CHICAGO -- As Chicago prepares to own its own casino, Mayor Rahm Emanuel won't find many examples of government-run gambling halls to study in this country.
But there's plenty to see in Canada, and it's not all covered in gold.
In Ontario, the nation's largest province, publicly owned casinos have pumped billions of dollars into government coffers over the years. But increased competition and a poor economy have left the four biggest casinos with flat or falling revenue and operating losses in recent years that total tens of millions of dollars.
The Windsor casino employed 5,000 people at its peak after opening in 1995, but good times have turned hard in the last decade. The payroll of the city's second-largest employer is down by about half, and its fate has become a political issue.
