First time at the casino?
Fort McMurray Casino Online, New Here
This independent guide walks you through a first visit to Rivers Casino & Entertainment Centre on Hardin Street, downtown. It covers what to bring, how the door works, what the games are and how to go easy on your wallet.
Written by the Front Steps crewChecked October 14, 2026
What goes in your pocket
Start with government-issued photo ID. In Alberta you must be 18 to go in or to gamble. Staff must ask for ID from anyone who looks younger than 25. Even if you look older, keep the card on you. A Winner's Edge card is optional: it is the loyalty card AGLC runs across Alberta, and you pick it up at Guest Services with your ID, 18 and over only.
Leave the coin jar at home. The slot floor runs ticket-in, ticket-out: the machines take no coins, and cashing out prints a paper ticket. The casino posts no ATM or cashier details, so call Guest Services at (780) 790-9739, extension 102, before counting on either.
The pocket check
Tap what goes in your pocket and answer three quick questions. The door tells you the rest.
- 18 is the age for an Alberta casino, and anyone who looks under 25 is asked for a government photo ID: pack it.
- The Winner's Edge card comes from the Guest Services desk, for members 18 and over showing a government ID; self-exclusion rules it out.
- Coins stay home: the slot machines work on printed tickets only.
- A self-exclusion term with AGLC (selfexclusion.ca) that includes Alberta casinos includes this one.
Your first minutes inside
Make Guest Services your first stop. It is the front desk for questions, and its extension on the main line, (780) 790-9739, is 102. The GameSense Information Centre is on site too. GameSense is AGLC's responsible gambling program, and the casino says any staff member can help a guest who needs it.
Each part of the floor keeps its own clock. Slot machines start at 9:30 a.m. every day. Live tables, the ones with a real dealer, open Monday to Wednesday at 4 p.m. and Thursday to Sunday at 2 p.m. Poker cash games get going at 6 p.m. each night. Holiday hours are not posted, so a call to Guest Services settles them.
The games in plain words
The floor holds more than 400 slot machines. You press a button, the reels spin and the machine shows the result. Electronic table games are card or wheel games played on a screen. The live tables have a real dealer and run Blackjack, Free Bet Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold'em and Roulette. Blackjack is a card game played against the dealer, and roulette is a ball landing on a spinning wheel.
Poker has its own room with 3 tables, where you play against other players. Winner's Edge points come from slots and electronic tables only, and some games are left out; live tables and poker earn none. The casino lists no VLTs (video lottery terminals), bingo, keno or sports betting, and no high-limit room.
The soft keypad: press a game
Pick a game, a day and a time. The card shows whether it is here, when it runs and whether it counts on the loyalty card.
Mountain time. Times run from 9:30 a.m.; a session after midnight belongs to the evening it started.
| Game | Here | Card points |
|---|---|---|
| Slot machines | over 400 | yes |
| Electronic table games | on the floor; no count published | yes |
| Blackjack | live table; the table count is not published | no |
| Free Bet Blackjack | live table; the table count is not published | no |
| Ultimate Texas Hold'em | live table; the table count is not published | no |
| Roulette | live table; the table count is not published | no |
| Poker room | 3 poker tables | no |
| VLTs, bingo, keno, sports betting | not listed | no |
| Day | Slots | Live tables | Lounge | Breakfast mains | Lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. | 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 9:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. | 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 9:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. | 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Thursday | 9:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. | 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Friday | 9:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. | 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. | 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Sunday | 9:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. | 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
The bead string: one amount, one leaving time
Every peach bead is half an hour, every mint bead a break, the big bead is where you stop.
- half an hour
- a break
- stop
Decide one amount and one leaving time at home. Divide the amount by the hours you plan to stay: that is the most you spend in any one hour. Take a break every hour, and when the amount is gone, the evening is over, whatever the clock says.
A first-night amount
Pick one amount and one leaving time at home. Both are easier to keep when they are not decided at the machine. Then split the amount into a pace for each hour you plan to stay. Step away from the floor for a break now and then, maybe to sit down at Rapids for a bit.
Tickets help with this too. Cashing out prints a paper ticket, so you can see what is left. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, the margin it keeps. Over many visits, players as a group lose more than they win.
A bite and a band at Rapids
Rapids Showroom & Lounge is the casino's restaurant, bar and showroom in one. The lounge opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 2 a.m., every day. Breakfast mains, printed under the Rivers Cafe name, run 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch favourites run 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a dinner menu, but no dinner hours are posted, so ask the lounge manager at extension 118.
Live music plays in the showroom every week. The casino says the room has the biggest dance floor in town and plenty of table space. The month's line-up is on riverscasino.ca/entertainment.
Getting to Hardin Street
The casino sits at 9825 Hardin St., downtown Fort McMurray, Alberta T9H 4G9, and the main line is (780) 790-9739. RMWB Transit's On Demand service covers a Downtown zone. On weekdays it runs only in the evening, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday it runs 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Book a ride in the app, at rmwb.ca/OnDemand, or by calling Pulse at 780-743-7000.
Since rides stop at 10 p.m., plan the trip home before you go. Parking details are not posted, so ask Guest Services at extension 102. The casino has no hotel of its own and names no partner hotel.
The online side, told straight
Alberta has a regulated online gaming market. AGLC regulates it and the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) manages it. A lawful operator registers with AGLC, signs an operating agreement with AiGC and keeps play to people physically in Alberta. AiGC keeps the directory of authorised sites at abigaming.ca/players/registered-igaming-sites, and a site missing from it is not part of the regulated market. PlayAlberta.ca is the province's own site, run by AGLC.
This guide's paid links are marked Ad and sit on the home page only. All of them lead to one private online casino partner, which pays the guide a commission. The partner is not named here and can change. The guide does not vouch for it, so check any site in the AiGC directory yourself.
Someone to talk to
- The Addiction Helpline run by Recovery Alberta, 1-866-332-2322, takes calls about gambling at any hour, at no cost and in confidence.
- 211 Alberta answers around the clock by phone at 211, by texting INFO to 211 or by online chat, and it can point you to gambling support.
- Self-exclusion with AGLC can only be arranged online at selfexclusion.ca; terms are six months, a year, two years or three years, and no term can be shortened.
Questions from first-timers
If you look older than 25, do you still need ID?
Yes, bring it along anyway. In Alberta you must be 18 to go in, and staff must ask for valid government-issued photo ID from anyone who looks younger than 25. How old you look is their call, and the card settles it.
Can you go in just to look around and eat?
Rapids Showroom & Lounge opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 2 a.m., every day of the week. You still need to be 18 to enter the casino, so carry photo ID.
Are the live tables open at noon on a weekday?
They are not open at noon. Monday to Wednesday they start at 4 p.m., and Thursday and Friday at 2 p.m. At noon you can find the slots, which start at 9:30 a.m., and the lounge.
Do you need cash for the slots?
You do not need coins: the floor runs ticket-in, ticket-out, and cashing out prints a ticket. ATM and cashier details are not posted, so ask Guest Services at (780) 790-9739, extension 102.
Can you place a bet through this guide?
This independent guide accepts no wagers and offers no accounts and no cashier. Nor is it the website of Rivers Casino & Entertainment Centre, its owners or AGLC.