The casino wars on both sides of the border have begun. Let the chips fall where they may. Four casinos already are taking wagers in the Buffalo Niagara region and a fifth is expected to open by 2007 in Buffalo. As they grow and mature, they will need to take on their own identities to develop and protect their markets, gambling experts say. The region's first casino - Casino Niagara, built in 1996 in Niagara Falls, Ont. - is a case in point. On Friday, it unveiled its new look: a $10 million (U.S.) sports betting lounge, poker room, two new bars and classic blues-style restaurant. The casino opened its wallet to compete with the hugely successful, year-old Falls view Casino Resort on nearby Murray Hill. A new hotel also will bolster Casino Niagara. The Dickenson family, which owns Canadian Niagara Hotels, recently said it would build a 59-story hotel next door. Meanwhile, hotel development continues to flourish alongside the Falls view. Canada's Daoism family, which owns the Hospitality Hotels chain, plans to extend its Hilton Hotel opposite that casino to 58 stories. On the American side, Seneca Niagara Casino will open the first 10 floors, including 300 rooms and three restaurants, of a 26-story, $200 million-plus hotel on New Year's Eve. Two more hotels also are planned near the Seneca Niagara. The Seneca Allegany Casino, which opened in Salamanca in May 2004, will begin construction of an 11-story, 220-room hotel before the end of the year. In Buffalo, the Seneca Nation will announce this month the downtown location for a 120,000-square-foot casino. No hotel has been mentioned so far in any of the Buffalo casino negotiations, but gambling experts say they won't be surprised to see one, or more, nearby in the years go come.

"If the clientele is purely local, you're just picking your own pocket," explained William N. Thompson, a University of Nevada professor who specializes in the gambling and hospitality industry. "Casinos are only healthy for the local economy if you bring in people from outside."It helps to have a Wonder of the World in your neighbourhood. The two skyscraper hotels that will rise on the Ontario side in the next two years will add 850 rooms to the more than 16,000 that already exist for the 10 million people who visit the falls every year from around the world. Niagara Falls, Ont., Mayor R.T. "Ted" Salix sees the number of visitors doubling in the next five years, particularly with a new advertising campaign targeting the Asian market. "In mainland China, you have 30 million people on the move each year," Silica said. "The potential here is so great I don't see a limit at the moment on the number of hotel rooms we can have."

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