COMMUNITY & NON-PROFIT GROUPS TO CONTINUE TO BENEFIT FROM

MANITOBA LIQUOR & LOTTERIES BINGO VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Electronic bingo resulted in necessary changes to administration of the program 

Funding for the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Bingo Volunteer Program is continuing through the 2017-18 fiscal year, with money now being provided directly to umbrella organizations who will allocate the funds for local community and non-profit organizations without the requirement of volunteer service.

"With the declining popularity of paper bingo at Winnipeg's casinos, the number of volunteers required for each bingo shift dropped over time and the requirement for volunteers has now disappeared," said Diana Soroka, Director Community Support. "Community organizations that were allocated bingos between January and March 31, 2017 were notified earlier this year that they would receive their funds without the expectation of volunteer work. Money earmarked for the Bingo Volunteer Program for the 2017-18 fiscal year will be provided directly to umbrella groups that oversee the volunteer allocations."

The Bingo Volunteer Program has been in place since 1984 and provides approximately $4 million annually to about 400 community and non-profit groups.

"The Bingo Volunteer Program is undergoing a necessary assessment in order to ensure that support for local community and non-profit organizations makes sense as bingo players move to electronic bingo and the need for volunteers is eliminated," said Soroka. "We have been in contact with the umbrella groups and they are pleased that the funding will continue for the next year."

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Liquor Mart Easter Weekend Hours

Thursday, April 13

Most Winnipeg and Brandon Liquor Mart locations will operate on extended hours, opening at 9:00 a.m. and closing at 11:00 p.m. with the exception of:

• cityplace: 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• Hargrave & Ellice – 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• Main & Pritchard – 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Brandon West End Express – 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Rural Liquor Mart hours will also operate on extended hours, but will vary by location. Please visit www.LiquorMarts.ca/hours.

Friday, April 14

All Liquor Mart locations in Manitoba will be closed Good Friday.

Saturday, April 15

Most Winnipeg and Brandon Liquor Mart locations will operate on extended hours, opening at 9:00 a.m. and closing at 11:00 p.m. with the exception of:

• cityplace: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Hargrave & Ellice – 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• Main & Pritchard – 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Brandon West End Express – 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Rural Liquor Mart hours will also operate on extended hours, but will vary by location. Please visit www.LiquorMarts.ca/hours.

Sunday, April 16

All Liquor Mart locations in Manitoba will be closed Easter Sunday.

Monday, April 17

Regular hours will resume at all Manitoba Liquor Marts.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries’ corporate offices will be closed on Friday, April 14 and Monday, April 17.

Peter Hak Appointed President & CEO of Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries

Peter Hak, a longtime Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries executive, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, the Crown corporation’s board of directors announced today. Hak has served as CEO in an acting capacity since October 2016. His role becomes permanent effective immediately.

“Peter Hak is a deeply experienced leader who has the trust and respect of employees across the organization,” said board chair Polly Craik. “Manitobans can expect sound fiscal management and continued improvements to products and services under Peter’s leadership.”

Hak has held a number of senior portfolios at Liquor & Lotteries since first joining Manitoba Lotteries in 1984. He was most recently Chief Corporate Services Officer and previously served as Manitoba Lotteries’ Chief Operating Officer and as Director of Finance. Hak is a chartered accountant and holds an MBA from the University of Manitoba.

Hak said Liquor & Lotteries’ primary focus will be maximizing the Crown corporation’s contribution to the province. 

“When we improve our profitability, Manitobans benefit,” Hak said. “Sound governance, fiscal responsibility and improved revenues are the keys to further strengthening our ability to support important programs and services.”

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries income is directed to the Province of Manitoba to fund health care, education and other provincially administered programs. Liquor & Lotteries returned just over $583 million to the Province last fiscal year.

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La La Land the Favourite on PlayNow.com to Clean Up at 89th Academy Awards

Manitobans make their picks with more than 26 Novelty Bets this O​scar night

Manitobans can wager on the glitz and glamour of the 89th Academy Awards on PlayNow.com. With more than 26 bets and an Oscars pool, bettors can wager on dozens of categories from Best Picture to Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Smash hit La La Land has a record 14 Oscar nominations, and is favoured on PlayNow.com to clean up at the awards ceremony this Sunday. The movie is heavily favoured to win Best Picture and is leading in nine other categories, including Best Director for Damien Chazelle and Best Actress for Emma Stone.

Try to predict just how much La La Land will dominate this Sunday. Will it win more than 8 Oscars? How many of the “Big Four” Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress) will the film garner by the end of the night?

In other categories Jungle Book is favoured to win for Visual Effects, Star Trek Beyond for Makeup and Hairstyling, and Zootopia for Best Animated Feature.

As always, Canadians are part of Oscar night’s mix. Alan Barillaro’s Piper is the frontrunner to win Best Animated Short, and Howard Barish’s13th is in the running for Best Documentary Feature. Ryan Gosling is less of a frontrunner sitting with 11/1 odds of winning the award for Best Actor. In the Best Director category, Denis Villeneuve has 49/1 odds of winning for Arrival.

The Oscars is the most popular awards betting event on PlayNow.com, outpacing the Grammys, Golden Globes and Miss Universe. At last year’s Oscars, the site saw almost $25,000 wagered on more than 2400 bets.

PlayNow.com is Manitoba’s only legal, regulated gambling website, operated by Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries. For more information on the Oscars pool, novelty bets and a complete list of odds, visit PlayNow.com.

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To arrange an interview, contact:

Liquor Mart Louis Riel Day Hours

Most Liquor Mart locations will be open on Louis Riel Day, Monday, February 20, 2017, as follows:

Open 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

• All Liquor Marts in Winnipeg and Brandon (excluding cityplace)
• Beausejour, Dauphin, Flin Flon, Gimli, Lac du Bonnet, Stonewall, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, and The Pas

Open 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

• Killarney, Minnedosa, Morden, Neepawa, Russell, Swan River, Thompson, and Virden

Closed

• cityplace, Carman, Churchill, Pine Falls, Steinbach, and Winkler

To view each Liquor Mart’s hours of operation, please visit www.LiquorMarts.ca/hours.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries’ corporate offices will be closed on Monday, February 20, 2017.

Canada’s Largest Ever Online Sports Prize Pool

$1 Million Super Pool Up for Grabs this Super Bowl on PlayNow.com

Now, for the first time ever, bettors in Manitoba can test their Super Bowl know-how for a chance to win or share the $1 Million Super Pool on PlayNow.com. This is the largest potential online sports grand prize of its kind ever offered in Canada. 

To win the $1 Million Super Pool, players have to correctly pick all 25 Super Bowl related outcomes on their $5 pool card. The outcomes range from prop bets such as the result of the coin toss, whether an interception will be thrown, to more traditional bets like the total points scored in the game and the winner of Super Bowl Ll. In the event no one selects all 25 outcomes correctly, players with the most correct picks will win or share a jackpot generated by pool sales. Since the pool was announced last week, interest on PlayNow.com has spiked.

In addition to the pool, bettors on PlayNow.com can also wager on more than 300 prop and novelty bets related to the showdown this Sunday between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. The Patriots are currently the favourites to win the Vince Lombardi trophy while the Falcons are the Super Bowl underdogs. Quirky novelty bets include what colour of Gatorade will be dumped on the winning coach and whether Lady Gaga will mention Donald Trump.

The Super Bowl is the single biggest sports betting event in North America. Approximately $14.6 million was wagered on the NFL on PlayNow.com during the 2015-16 season.

PlayNow.com is Manitoba’s only legal, regulated gambling website operated by Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries. For more information on the $1 Million Super Pool and Super Bowl odds, visit PlayNow.com. 

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To arrange an interview contact:

Patrick Delaney | Communications Officer
204.957.2500 ext. 2379 | Patrick.Delaney@mbll.ca