Cash Casino Red Deer in Alberta Reviewed for 2024

Cash Casino Red Deer is one of three gambling facilities owned by SM2 Capital Partners and is located in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.

In fact, this place is located in what you could call a sweet spot as it lies almost exactly in the middle of the two popular cities Edmonton and Calgary in the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor, making it much more easily accessible compared to some casinos I’ve visited in the past.

Red Deer is famous for its golf offerings and the casino itself is surrounded by golf courses, so it sees a lot of golfers come through the door.

Having served Red Deer for the best part of 30 years and rating as the most popular casino in the area, I was looking forward to checking out the Cash Casino Red Deer and seeing what was on offer.

Cash Casino Red Deer opened its doors all the way back in 1995, making it the oldest casino in the area, but it wasn’t until 2020 that SM2 Capital Partners took over the casino in a partnership with Newstar Capital.

Since the new proprietors took over, the casino has seen numerous small developments and additions, including an overhaul of what is now the River Lounge Restaurant and some changes to the décor. 

As a matter of fact, the place is still undergoing work now and has promised that ‘big changes’ are coming, so it will be interesting to see how it ends up comparing to brand new casinos.

Returning to the present, lets take a look what was on offering during my mid-week visit to Cash Casino Red Deer.

Location

You’ll find Cash Casino Red Deer at 6350 67 Street in Red Deer, conveniently located along the David Thompson Highway.

As Canadian cities go, there is a good amount of public transport in Red Deer, though it’s mostly buses that only serve the local area.

Having said that, there are a few coaches that stop at the Tim Hortons bus stop (situated a few minutes away from the casino) that travel to Calgary and Edmonton which is extremely handy considering that Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport are the two closest airports to the casino.

I’d always recommend arriving by car wherever possible and AB T4P 3L7 is the postcode you’ll need. The casino provides ample free parking for guests, as do the majority of the hotels within the vicinity, so you can park up and head straight on in.

Cash Casino Red Deer is open Sunday to Thursday 9am – 3am, and Friday and Saturday 9am – 4am, which I believe makes it the latest closing casino in Red Deer, and sports 23,000 square feet of gaming space.

Interior wise, the casino is about as standard as they come. A dark patterned carpet winds its way through the building and an industrial style ceiling makes it feel more modern on the scale of things.

I visited late on a Wednesday afternoon so the place wasn’t exactly teeming with life but I didn’t mind as it gave me the chance to wander around at my own pace. Plus, things got a little livelier later on in the evening when a pretty significant sporting match was being shown in the lounge, so it was nice to see a snippet of what the atmosphere can be like.

It turned out that I chose a pretty bad time to visit considering the casino was in a period of transition. Firstly, the poker room had closed down just a month or so prior and no live table games were available, so that wasn’t ideal.

After a quick research, I stumbled across some supposed ‘big plans’ on the horizon in place of the poker room, but after asking a couple of members of staff for more details about this during my visit I was still none the wiser as they couldn’t give me any answers. 

So, I guess we’ll have to wait and see what updates are coming to the Cash Casino Red Deer but for now, lets take a look at what is available.

Slots

The slot selection is undoubtedly the current highlight of this place. Though there are only just over 300 to choose from, the variety is great, with old style reel machines available all the way through to modern video slots, and I cannot express how much I appreciate diversity such as this.

The denominations generally range from penny to $5, but there was a high limits slot room set aside from the main casino floor to try out too, though it only contained a handful of slots.

Another plus is that there are a few different progressive jackpot slots available here too, which are American Original, Alberta Gold, Jackpot Junction and Diamond Millions. All of the jackpots were looking pretty tempting so I did test my luck on all four while I was there but, as I’m sure you can already guess, to no avail.

As it was fairly quiet when I visited, I did end up chatting to a slots attendant who informed me that the casino switches out machines for new ones every few months or so which was nice to hear.

Electronic Table Games

There were oven a dozen electronic table games in their own section of the casino floor, with all the classic games available such as roulette, blackjack, three card poker, and EZ baccarat, with the choice of live dealers or automated games.

All of the electronic table games are open during casino hours, which gives them an edge over live table games, I guess.

Considering the lack of any live tables, I did have a few hands of blackjack on one of the machines before trying out a bit of roulette, but, ultimately, I’m not much of a fan of electronic table games so I didn’t play for long.

There is no on-site hotel at this casino but thanks to it being located just a few minutes from central Red Deer, there are plenty of options nearby.

Some of the closest hotels within a 20-minute walk of the casino include the iHotel and Conference Centre, Holiday Inn Express Red Deer North, and the Staybridge Suites Red Deer North.

For no other reason other than it’s the closest hotel to the casino, I chose to stay at the iHotel and Conference Centre and I’m glad that I did.

It has competitive pricing at around $120 for a one night stay, clean and comfortable rooms, a complimentary continental breakfast, and one of the nicest indoor pools I’ve had the pleasure of swimming in in recent times. Oh, and there’s free parking too, meaning you can dump the car at the hotel and walk the 8 minutes to the casino and not have to worry about how to get back.

Food and Drink

If you’re looking for a bite to eat, The River Lounge is the place to go. 

Located just off the casino floor with its own entrance, it’s open Sunday to Thursday 9am - 1am, and Friday and Saturday 9am - 3am and has an exclusive Late Night Menu that comes into play in the evening, so it comes in handy for the night owls amongst us.

The restaurant itself is casual and offers a bit of a strange menu to be honest, for lack of a better word. I say ‘strange’ as its essentially pub grub mixed with Asian style cuisine which is a bit of an unusual combination if you ask me, but I love both so it wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

The plus side is that there’s sure to be something for everyone – from burgers, wings, and fish and chips to sweet and sour pork, wonton soup, ginger beef, and a selection of desserts, you can’t knock this place on the variety.

I did decide to try out the restaurant and I opted for the ginger beef with a side of fried rice which was really nice and came to under $20.

If you’re looking to take a quick break away from the casino floor with a drink, the Embers Lounge provides a diverse cocktail menu alongside local beers, wine, and premium spirits.

Though I didn’t stop for a drink myself, there’s ample seating and multiple screens which showcase the major sporting events of the day so it makes a nice place to relax.

Entertainment

Unfortunately, regular entertainment isn’t on the cards here. Events, including things like live music, have taken place in the past but as I say, this is more sporadic and is most likely to take place on national holidays such as Christmas.

However, promotional events do take place from time to time, including things like low buy-in tournaments and customer appreciation nights, but I’ll cover this in more detail later.

Dress Code

There is no dress code in place but guests are asked to avoid things like loungewear and streetwear.

Smoking

Smoking is not permitted anywhere within the building. Anybody wishing to smoke will need to step outside.

The casino is fully accessible to wheelchair users.

I was really impressed with the number of promotions available at Cash Casino Reed Deer when I visited and I think its great that they switch them up so regularly.

Now, while Cash Casino Red Deer doesn’t yet have its own exclusive rewards program (but one is in the works and is expected to be launched in the not-so-distant future), it is part of the Winner’s Edge loyalty program.

Winner’s Edge 

Winner’s Edge is Alberta’s exclusive rewards program which links over 30 casinos across Alberta together under one roof.

The program is free to join and you can do so either online directly through the Winner’s Edge site or at any Guest Services station in any Alberta casino.

Once registered, you’ll receive a membership card which you can use to begin accumulating points by inserting it into any slot machine or electronic gaming terminal located within an Alberta casino.

You’ll earn 1 point for every $1 to $5 you spend and you’ve gathered enough, you can redeem your points contest ballots or free play on slot machines and electronic table games.

There are other benefits to being a member of the scheme aside from the points system and these include things like a 10% discount on select food and beverage items at all Alberta Casinos and access to exclusive member-only promotions.

Promotions

Remember, promotions are subject to change but I’ve listed some of the most eye-catching ones that were available during my visit so you can get an idea of what to expect:

• Las Vegas Trip Giveaway – Earn one ballot into the draw to win a trip to Las Vegas for two for every $500 increment on hand pays on slot machines.
• Seniors Thursday Lucky Card Draw – First 52 customers (55 or over) get to select a lucky card every Thursday from 9:30am. Half the card will stay with the customer, half will go into a draw and eight cards are selected at random at 1pm. All present eight card winners will then share the prize amount of $350.
• $10,000 Customer Appreciation Night – Event with live music, complimentary champagne, free food and drink tasting, and the chance for customers to win a share of $10,000 in prizes.

As I said earlier on in this review, I unintentionally visited the Cash Casino Red Deer during a period of transition, so I think its fair to say that I probably didn’t experience the best of what this place can offer.

The poker room had recently closed, in preparation for what I don’t know, and there were no live table games available, so I had to make do with slots and electronic table games.

The slots selection was great, though, and I appreciated having the choice between old style classic slots and more modern offerings. Plus, there’s a decent selection of progressive jackpots too.

Another highlight is the restaurant. I’d heard good things about the food prior to visiting so despite there being plenty of eateries surrounding the casino, I knew I had to try out what was on offer, and I’m really glad I did. The food was great and the prices were even better.

Having only been acquired by its current owners SM2 Capital Partners a few years ago, there’s still a fair amount of updating going on.

What the Cash Casino Red Deer will look like in the next few months, or even years, is impossible to predict but, for now, it offers a great range of slots, electronic table games, good food at affordable prices, and a lovely sports-bar-style lounge to enjoy a drink in.