Last week, a video was released on social media showing numerous people involved in a brawl at the Grand Villa Casino Hotel & Conference Centre in Burnaby, British Columbia. In the video, two men engage in a physical confrontation in the casino’s central areas, with other bystanders and staff members attempting to defuse the situation.
The Grand Villa Casino Hotel & Conference Centre has been reopened for two weeks at 4331 Dominion Street in Burnaby. Gaming properties in the province were allowed to reopen operations on July 1 after being closed for over a year and a half as part of B.C.’s Stage 3 reopening plan.
Fight Now Investigated
Burnaby RCMP have told local media sources that they are already probing into last week’s physical confrontation at the gaming hotspot. Authorities say at least five people were involved in the brawl in the casino’s central area, including casino workers who attempted to break out of the fight.
The video was first shared in a private WhatsApp group, but it immediately went popular after being posted on Twitter. Two men engaged in a physical confrontation at the start of the video, with another man and a woman attempting to separate them. After that, bystanders and a hotel-casino employee join in to try to deescalate the situation.
The Burnaby RCMP stated that the involved have suffered only minor injuries during the exchange of punches. According to Cpl. Mike Kalanj, the police received a report of a fight from the casino entity’s security on July 8 at around midnight. When the RCMP arrived on the scene, they discovered a man with minor injuries that only required stitches.
The fight was quickly broken up by the property’s security, according to the RCMP officer. He also stated that while the majority of those involved have been cooperative in the probe, a few have not. Mr. Kalanj believed that alcohol consumption was a major factor in the onset of the fight, and that investigators will look into the video as part of their investigation.
Human Rights Complaint
This has not been the first time that the Grand Villa Casino Burnaby has taken over the headlines. Siobhan Barker accused the casino of racially profiling her in the summer of 2019 while she was leaving a dining facility and was requested by security to check her bag, delaying her leaving by 40 minutes. Ms. Barker later filed a human rights case against the company in 2020, seeking her rights and justice.
Possible Tax Evasion
The Canada Revenue Agency won a court case in February 2020, making it mandatory for casino slot machine attendants to pay taxes on the tips they receive on the gaming floors. Cheng Xia of Grand Villa Casino Burnaby, for example, nearly doubled his annual income between 2011 and 2012. Mr. Xia answered in court that the money is not taxable because it often comes from clients’ winnings.
