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Excitement at Winnipeg casinos!
No one does glitz like Vegas -- Winnipeg casinos don’t even try to compete on that level.
Instead, Winnipeg casinos have a unique mix of folksy and quirky, with a down home ‘welcome-to-our-club’ feel about them.
At the two casinos in Winnipeg (both owned and operated by Manitoba Lotteries) and at the much newer South Beach Casino & Resort near Grand Beach (owned and operated by seven Manitoba First Nations) you’ll find minimal neon, zero showgirls and no gaming rooms the size of two or three football fields.
Ditto the free booze while gambling and casinos that never close in a city that never sleeps.
Winnipeg casinos put the emphasis on three things – gaming, live music and good food.
At the two city casinos you’ll find a well-broken-in, ’80s vibe.
The smaller but much newer and snazzier South Beach Casino, near Grand Beach, has more of a fun-on-vacation atmosphere.
All three Winnipeg casinos offer:
Slots, poker, and Vegas-style table games.
Live entertainment and special events.
Membership benefits.
Free parking and valet parking.
Restaurants with a la carte menus and
buffets.
Meeting rooms and banquet facilities.
All Winnipeg casinos are fully wheelchair-accessible.
What you should know about Manitoba and Winnipeg casinos and gaming:
In Manitoba, gaming is restricted to those who are age 18 and over (they may ask for photo ID), so children and teens cannot visit the casinos (even if only to walk through to the restaurants).
Casinos must close (by law) at 3 a.m. All are smoke-free.
The two Winnipeg casinos:
Offer Vegas-style table games and slots, keno, off-track betting and bingo.
Both have an Upper Deck Sports Bar with plenty of comfortable seats aimed at really BIG big screens mounted around the room. A great place to take in Bombers, Moose or Goldeyes away-games or a PPV event.
For before the game (or after) the two Upper Decks have pool tables, shuffleboard, foos ball and Bubble Hockey. They also serve better-than-average wings and riblets and have drinks specials.
Special events such as Poker Tournaments.
Free parking is abundant, but if you don’t want to hike in from your car or just can’t wait to get inside opt for the valet parking.
Both Winnipeg casinos are open daily 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.; noon to 3 a.m. on Sundays.
Both Winnipeg casinos are closed Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Remembrance Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Club Regent Casino
The kitschy-tropical Club Regent, where the parrot is real but the plants are plastic, is east of downtown, among a strip of big box stores.
Club Regent is attached by a walkway to the four-star Canad Inns Club Regent Casino Hotel (on the right in the photo).
The hotel, a member of the Canada Inns chain, has a fitness centre, whirlpool, and indoor pool. Rooms here are $129 per night, and up (plus tax).
Tribute and party bands as well as some of the legends of pop, rock and blues perform on Saturdays at Club Regent. Among recent headliners: Bobby Vee and Fabian.
Lunch/Dinner Buffets. Generous spreads, served 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at Royal Palms Restaurant.
Sunday Brunch Buffet noon to 9 p.m. at Royal Palms Restaurant.
More about Buffets at Club Regent Casino.
Jaguars Dance Club. Country, salsa, Caribbean, and music of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Opens at 7 p.m. Cover charge is $7.
Even though Winnipeg doesn’t have a public aquarium, it does have the largest walk-through saltwater aquarium to be found in either central Canada or central United States, and it’s at Club Regent. It is bizarre (and a bit surreal) to step under this arched aquarium and watch as hundreds of tropical fish swim around and above you. Get there at feeding time (around 2 p.m.) and you can see divers hand feed the fish. (Unfortunately, due to the Manitoba law restricting gaming to people age 18 and over, children cannot visit the walk-through aquarium.)
Club Regent Casino, 1425 Regent Avenue West, Winnipeg. (204) 957-2500.
McPhillips Street Station
Styled to look like a plush Victorian-era train station, McPhillips Street Station is just north and west of downtown.
Tribute and party bands as well as some of the legends of pop, rock and blues. Also stand-up during CBC Comedy Festival in April.
Among recent headliners: George Fox, Shane Yellowbird and The Northern Pikes.
Live Band Karaoke every Thursday 8 p.m. to midnight in Jokers Lounge.
Dueling pianos take the Jokers stage on Fridays 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and it’s Party Bands on Saturdays.
Sunday Brunch at Michele’s, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
More about Buffets and Sunday Brunch at McPhillips Street Station.
McPhillips Street Station, 484 McPhillips Street, Winnipeg. (204) 957-2500.
South Beach Casino & Resort
About half an hour north of Winnipeg and just south of Grand Beach, South Beach Casino is the most modern of the casinos with an appealing 1920s theme.
In 2008, South Beach opened the beautiful art-deco style hotel next to the casino, with 95 rooms and suites and a tropical pool with a waterfall.
It offers three-and-a-half star accommodation for $99 per night and up. Guest room décor is a fresh Euro-contemporary. (204) 766-2100.
600 slots and live poker.
12 gaming tables.
Café with a la carte menu, Prime Rib Buffet on Saturdays and Seafood Buffet on Thursdays.
Blue Dolphin Lounge with free live entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays.
Open daily year-round 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.(noon opening on Sundays).
South Beach Casino & Resort, Highway 59, Scanterbury, Manitoba.
Find more Winnipeg restaurants
Go from Winnipeg casinos to Winnipeg hotels and motels
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