Deerfoot Inn And Casino Review for May 2024

The perfect rest stop for drivers on the Deerfoot Trail, Deerfoot Inn & Casino is a one-stop shop for families, couples, concert-goers and gamblers. 

Featuring 60,000 square feet of gaming space, 188 hotel rooms, family-friendly dining options, an exclusive Over 55’s Club, and even an on-site waterpark (complete with slides and a hot tub), Deerfoot Inn & Casino is suitable for guests of any age.

Determined to test out the games (and slides) for myself, I recently spent a long weekend at Deerfoot. Read on for my in-depth review of the casino and hotel, which covers everything from game variety, atmosphere and facilities to the convenience of its location and range of casino bonuses. 

As you can guess from its name, Deerfoot Inn & Casino Calgary is situated right on the Deerfoot Trail, the province’s principal North/South transportation route. Despite being built on the side of Alberta’s busiest road, Deerfoot Casino’s ample parking lot sets it far enough away from the street that you won’t notice the traffic. 

Meanwhile, out-of-towners can take advantage of its unique Southeast location with cultural sites like Calgary Zoo, the Heritage Park, and Fish Creek Park, all within a 15-minute drive. A little further North along the Deerfoot Trail, downtown Calgary is just a 20-minute car ride away.

Travelling by bus from downtown takes around 40 minutes, which is quite a lengthy journey when there are plenty of downtown casinos to choose from. However, visitors with a car (or anyone with the Uber app) who journey to Deerfoot can enjoy more than 700 slots, an intimate concert venue, lively bars, an on-site waterpark, a WSOP poker room, and more promotions than you can count on both hands.

For those who want to turn their casino trip into a weekend getaway, the Deerfoot Inn is a spacious 188-room hotel with plenty of amenities, including a 24-hour front desk, a fitness centre, a business centre, and a hot tub. You also get lots of useful items in the room, like an ironing board, a mini fridge and a coffee maker, though for some reason, the hotel only stocks enough water, tea and coffee for one guest. 

There are packages to suit every type of visitor, from the Concert Package (which includes two concert tickets and meal vouchers) to the Spa Package (with a $120 voucher for the mobile spa). The hotel is also pet and kid-friendly, something you’ll be well aware of when you’re woken up by the sound of children sprinting to the waterpark.

The staff at Deerfoot go above and beyond to accommodate guests, whether that’s in the casino, one of the bars and restaurants, or the Deerfoot Inn. 

I decided to stay on-site and arrived just after 4pm when check-in opened. My room wasn’t ready, and I couldn’t check in for another hour or so, but the staff gave me a casino voucher for the inconvenience. By the time I’d used up my free play, my room was ready, and I was $20 up! They also allow check-in until 2:30am, making it an ideal hotel for those coming in on a late flight. 

Deerfoot features a couple of on-site bars and eateries. The Wild Horse Pub offers daily food and drink specials, while the Sushi Bar is only open on Fridays and Saturday evenings. Located slap bang in the middle of the casino, The Island Bar is one of Deerfoot’s liveliest areas, though I was disappointed to learn that it doesn’t serve draft beers. 

Meanwhile, the Mohave Grill serves up a selection of delectable buffets, including its famous $39.95 Prime Rib special on Fridays and Saturdays and the Sunday Deluxe Breakfast buffet (the apple cowboy pancakes are a particular favourite of mine).

With no other restaurants or bars in the surrounding area, Deerfoot has something of a monopoly on eating, drinking, and nightlife. As you can expect, this means that the prices are a little overinflated in all of its dining establishments. While the Prime Rib buffet is awesome value for money, the regular menu items can be a little bland and unexciting despite the high price tag attached.

Poker Room: The dealers in the casino are incredibly professional, friendly, and knowledgeable, especially those on the high limit and poker tables. I guess you have to be an expert at your craft to deal during the World Series of Poker, which Deerfoot Casino hosts annually in its recently renovated poker room.

Technology: Contrary to its slightly outdated interior, Deerfoot has some impressive state-of-the-art technology. For example, you can have your hotel key sent to your phone and unlock your door this way, rather than a standard hotel key that’s easy to lose. There’s also a robot waiter called Bella – yes, a robot waiter – in the Mohave Grill, who’ll serve you your food upon request (if she’s not too busy). 

Accessibility: While the casino itself is wheelchair accessible, the hotel needs updating to make it more suitable for handicapped guests. The rooms lack any sort of disability support, and there are no designated handicapped rooms with grab bars or wheelchair-friendly toilets/beds.

Open from 12pm to 3am during the week and from 11am at weekends, Deerfoot’s Table Games Pit has over 30 blackjack, craps, roulette, poker, and baccarat tables. Deerfoot regularly updates its collection, with recent additions including brand new craps and Ruyi baccarat tables. I was a big fan of the Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Blazing 7’s Blackjack progressive jackpot games (but despite praying to the Hold’em gods, I did not walk away with the $70,000 pot). 

The main casino floor boasts over 750 of the newest slot machines and VLTs, open from 9:30am to 3am daily and until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays. With bets starting at just a penny, this large collection of classic and modern slots is budget-friendly and suitable for all bettors. You’ll even find a couple of Alberta’s provincial jackpots, like Alberta Gold. 

Those with a little more wiggle room in their wallet can check out the Fortune Room, which boasts more than 50 high-limit slot machines and multiple high-limit blackjack, poker, and baccarat tables. The Fortune Room is open from 12pm to 3am Monday through Friday and from 11am on Saturday and Sunday. You can even hire a Casino Host to really personalise your experience. 

Though smaller than some of its competitors, Deerfoot 24-hour poker room has recently undergone a major facelift and now boasts a boutique, state-of-the-art poker setup that would not look out of place in a brand new casino. There are two daily tournaments at 10:20am and 6:30pm, plus monthly promotions and Bad Beat progressive jackpots on both No Limit Hold’em and Quad 8’s Omaha. Besides hosting the annual WSOP circuit events, Deerfoot gives you the chance to win entry into the WSOP Main Event. 

There’s also complimentary self-serve coffee and soda, and you can order food from an exclusive (though slightly overpriced) menu right to your table. The only real downside of the poker room is that it works on a reservation basis, so you may not be able to walk in and play during busy hours. 

As with all land-based properties, getting your winnings in your hand is a much faster process than at even the best payout online casinos. A visit to the cashier's cage or TITO redemption terminals will surfice in most cases. 

Every casino in Calgary claims to have ‘the premier over 55’s club’, but I think Deerfoot is the rightful winner of that title. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are ‘Senior Days’, with a discounted menu in the White Horse Pub, $2 blackjack games, and a free slot tournament. 

Each Senior Day has a different free-to-enter game show with cash prizes - “Senior Feud”, “Wheel of Winning”, and “Senior Supermarket Sweep”, respectively. There’s also a “Senior Slot Group Pull” on the last Thursday of every month and a “Golden Club Buffet” on the first. I’ve never wanted to be 55 so bad!

Next on Deerfoot’s list of priority guests are the poker players. There are over five distinct poker promotions, including the chance to win free entry into the WSOP main event in Vegas and Deerfoot’s (slightly less extravagant) Mid-Month Madness Tournament. Also during the WSOP is a “Ballot Race”, where cash games will earn you chances at winning over $10,000. 

Deerfoot also boasts seasonal poker promotions, such as an NHL hockey bounty (where you win $25 whenever your chosen player scores a goal) and an NHL ballot race (where playing cash games can win you a custom poker table signed by the Flames). 

For the rest of the casino demographic, “The Wall” is a weekly prize draw with $2,500 cash up for grabs. Casino guests get a free ballot every Thursday and Friday, which you can claim from Guest Services. There are also a couple of in-game promotions like “Dragon Daze”, where successful dragon bets can win you prime rib buffet vouchers, casino gift cards, free plays, and cash prizes. 

While Deerfoot’s promotions are many, its loyalty rewards are disappointingly few, which is a disadvantage compared to tbe best online casinos. The casino is part of the provincial Winners Edge loyalty scheme, where gameplay on slots and electronic table games earns you points that you can exchange for free play vouchers. However, there is no in-house loyalty programme. Nor are there any free play vouchers for regular guests of the Deerfoot Inn, although you do get some included in the hotel packages.

One of the highlights of Deerfoot Inn is how lively the entire venue is. After I was tired of gambling, I spent both of my nights at Deerfoot soaking in the night’s entertainment. First up was an evening at The Chrome Showroom. 

The Chrome Showroom hosts around two to three events a month, from karaoke competitions and local live music to boxing matches and gigs from touring bands. Seating can be set up or removed depending on the event, so you can tear up the dancefloor at the 80s dance party (where Calgary’s own 80s band, Silly Wrabbit, is always a huge hit) or enjoy ringside seating at the Teofista boxing series. 

The Absolute MMA Collision was scheduled for the weekend of my visit. It had not yet sold out, so I was able to buy a general admission ticket for $85. The doors opened at 5 p.m., giving me plenty of time to grab a drink and find a seat before the main event began. For a last-minute decision, it was perhaps the highlight of my weekend. Beers, a good atmosphere, and some impressive martial arts - what’s not to love?

Beyond the Showroom, weekends at The Wild Horse Pub always have a lively ambiance. On the other night of my stay, I attended Happy Hour food and drinks from 3pm to 6pm and then stayed for the weekly karaoke and live entertainment. If you time it right, you can enjoy one of Wild Horse’s special events like the Cinco de Mayo party—complete with fresh margaritas and live Latin music—and the annual Crab Fest. A pound of fresh steamed snow crabs?! Count me in!

Deerfoot Inn & Casino is one of the few family-friendly gambling establishments in Calgary. Children’s birthday parties take place in the waterpark every Saturday and Sunday, with a meal and a birthday cake in the Mohave Grill afterward. I’m sure if I was attending with my own family, I’d think this was an excellent choice for accommodating both children and adults. However, as a mid-30s solo attendee, I did find the hordes of young children a little much at times. 

The restaurant and waterpark can get pretty rowdy with shrieking kids, so I tended to steer clear of both during the daytime on weekends. However, the pool is open until midnight, so I had a more relaxed swim later in the evening (I found the pool to be a little chilly first thing in the morning anyway). Plus, the birthday parties were cleared out of the restaurant by dinnertime. 

⭐ Standout Moment

I love having thrilling casino games, a hotel, restaurants, bars, and a concert space all in one handy location – and that’s exactly what I got at Deerfoot Inn and Casino!

Ultimately, Deerfoot Inn and Casino is a brilliant little one-stop shop that packs a wide range of games, dining options, entertainment spaces, and a hotel (with all the necessary amenities) into a relatively small space. 

Whether you’re there to gamble, host your kid’s birthday party, or gorge on unlimited ribs for under 40 bucks, Deerfoot really caters to all tastes. It’s one of those side-of-the-road facilities that, unless you’re looking for it, may fly under your radar. However, those who do find themselves wandering through those sliding glass doors are guaranteed a great night of gambling and frivolity. 

Deerfoot has the distinct charm of an independent venue that you just can’t replicate at large chain casinos. It goes above and beyond to accommodate its guests, often in ways that go unnoticed. For example, a perk that I’ve not seen anywhere else is that Deerfoot accommodates RVs in its giant parking lot for as little as $20 a night, making it the perfect place for RV owners to stay during the Calgary Stampede. With extended hours on public transport throughout Stampede, you can enjoy a few drinks at the festivities downtown and be back at Deerfoot within an hour. 

It’s these little perks - opening up its facilities to those who may not even attend the casino - that make it stand out amongst its larger competitors. So, if you’re looking for an awesome casino, plenty of bars and restaurants, a hotel, and a concert space all in one handy location, you’ve found it at Deerfoot Inn and Casino.

🧭 How to Get There

The Deerfoot Inn & Casino is located at 1000, 11500 35 St SE, Calgary, AB T2Z 3W4, Canada. Use your GPS to find the best route for you. Calgary Transit also offer services to Deerfoot Inn from various locations in the city, and taxis and ride=sharing services are another option.