Gaming centre to open in downtown Winnipeg this spring

A high-end gaming centre and sports bar will open this spring on the second floor of cityplace, a downtown Winnipeg shopping centre.

The new facility, which will feature slot machines and card tables, will be operated by Manitoba Lotteries but owned by True North Sports and Entertainment.

True North owns the Winnipeg Jets and the MTS Centre, which is across the street from cityplace.

Manitoba Lotteries spokesperson Susan Olynik told CBC News the facility is being called a gaming centre, and not a casino, because it will offer higher-stakes gambling.

"It's a unique facility that will be adjacent to a sports bar, so it will be different from the casinos that you see here in Winnipeg," she said in an interview.

Olynik said the new centre will feature 140 slot machines that offer higher prize payouts than video lottery terminals (VLTs).

Manitoba Lotteries will remove 50 existing VLTs from the neighbouring Tavern United bar, Olynik said.

Officials with True North declined to comment on the new gaming facility.

Olynik would not say how much of the gaming centre's revenues will go to True North.