Drake says he was banned from a Vancouver casino, and the internet was not pleased
All we know for sure is this: at some point on Friday night, Drake attempted to gamble at Parq, a casino resort in Vancouver. The rapper was in town for two nights of concerts at the Rogers Arena, and was presumably trying to blow off some steam in the off hours. So far, so good.
But then, early Saturday morning, Drake made an incendiary Instagram post in which he accused Parq of “profiling” him and refusing to allow him to gamble. TMZ decided that Drake probably meant that he had been racially profiled (a fair assumption, but those weren’t Drake’s words), setting in motion a cycle of furious internet outrage. Meanwhile, other news outlets discovered that the real reason Drake was denied service may have had little or nothing to do with the colour of his skin. It’s likely that he was targeted because of British Columbia’s new anti-money-laundering regulations, which require high rollers to disclose the source of their funds. In a statement, Parq said it is “actively investigating this matter.”
Here’s how all of this played out online.
Drake apparently deleted his Instagram post at some point over the weekend. But screenshots of it continue to circulate in the media:
Rapper #Drake is blasting #Vancouver casino #Parq – claiming he was profiled and not allowed to gamble when he "had everything they originally asked me for". Parq has responded saying it takes this seriously, and staff are investigating. pic.twitter.com/fwebF07BuW
— Allison Hurst (@AllisonM_Hurst) November 3, 2018
Parq was quick with an apology. A statement from the casino’s management says they “categorically stand against racism of any kind.”
An updated statement from Parq Vancouver: https://t.co/gfJqjWdqLJ
— Parq Vancouver (@parqvancouverbc) November 4, 2018
But reaction to Drake’s allegation had already spiralled out of control. It can’t be a coincidence that Parq seems to have lost control of its Instagram account at some point after the incident:
Parq Vancouver's Instagram account was disabled last night. We are currently investigating and working to get it back online as soon as possible.
— Parq Vancouver (@parqvancouverbc) November 4, 2018
It was only a matter of time before someone made a parody Instagram account:
Someone made a fake Parq Vancouver IG ? @Drake @parqvancouverbc #parqvancouver #drake pic.twitter.com/9kluOioiwq
— ErnieSZN (@ErnieSzn) November 5, 2018
Drake’s fans appear to have retaliated with some negative online reviews of Parq:
@parqvancouverbc @Drake drake fans leaving negative comments after drake was racially profile at casino. Parq y’all did this to yourself lol. Drake fans won’t stop lol #drake #parqvancouverbc #racial #profile #tmz #TwitterMoment pic.twitter.com/YM1hCCPs3W
— Derrick (@DerrickPeprah2) November 4, 2018
Some fans were skeptical that Drake had truly been “profiled,” but others believed the rapper reflexively:
The fact that @Drake had to go on IG sayin how bad @parqvancouverbc is… is embarrassing. He is here to perform 2 nights of concerts!! Parq should be rolling out red carpets for him. Sad for people not from here having bad experiences at “boujee” places. This is why Toronto wins pic.twitter.com/isXIuy3UUx
— Mary Salas (@maryy_salas) November 3, 2018
Whatever else may be true of this incident, it’s going to be dominating Parq’s Google results for a long, long time:
#Parq will now be known as “that place Drake don’t like” https://t.co/Oov0ylpwWv
— Kevin Kunze ??? (@KunzeFilms) November 4, 2018
This guy managed to turn his sick burn into a self-own in fewer than 280 characters. Impressive:
lmao i live across the street from that parq place casino and i never been ID'd there once walked in every weekend even after they "banned me for a year" they def were on some bs with @Drake
— TOPMASS (@TopMass) November 4, 2018
Could all of this be part of a grander strategy for Drake to cultivate a new fanbase of Parq haters?
Omg @ Drake dragging the Parq in Vancouver. I've always hated that casino too. Suddenly I stan
— Chris |-/ (@takeourshots) November 3, 2018
Some Drake defenders don’t understand the point of all these so-called “laws”:
Unbelievable. You have to be the dumbest casino on the planet and employ the dumbest people to make it fit. Money laundering laws? Google says he is worth 100 million USD. I understand rules and laws apply to all of us but Drake? Really? He is Canada's greatest success
— ezra bercovici (@ezbmurphy) November 4, 2018
A fair point here. If Drake wants a high-risk/high-reward experience in Vancouver he should shun the casino and hit up a real estate brokerage:
Drake clearly should be flipping #vanre pre-sale condo assignments for a better time #parq #drake
— Russell Morrison (@BCrussmo) November 3, 2018
This guy gets it:
drake fighting to put 10k down at the casino without proper documentation is our generation’s rosa parks refusing to move the seat
a civil rights icon
— spencer (@washinmasheen) November 4, 2018
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/life/drake-says-banned-vancouver-casino-internet-not-pleased/&title=Drake says he was banned from a Vancouver casino, and the internet was not pleased&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/drake-featured.jpg&description=All we know for sure is this: at some point on Friday night, Drake attempted to gamble at Parq, a casino resort in Vancouver. The rapper was in town for two nights of concerts at the Rogers Arena, and was presumably trying to blow off some steam in the off hours. So far, so good.
But then, early Saturday morning, Drake made an incendiary Instagram post in which he accused Parq of "profiling" him and refusing to allow him to gamble. TMZ decided that Drake probably meant that he had been racially profiled (a fair assumption, but those weren't Drake's words), setting in motion a cycle of furious internet outrage. Meanwhile, other news outlets discovered that the real reason Drake was denied service may have had little or nothing to do with the colour of his skin. It's likely that he was targeted because of British Columbia's new anti-money-laundering regulations, which require high rollers to disclose the source of their funds. In a statement, Parq said it is "actively investigating this matter."
Here's how all of this played out online.
Drake apparently deleted his Instagram post at some point over the weekend. But screenshots of it continue to circulate in the media:
https://twitter.com/AllisonM_Hurst/status/1058811274195275776
Parq was quick with an apology. A statement from the casino's management says they "categorically stand against racism of any kind."
https://twitter.com/parqvancouverbc/status/1058880969283919873
But reaction to Drake's allegation had already spiralled out of control. It can't be a coincidence that Parq seems to have lost control of its Instagram account at some point after the incident:
https://twitter.com/parqvancouverbc/status/1059160984445767681
It was only a matter of time before someone made a parody Instagram account:
https://twitter.com/ErnieSzn/status/1059482976243851268
Drake's fans appear to have retaliated with some negative online reviews of Parq:
https://twitter.com/DerrickPeprah2/status/1058966963228213248
Some fans were skeptical that Drake had truly been "profiled," but others believed the rapper reflexively:
https://twitter.com/maryy_salas/status/1058783714405113856
Whatever else may be true of this incident, it's going to be dominating Parq's Google results for a long, long time:
https://twitter.com/KunzeFilms/status/1059099958760984576
This guy managed to turn his sick burn into a self-own in fewer than 280 characters. Impressive:
https://twitter.com/TopMass/status/1058924793360146432
Could all of this be part of a grander strategy for Drake to cultivate a new fanbase of Parq haters?
https://twitter.com/takeourshots/status/1058763053439705088
Some Drake defenders don't understand the point of all these so-called "laws":
https://twitter.com/ezbmurphy/status/1059139878137454592
A fair point here. If Drake wants a high-risk/high-reward experience in Vancouver he should shun the casino and hit up a real estate brokerage:
https://twitter.com/BCrussmo/status/1058811982147506176
This guy gets it:
https://twitter.com/washinmasheen/status/1059093697000812544){kind=link}