Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall is a

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 ...

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It was first opened in 1971 by the Klondike Visitors Association, making it Canada's Oldest Casino. Gerties, as it is popularly known, as well as most of Dawson City is reminiscent of the area's Klondike Gold Rush History. Patrons are treated to a daily

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

Show inspired by one of Dawson's most Famous Dance Hall Stars from the Gold Rush Era, Gertie Lovejoy, who had a Diamond between her two front teeth.

Overview

Gerties is quite unique among casinos in Canada; being the only one where patrons can

gamble Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...

, drink alcohol, and watch live entertainment in the same room. The only casino located in northern Canada,it is still operated by the Klondike Visitors Association, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. Revenues are re-invested back into the town to help preserve historic sites, produce local events and to promote the Klondike. In 2015, it was declared a Municipal Heritage Site.

Arctic Brotherhood Hall

The building that houses Gerties was formerly known as Arctic Brotherhood Hall. It was built way back in 1901 in a mere three weeks by the Arctic Brotherhood, who were a fraternal social organization for men living in the northwest section of North America. Camp No.4 of the Arctic Brotherhood was formed in November 1899 in Dawson City. When it was completed, the building was regarded as the largest and grandest building in the northwest. In 1925, the Arctic Brotherhood ceased to exist and soon after the

Fraternal Order of Eagles Fraternal Order of Eagles (F.O.E.) is a fraternal organization that was founded on February 6, 1898, in Seattle, Washington, by a group of six theater owners including John Cort (the first president), brothers John W. and Tim J. Considine, Harr ...

moved in. Eventually the building was turned into a community hall. In 1967, the building was renovated and briefly renamed to Centennial Hall in honour of Canada's 100th birthday. In 1971, the town leased the building to the Klondike Visitors Association, who were running casino nights on the S.S. ''Keno'' after they had obtained a special gambling license from the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

Games

Among the available games are blackjack ($3-$100 bets), roulette, poker, 64

slot machines A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine ( Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively ...

, and

red dog poker Yablon, also known as red dog, is a game of chance played with cards, in which two cards are dealt and a player bets on whether the rank of a third card would fall between them. While found in some land casinos, its popularity has declined, alth ...

. They also have a special game called money wheel, that features Canadian bills.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 64.0615, N, 139.4302, W, display=title Buildings and structures in Dawson City Casinos in Yukon Casinos completed in 1971 1971 establishments in Yukon Buildings and structures completed in 1901

Overview

Arctic Brotherhood Hall

Games

See also

References

External links