Indoor Winter Fun

Skiing, sledding and playing in the snow is great. But, sometimes you want to get inside, get warm, and do something different. If in Montreal, how about the casino?

When you think of casinos, your thoughts probably turn to poker tables, chiming slot machines and people dressed to the nines looking for an evening of fun. The Casino de Montréal definitely delivers on all those counts, but what really makes the place worth visiting is the vibrant atmosphere…

I went to Montreal’s casino last week, and as soon as I stepped inside I was reminded how vast the place is: 1,402,304 square feet – that’s the equivalent of 24 football fields. One of the employees on site told me that customers can be served in 32 different languages. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask her how to shout "Jackpot!" in Swahili.

But I did make a point of informing myself about some other little-known facts about the Casino de Montréal. Did you know:

The highest amount ever doled out at the casino was upwards of $2,641,000 and it was won on a slot machine.

More than 3,000 people work at the casino.

Non-alcoholic beverages are free and last year the juice bar served over 7 million!

The casino has got to be the safest place in town. The facilities are carefully monitored by 1,300 cameras that are so powerful that they can read the writing on a 10 cent coin.

The casino’s restaurants go through nearly a tonne of Montreal’s signature smoked meat and 600kg of Bolognese sauce every week.

The total number of people who have visited the casino since it opened in 1993 will soon reach 104,000,000.

If the thought of 108 games tables and 2,900 slot machines is enough to make you hungry, head to Nuances, one of Canada’s seven five-star restaurants. It’s open 24 hours a day, every day. So, pencil it into your schedule then let me know what you ate!