January 1st, 2024 | RYAN TYLER

Project Saskatchewan

It's time to think big.

Saskatchewan is a barren, harsh landscape that few people enjoy calling home. The winters are cold, the summers can be unbearably hot and there aren't any mountains within driving distance. This doesn't make the province a terrible place to live, it just makes it uninteresting. If not for Scott Moe, Saskatchewan would be a regressive dsytopia of socialism, homelessness and angry farmers. Once he's gone, things will undoubtedly go sideways fast. A few fundamental changes, however, could make Saskatchewan the greatest and freest region in North America.

On average, more than a million Canadians a year make a trip to Las Vegas. They make the trip for one of several reasons, or all of them. They like the hot weather, cheap airfare, gambling, and experiencing world class live entertainment. Sadly, they're spending their hard-earned money in another country because Canada has nothing similar to offer.

This is where Saskatchewan stands to gain—if it tries.

Nevada is an otherwise barren shit-hole. Had it not been for legalized gambling, legal drugs, legal prostitution, and other limitless freedoms offered by the state, it wouldn't have a $204B annual GDP and be ranked as one of North America's entertainment capitals. Despite it's small population and horrendous landscape, Nevada ranks 28 among the other 49 states for annual GDP. Without all of these things, Nevada would be comparable to other sparsely populated and desolate states, like North Dakota and Wyoming, which only have a third of Nevada's economic power.

Saskatchewan doesn't have a Grand Canyon, a Mount Rushmore, a famed UFO crash site, mountains, or any world wonders going for it.

Aside from (maybe) prostitution, making private casinos, gambling and other things legal in Saskatchewan could open the door to bigger investments. In fact, blatantly trying to attract casino magnates, entertainment tycoons and celebrity entrepreneurs to the province with tax incentives and other gimmicks could transform the province into a mega-weight competitor in no time.

In 2023, Casino Regina made $90M in revenue. In 2022, SaskGaming made more than $77M in annual revenue, up $47M from previous years. Privatizing the gaming sector and opening the door to competition seems apt, since the profits generated by this vice keep growing. With a privatized and competitive gaming sector, Saskatchewan would naturally swing open the doors for tourism.

With tourism comes a higher demand for hotels, restaurants, night clubs and entertainment venues.

Saskatchewan's location makes it ideal for tourists from Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta—as well as tourists from Montana and the Dakotas. It's within moderate driving distance from nearby states and provinces, but the government of Saskatchewan and private investors could subsidize airfare and hotel accommodations in the early years. If the province can impress clients from around the world within the first few years, the rest will sort itself out.

They can start by expanding, renovating and then privatizing Casino Regina.

By turning their headline casino into a stunning and revolutionary new attraction, business and investments will start to pour into the province. By transforming their staple casino into headline news, SaskGaming could sell the property in the opening phase of a new privatization plan. From there, the floor would be open to other competitors to build bigger, better, more stunning casinos and attractions in Regina. Turning Casino Regina into one of the wonders of the world would require a gargantuan investment, incredible talent and smart concepts—but the investment would pay off.

The Las Vegas Sphere is a good example of what the innovators and designers would need to match or beat, but it's not impossible.

With something as eye-catching and new as The Sphere, most of the marketing does itself. The first time I heard about this attraction was on social media. Video and images of the spectacle showed up on my timelines, not from professional marketers, but from ordinary people who were hanging out in Las Vegas. Family, friends and random people on Facebook and Instagram were so stunned by The Sphere, they had to share it with everyone. It's one of those things that sells itself.

Once Casino Regina is turned into something that everyone wants to see, they can sell it. Then the government can incentivize and subsidize competition for the first few years, making it easy and worth while for investors to open other casinos and attractions.

If all goes well and it's all executed properly, Regina would eventually become the Vegas of the North.

Unfortunately, though, to help propel the city to higher status, it will need a name change. The old Latin name Regina no longer works. In fact, it hasn't really ever worked. It's a horrific and embarrassing name—it always has been. The English language isn't suited to successfully accommodate Latin words that rhyme with female orifices. Instead, the city should be officially renamed Queen City. It would be a simple translation into English, more than an actual name change.

Rebranding the province's capital would be an important step in this project. People can no longer be embarrassed telling others where they are from if their city is to be successful. Depending on who decides the order of things, this name-change could be the first step in the whole project. Queen City Casino sounds more like something people would want to see.

The city's official logo could then incorporate more regal designs, like a golden crown.

In fact, making many of the attractions look like royalty (palaces and castles plated with gold) could give the Queen City its own unique style and character. Extravagance is what made Vegas so famous. Going to the extremes helped define the city and make it what it is today. The Queen City would benefit from a facelift even with or without a project that turns Saskatchewan into Nevada.

This kind of thinking may be “too big” and wild for the residents of sleepy Saskatchewan. This could be why Regina has always been a drab and boring shithole with nothing going for it, other than jokes in movies. Even now, as the rest of the province grows, Regina isn't changing. The benefits for Saskatoon would be enormous under a project like this and the two cities could become competitors in a race to the top. Such a competition would benefit both cities and their surrounding communities.

The province could create new millionaires.

Saskatchewan has always had a lot of potential. I never understood why people who live there have never wanted anything more. They didn't want booze in strip clubs, or privatized anything. Even to this day, under a less socialist government, they seem reluctant to change anything. They continue to grip the past like their lives depend on it. The problem is, none of them have lives.

It's time for the puritans of Saskatchewan to let go of the past and to accept something new, wild and exciting. Quit living like Mennonites and start living like millionaires.