Casino Rama

Casino Rama
Location Chippewas of Rama First Nation
Opening date July 31, 1996
Number of rooms 289
Total gaming space 192,000 sq ft (17,800 m2)
Notable restaurants St. Germain's Steakhouse, Couchiching Court Buffet, Willow (authentic Cantonese), Simcoe Yard House, Dream Catcher Sports Bar, The Noodle Bar, The Weirs, Cedar and Firestarter Lounge
Owner First Nations
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
Website Official Casino Rama Site

Casino Rama is a large casino, hotel and entertainment complex located on the reserve land of Chippewas of Rama First Nation, in the town of Rama, Ontario, Canada. A joint venture between First Nations, commercial operators Penn National Gaming, and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, it is Ontario's only First Nations "commercial casino" (as opposed to a lesser class, Charity casino) and the largest First Nations casino in Canada. The casino is operated by Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based Penn National Gaming of the United States. The entertainment complex regularly hosts ticketed entertainment shows for an additional charge.

History

The casino opened on July 31, 1996.

In 2007, a group of people, including several of the casino's employees, were arrested after police investigated a $2 million scam involving cheating at baccarat.[1]

In 2013, Casino Rama underwent a multimillion dollar renovation.[2]

In November, 2016, the resort was the victim of a cyber attack, and financial and personal information about customers was stolen from the company's records.[3]

Description

The resort consists of a 289 room hotel, a Casino with a 192,000 sq ft (17,800 m2) floor, a 5,000 seat Entertainment Centre, and ten restaurants. The casino has 2500 slot machines and 110 table games.[3]

Concerts

The 5,036 seat Entertainment Centre has hosted a variety of stars including Laura Pausini, Journey, Air Supply, Alice Cooper, Diana Ross, Johnny Mathis, Kelly Clarkson, Creed, 3 Doors Down, Eric Burdon, The Searchers, Faith Hill, David Cook, Deep Purple, Gloria Estefan, Men at Work, Jay Leno, Jewel, Carrie Underwood, Chicago, Olivia Newton-John, Vince Gill, Tony Bennett, Bill Cosby, Styx, Michael Bolton, Ringo Starr, Neil Sedaka, Jeff Foxworthy, LeAnn Rimes, Alicia Keys, Art Garfunkel, Clint Black, David Copperfield, Petula Clark, Roger Hodgson, ZZ Top, Bad Company, Dolly Parton, The Guess Who, George Thorogood, Heart, Steve Miller, Tom Jones, New Kids on the Block, Smokey Robinson, Stone Temple Pilots, CCR, Hall & Oates, Lionel Richie, Weezer, Terra Naomi, Whitesnake and KISS.Judas Priest

Hong Kong Cantopop stars and television personalities have (or will be) also held concerts at Rama as part of a Toronto tour:[4]

Boxing and MMA

Casino Rama has hosted a number of live boxing events, titled Rumble at Rama. On April 2, 2011, Casino Rama hosted the first sanctioned MMA event ever held in Ontario, taking place a full 4 weeks before UFC 129 in Toronto.[5][6] Though this event is largely believed to be the first MMA event ever held in Ontario, that is not entirely correct. The first ever MMA event held in Ontario was held in the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation 3 years prior, where Dan Severn defeated Ian Asham, in the main event. In all 7 MMA events were staged before the first event at Casino Rama.[7] In July 2011, it hosted a Bellator Fighting Championships event.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Casino Rama scam busted". Toronto Star, Paul Moloney, May 25, 2007
  2. ↑ "Changes abound at Casino Rama". Orillia Packet, By Gisele Winton Sarvis, November 28, 2013
  3. 1 2 "Massive theft of Ontario’s Casino Rama data sparks proposed lawsuit". Toronto Star, November 12, 2016. Colin Perkel
  4. ↑ Archived March 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ "Ontario's First Sanctioned MMA Event Set for Saturday". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  6. ↑ "Sellout at Ontario's first sanctioned MMA show". Tsn.ca. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  7. ↑ "Iroquois MMA Championships Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2014-06-27.

Coordinates: 44°38′50″N 79°21′1″W / 44.64722°N 79.35028°W / 44.64722; -79.35028

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