Following the recent gaming boom, Canadians are increasingly turning to casinos as their top choice for a fun and entertaining night out. Whether you are a native of the great city of Toronto, or just passing through, here are our picks of the best casinos in the area.
1. Casino Woodbine
If you’re looking for the best slot machines to play in Canada, then look no further than Casino Woodbine in Etobicoke. Originally an offshoot of the Woodbine Racetrack, this establishment now boasts 100 table games with live dealers, over 200 electronic tables and more than 3,500 slot machines. Open 24 hours, the casino also features three excellent restaurants, with special discounts for members.
2. Casino Ajax
On the east side of the city you’ll find Casino Ajax. This casino is another great option for slots fans, with 900 machines including many of the latest titles. There are also electronic table games of baccarat, roulette, blackjack and sic-bo. There’s a restaurant on site with a classic menu to suit any tastes, which stays open into the small hours.
3. Great Blue Heron Casino
Around an hour’s drive north east of Toronto, the Great Blue Heron Casino sits in a picturesque location close to the shore of Lake Scugog. The casino opened its doors over 20 years ago as a small charity facility, and has since grown to offer 60 table games, 535 slot machines and high-stakes games. The buffet service has won awards, and some customers visit just to eat. Rumour has it that plans are in the pipeline to expand the site to include a hotel. Great Blue Heron is a great choice for a spur of the moment casino trip, as its doors are never closed.
4. Casino Rama Resort
The drive from Toronto to Casino Rama is almost two hours, but once you get there you may never want to leave. This all-inclusive resort has absolutely everything you could possibly need, from games and dining to accommodation and top-flight entertainment. The vast gaming facility has more than 2,500 slots, 100 table games and a dedicated poker room. Particularly exciting are the progressive games, with jackpots in the tens of thousands. You’ll be spoiled for choice when it comes to food, with eight restaurants to choose from for all budgets. The live entertainment is another big draw, and the stage has seen the likes of Jason Derulo, Carrie Underwood and Jerry Seinfeld over the years.
5. Fallsview and Casino Niagara
There are so many great casinos in the Toronto area that we’ve had to cheat a little bit and double up on this last entry. Niagara is a favourite destination for Torontonians, and the city also features two casinos so excellent that we couldn’t choose one over the other. At Fallsview you’ll find more than 20 table games and 3,000 slots, including some with million-dollar jackpots. Like Rama, the entertainment alone is worth the trip, and some of the biggest names in showbiz have performed in the 1,500 seat theatre. The dining is also second to none, with over 20 options to choose from.
Casino Niagara is a slightly more modest affair, but no less enjoyable. The gaming space is about half the size of Fallsview, but they still pack in more than 40 table games and 1,300 slots. If you’re on a slightly tighter budget, the weekly live entertainment is completely free.
There are plenty of other gaming establishments in and around Toronto, but we think that these are the casinos that offer the widest range of games and the best overall service. It seems that the customers agree, as these facilities all have excellent online star ratings as well.