Casino Windsor has also been suffering since nearby Detroit opened a trio of casinos. However, since sports betting is only legal in Nevada, Casino Windsor operators believe this will attract American gamblers who didn’t want to deal with border crossing hassles. More recently a smoking ban further hurt the casino, and the property recently laid off more than 300 employees in July.

The new Legends Sports Lounge is part of a U.S. $360 million casino makeover and features an orange- and gold-toned bar with a 118-foot wraparound sports ticker, 36 video displays, big leather chairs and a restaurant.
 
"It’s probably going to be the best place to watch the Lions this season," said Casino Windsor spokeswoman Holly Ward making a direct appeal to the Detroit market. "This is all about finding new entertainment avenues and new reasons for Michigan people to come across the border to Casino Windsor."

The only catch is that the facility is not a traditional sports book because Canadian law prohibits betting on a single sporting event. Rather, the games run by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. will bet on multiple games including point spread, total score and more.

For example, instead of betting the Detroit Lions will win the game, players will wager the team will score more points than the point spread. Casino Windsor has set a maximum limit of $200 per bet, with a $1,000 daily limit per category type.

At the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp, marketing manager Chris Parrott is bullish on this sports related opening. “This will drive some patronage of sports players. They tend to be male, younger, middle-age. It’s a different demographic than that of the average casino player,” Parrott told the Associated Press.

"Once the patrons get the opportunity to see this and sit down in this environment, this will become a very popular spot on game days," Parrott said.

Casino Windsor's revenues fell 17 percent, or $17.6 million to $84.4 million, during the three months from April to June compared with the same period in 2005, according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., which owns Casino Windsor.

Opened in 1998, the casino’s gaming revenues have fallen about 30% to about $398.8 million a year since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Daily traffic has plummeted from about 18,000 cars daily to 12,521 during that timeframe.

In addition to Legends Sports Lounge, the Casino Windsor expansion project includes just under 400 hotel rooms, a 5,000-seat performing arts center, new parking structure and gaming space renovations. All the projects are due to be open by early 2008.
 
To further goose travel from the U.S., which account for 75% of total annual visits Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis launched "Passport Free, Smoke Free, Hassle Free" -- a $135,000 advertising campaign to lure Detroiters back last month.

"People think that passports are required today, but that is not the case," Francis said. "All of those issues have compounded so we are trying to get the message out there. If we just cocoon and alter our normal lifestyles, then we are giving in to terrorism."

Passports will be required for U.S. citizens crossing the border in 2008. However, there is a major lobbying effort by U.S. based tourism groups to permanently postpone this rule change.