularly since she has no other form of transportation to get up to Casino Rama. She called it “mean and cruel for players who have no way to get around.”
There are many people who use the shuttle service in Barrie, she said, which includes pick-up points behind Bayfield Mall, the downtown bus terminal and the No Frills on Blake Street.
“It was convenient and friendly,” said the Barrie woman.
“I’ve been a gambler since the casino opened (and have) gone through many bus lines who have had contracts with the casino,” she added.
As part of modernization projects at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG), Gateway Casinos Innisfil, which was previously known as OLG Slots at Georgian Downs, and Casino Rama Resort were grouped together in the “central gaming bundle,” Borutski said.
On July 18, Gateway was awarded the bundle, bringing together Casino Rama Resort and Gateway Casinos Innisfil as sister properties.
“Now that our properties no longer compete for business, we are committed to working together to provide the best possible service for all of our customers,” Borutski said. “By centralizing the Barrie busing program to Gateway Casinos Innisfil, patrons are able to play closer to home.”
