Casino_Regina

Casino Regina

Casino Regina

Casino in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Casino Regina is a casino located on Saskatchewan Drive (formerly South Railway Street) in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It operates in the city's former union station, a Tyndall and ashlar stone structure completed in 1912. The casino is owned and operated by Sask Gaming.

Quick Facts Casino Regina, Location ...

History

Union Station in 1911

The Beaux-Arts style Union Station was constructed in 1911–12 and was actually Regina's third train station; the first is now a museum in Broadview, Saskatchewan. The station was completed the same year the deadly Regina Cyclone struck the city, tearing through Wascana Park and gutting part of the downtown area. The building underwent a major expansion in 1931, and the original façade was redone in a simpler Art Deco style with Tyndall stone. As well, terrazzo floors, marble support columns and plaster moulded ceilings were added to the interior.[1]

In 1990, cutbacks to Via Rail throughout Canada lead to the closure of Regina's Union Station. The station had been an important part of Regina's history and heritage since its opening in 1912. After the station's closure, its fate remained unknown for several years. Union Station was designated as an official heritage site in 1991.

By 1995, a $37 million construction project began to convert the vacant station into the province's second casino. In 1996, Casino Regina opened.[2][3]

Description

Grand concourse inside the main doors

The building contains old railway police jail cells in the basement that were used for transporting prisoners, and shows evidence of a tunnel representing a system of underground passages said to stretch several blocks east of the casino and south all the way to the stately Hotel Saskatchewan. These tunnels were destroyed during the construction of the Cornwall Centre, a major downtown shopping complex.

Inside, positioned on a wall in the central hall, is a schedule board displaying the arrivals and departures on the day the train station closed in 1990. The hall itself, formerly the station's main concourse, features a high ceiling with simple chandeliers and a clock near the top of the back wall.

The casino houses some 800 slot machines, 35 table games, and an 8-table poker room. The 800-seat Show Lounge features entertainers, and meals are served in The Union Station and Rail Car restaurants, as well as in the CPR Lounge and VIP Lounge. Regularly scheduled Union Station historic tours are another attraction, as are the nightly LED shows.

Casino Regina is a notable employer in the city, employing 664 people, over fifty percent of whom are Aboriginal.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Union Station". Canadian Register of Historic Places. Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  2. [2]
    "CASINO REGINA OPENS WITH PREVIEW EVENING". Archived from the original on 2017-10-05.
  3. [3]
    "After the raid: White Bear's gamble opened a path to First Nations sovereignty". Archived from the original on 2021-01-23.
  4. [4]
    "Sask. government wanted to sell casinos to First Nations". Archived from the original on 2016-12-01.
  5. [5]
    "SaskGaming Releases 2019-20 Annual Report". Archived from the original on 2020-07-08.
More information Preceding station, Via Rail ...
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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Casino_Regina, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.