Casino Rama is a large

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

, and entertainment complex located in the town of

Rama, Ontario Rama is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations community on the Chippewas of Rama First Nation reserve in Ontario, Canada. It is the home of Casino Rama. The community sports complex is called the Mnjikaning Arena Sports Ki, which was the ho ...

on the

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

land of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. It is jointly owned by the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and the

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, known for corporate branding purposes simply as OLG since 2006, is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario, Canada. It is responsible for the province's lotteries, charity and Aboriginal ...

, with operation of the casino contracted to Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited. Casino Rama is Ontario's only

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

s "commercial casino" (as opposed to a lesser class, charity casino) and the largest First Nations casino in Canada. The casino also includes restaurants, a hotel and spa, and an entertainment complex which regularly hosts ticketed 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. In 2013, Casino Rama underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation. 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."Massive theft of Ontario’s Casino Rama data sparks proposed lawsuit"
''Toronto Star'', November 12, 2016. Colin Perkel Casino Rama temporarily closed on March 16, 2020 due to COVID-19 regulations. Casino Rama announced its reopening in the light of the Covid-19 situation at the beginning of July 2021 and reopened on July 29.

Facilities

The resort consists of a 289-room hotel, a casino with a floor, a 5,000-seat Entertainment Centre, and ten restaurants. The casino has 2500 slot machines and 110 table games.

Events

Combat sports

Casino Rama has hosted a number of live boxing events, titled Rumble at Rama. On April 2, 2011, Casino Rama hosted what was promoted as the first sanctioned

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

(MMA) event in Ontario, taking place 4 weeks before

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

129 in Toronto. This was not entirely correct, as an MMA event 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; 7 MMA events were staged before the event at Casino Rama. In July 2011, it hosted a Bellator Fighting Championships event.

Concerts

Avril Lavigne - Hello Kitty (Live at Casino Rama)

The 5,036-seat Entertainment Centre has hosted a variety of stars including: Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini,

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, Diana Ross, Johnny Mathis,

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, Creed, 3 Doors Down,

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, Celtic Thunder taped two shows here, Deep Purple, Gloria Estefan,

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, Styx,

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, Ringo Starr,

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, Jeff Foxworthy, LeAnn Rimes,

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- 2005,

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, George Thorogood,

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, Steve Miller, Tom Jones,

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, Smokey Robinson,

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, CCR,

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, Lionel Richie,

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and

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. Judas Priest, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Brad Paisley, John Legend, Rick Springfield, Kelly Pickler, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Doc Walker, Trace Adkins, Blake Shelton, Huey Lewis & The News, Wayne Brady, Larry The Cable Guy, Tim Allen, Joe Nichols, Wynonna and the Big Noise. Dozens of

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Cantopop stars and television personalities have held concerts at Rama as part of a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

tour including but not limited to:
*

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, 2013 *

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, 2013 *

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, 2013 *

Raymond Lam Raymond Lam (; Jyutping: lam4 fung1; born 8 December 1979) is a Hong Kong actor and singer who is best known for roles in the television dramas ''A Step into the Past'', ''Twin of Brothers'', '' Moonlight Resonance'', '' Highs and Lows'' and '' Lin ...

, 2012 *

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, 2012 *

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, 2011

References

External links

Official Casino Rama Site
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History

Facilities

Events

Combat sports

Concerts

See also

References

External links