I've recently played at all the casinos in the city.
Unless otherwise indictated, all casinos in the city pay 3:2, offer surrender (no late surrender), double after split, re-split to 4 hands except aces, can’t hit split aces, no hole card, double on any first two cards. I couldn’t find one that stands on soft 17, but I heard a rumour you may find one in a high limit room.
RIVER CREE
The Joint: This place is gigantic. It's located on Enoch Cree Nation reserve land just off the west end of the Whitemud It includes a very large Mariott hotel, two hockey arenas, a night club, a race book, a steakhouse, and a classy (but pricey) buffet. I don't exactly know who stays in the hotel, given its location out in the sticks and the exorbitant prices they charge for rooms. It's only been open for a couple of years, so the casino is still pretty nice looking inside. It's the only place in the greater area that you can smoke in, which explains why the place stays so busy. The place brings in a lot of pretty big names: Jay Leno, Collective Soul, Wayne Newton, Billy Idol, etc. and also hosts some MMA events.
The Game: You won’t find a game under $10 on a weekend and at peak times, $15 is more common. $5 games can be had on weekdays. Eight deck shoe, H17, and they have automatic shufflers. And the rumours about poor penetration are all true – 50-60%. Stay away from this monster if you value your money. They offer both Super Seven and Lucky Lucky. Light to moderate heat, nothing much to worry about.
The Dealers: I’ve heard it’s the only casino in town where the dealer’s tips exceed his paycheque, and it shows. Dealers are very pleasant, have good rapport with the players, and offer advice to newbies. They’re pretty fast, but not ridiculously fast.
The Clientele: The clientele is a pretty good mix of young and old. It also seems to get more than its fair share of northern oil workers and some of them are very degenerate players who sometimes hassle the dealers. A few bad apples ruin it for the otherwise very decent folks.
The Drink Service: Cocktail service is good, but it can be brutally slow when there's a show going on and the place is packed. They also run into staffing issues from time to time.
The Parking: Like I said, you can smoke in here so the place is busy all the time. A parking spot can be quite difficult to come by when there is an event going on. You may be parking in the dirt lot designated for overflow and it’s quite a hike to the door. God help you if it’s raining. For the car-less wonders out there, there’s a shuttle that runs from West Edmonton Mall.
CENTURY
The Joint: It's the newest casino in town (opened November 2006), but nothing really jumped out at me in the way of the decor. It’s pretty boring and plain looking in the lobby. It strikes me as a place that's owned by a large Polish gaming corporation. Oh wait…that’s because it is. The bar looks pretty classy though. Their choice of location is questionable, as they stuck it right in the middle of a dumpy neighbourhood, and fairly close to Northlands and its competing slot room. I don't know why the hotel is there. I certainly wouldn't want to sleep over in that neighbourhood. Maybe they're trying to cater to out of towners who come in to see one of their many B and C list musical acts, such as Chilliwack, The Proclaimers, The Stampeders, and Kim Mitchell.
The Game: $5, H17, six deck shoe, 80% penetration. Pretty standard stuff. They offer Super Seven, but they may have other side bets here, I just didn’t notice. There’s a small amount of heat here, but nothing that can’t be handled.
The Dealers: Meh. They’re nothing special here. They’re very unassuming, go at a pretty slow pace and very rarely make mistakes. But, if you're a good tipper, one of them just might pay you by mistake. If you want to give counting a try, this is probably your best bet.
The Clientele: The place mostly serves the mid-30s crowd from the surrounding neighbourhoods. They don’t throw a lot of money around but are friendly and don’t mind being chatted up at the table.
The Drink Service: Usually pretty good, but there can be long dry spells. I would skip the alcohol altogether, as they charge $5.25 for a bottle of domestic, the bastards!
The Parking: Parking is plentiful. They have a decent sized above ground lot in front of the building and around the side, and an underground parkade as well. As an added bonus, if you don't drive and/or plan to drink your face off and are too cheap to spring for a cab like I am, it's a very short walk to the Belvedere LRT station.
PALACE
The Joint: This place has been operating since 1990 which makes me wonder how it manages to stay so nice. I understand it got an $8 million renovation and expansion seven years ago. The art deco theme they were going for really classes up the joint. There's also a window that looks down on the amusement park, a separate room for baccarat, and a second floor of all slots. Usually, there’s a live music act on the weekends and they’re mostly pretty good.
The Game: $5, but some tables get bumped up at busy times. You’ll be hard-pressed to find an opening at a $5 game on weekends. 8-deck shoe, no mid-shoe entry, 80% penetration. Geez, it’s all “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” All tables offer Lucky Lucky. A little bit of heat, but nothing that can’t be brushed off.
The Dealers: They don’t go out of their way to give good service and some of them don’t even seem to know the rules. There are quite a few of the stiff types i.e. the ones who might die if they crack a smile. They could do considerably better in this department.
The Clientele: The crowd is young, rich, and slightly obnoxious. Still, the table action was awesome, the players were really into it, and it was a really fun time. Actually, the whole place has a pretty good party vibe to it.
The Drink Service: Downright lousy. You want a drink? Get it yourself! Seriously, with the young noisy crowd they draw, they are missing a big opportunity here.
The Parking: It’s connected to the second largest parking lot in the world (the lot at the new Texas Stadium is bigger) but if you visit on a Saturday afternoon or a long weekend, you might be S.O.L. I’ve always been there fairly late at night, in which case, it’s very easy to get a good spot.
BACCARAT
The Joint: This place, for having been open only 12 years is showing some pretty bad wear and tear. The floor creaks when you walk on it, and the bathrooms and bar are quite dumpy. It also gives the impression of being very small. It's likely to remain shabby for quite some time as expansion/renovation plans are up in the air with city council. The place is owned by the same people who own the Palace, which makes it even more puzzling as to why this place has gone to seed. The place was deathly quiet with no music anywhere, giving it the feel that this is a place where dreams go to die. This place doesn't bring in any entertainment like the Century or River Cree, but if you're bored, strike up a conversation with one of the lunatics hanging around outside. That's entertaining.
The Game: $5 and up. 8 deck, H17, 75% penetration. Lucky Lucky and Super Seven available. When the true count hit +12, the heat was quite substantial, but I suspect it was directed more at the people who backcounted and wonged in than myself. Nobody got backed off though.
The Dealers: Incompetent and downright rude. Not only that, but they're intolerably slow with the cards and the player decisions. I mean, I don't so much mind if I'm losing my ass as long as there's good dealer service, but it's just a complete disaster here. I won't be back anytime soon for this very reason.
The Clientele: A mix of young people, presumably MacEwan college students and the 50+ crowd with no in between. Many sad people though.
The Drink Service: Pretty good. The joint was jumping when I visited but the waitress still made it around the table every 10 or 20 minutes. Bottles of domestic are $4.25.
The Parking: It has a massive parking lot which is rarely full, but it’s dimly lit and kind of creepy. Plus, it’s only on one side of the building so you face a potentially long walk on busy nights.
CASINO YELLOWHEAD
The Joint: The exterior is pretty well done. Inside is a bit different: it looks tired and shabby by comparison, despite the fact that this joint has only been open for eight years, and their neon signs on the walls and lights on the ceiling are a little bit tacky. They did stick a classy fountain right inside the entrance though. They crammed all the table games into this tiny little area surrounded by slots. It looks like they're trying for a western theme, but they half-assed it. It's located on the Yellowhead Highway in the middle of an industrial park and next to a Costco.
The Game: $5, H17, six-deck shoe. 75-80% penetration. They have tables with Super Seven and others with Lucky Lucky for the obsessive side-bettor in you. There is no heat here. I was practically counting out loud and they completely ignored it. They don’t mind at all. Fantastic!
The Dealers: Very hit and miss. Some really good ones who offer advice and tell jokes during shuffles, and some REALLY bad ones who mis-deal and screw up payouts. Unfortunately, the good ones have to share the tips with the shitheads.
The Clientele: Middle aged and seniors – a lot of seniors. They must bring them in by the busload.
The Drink Service: Excellent drink service. $3.50 for a bottle of domestic during happy hour. All other times, it’s bumped up to $4.50. If you like drowning your gambling losses in cheap liquor, this is your joint.
The Parking: A pretty big lot, and a fairly large number of spots surround the building. No complaints here regarding parking.
CASINO EDMONTON
The Joint: This old girl has been going in some form or another since 1986, but I have to say they've kept it up really well. The layout is very similar to Yellowhead in that the table games are crammed into a small section, and it seems like they've jammed slot machines into every open space in the building. There's no real decor or theme here, just some lights on the ceiling and a small stage for garage bands. It strikes me as a place that's serious about gambling; it practically screams "You want to impress your friends? Go to River Cree, ya big piece o' ****!"
The Game: $3 minimums. 4 deck, H17, 85% penetration, but no surrender allowed. Boo! Why’d they have to wreck a perfectly good 4 deck game with no surrender? Lucky Lucky and Super Seven available. The floor supervisor was fairly easygoing, unlike some of the robots I've seen elsewhere.
The Dealers: They're not too bad, although there are a couple who deal at Formula One speed so you'll want to practice counting a deck before you come here. Just like the clientele: fairly quiet and unassuming, are quick with the payouts and don't make mistakes. What the hell else can you ask for?
The Clientele: A diverse mix, mostly people in their 30's and 40's and middle class. I found a couple of people who would chat, but the crowd here mostly keeps to themselves. This strikes me as a place that's serious about gambling and draws people who don’t care about fancy restaurants, headlining music acts, and waterfalls in the entrance.
The Drink Service: It’s great, but not quite as good as Yellowhead. Domestic bottles go for $4.50.
The Parking: It's very good. Spots are easy to find and the walk's not that bad.
GOLD DUST
The Joint: This place is every bit as dumpy as the Baccarat. It’s so small in here that they don’t even have room for a craps table. There’s a dingy sports bar through the front entrance with some beat up tables and small TV screens. It’s in an industrial park in St. Albert, which is about as bad as you can get for location.
The Game: $3 minimums, re-split aces, 85-90% penetration, but no surrender at any time. Hmm! I’m informed that they’ll be driving everything up to $5 pretty soon, so get in on this cheapo deal while you can. They also have Super Seven and Lucky Lucky for all your side-betting needs. Minimal heat.
The Dealers: Great dealers here. Never had a problem, and they’re not prone to mistakes like some of the other places. Some have been working there a long time and are very quick, so this isn’t the best place to go if you’re just learning to count.
The Clientele: 18 years old, and then anywhere from 35 to 105. The twenty-something crowd is totally missing, which is what you’d expect for an upper-middle class bedroom community. The 18 year old crowd is extremely annoying, obviously. As far as the seniors go, you might find one or two crabby ones who’ll bitch when you hit 16, but the majority are very nice. But I’ve never been hassled so much about not playing Lucky Lucky. Every time a 678 shows up in my hand, the entire table bemoans it. I DON’T SIDE BET! LEAVE ME ALONE!!
The Drink Service: It all depends. If they have the staff available, you’ll receive excellent service and very reasonable $4 domestic bottles. If they’re short-staffed, you’ll be waiting for an eternity and should probably get it yourself.
The Parking: The parking lot is small and in terrible shape, but for now, it appears that they’re expanding it. Once that happens, it’ll be more than ample.
To recap quickly:
Swankiest: River Cree
Dumpiest: Baccarat
Best Game: Casino Yellowhead
Worst Game: River Cree
Best Dealers: River Cree
Worst Dealers: Baccarat
Best Clientele: Palace
Worst Clientele: Gold Dust
Best Drink Service: Casino Yellowhead
Worst Drink Service: Palace
Best Parking: Century
Worst Parking: River Cree
In my opinion, Century offers the best overall Blackjack experience, but I would also go back to Casino Yellowhead, as I like cheap beer and winning money without getting hassled by the floor staff. Good luck!