Great Blue Heron Casino
The Great Blue Heron Casino is located on Scugog Island, just east of the community of Port Perry, Ontario, and northeast of Toronto. Both the Casino and the land on which it is built are owned by the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. The First Nation theme is carried throughout the facility, in the interior art and is especially noticeable in the signature red, blue and cream colour roof.
The Great Blue Heron Gaming Company, a partnership of Casinos Austria, the Steiner Family, and Sonco Gaming, operates the Casino. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation manages the slots, while the Baagwating Community Association, a non-profit, charitable organization formed by the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, manages the table games. Revenues and profits are distributed among the parties, and to various charitable organizations, based upon contractual sharing arrangements.
Opened originally in 1997, with slots and a 650-seat bingo hall, the Casino was extensively renovated in 1999 and 2000. Its floor area is approximately, in which there are now two bars, one restaurant, a slots' room with 545 machines and a 60 table games. The table games include: Roulette, Blackjack, Spanish 21, Mini Baccarat, Let it Ride Poker, Texas Hold Em Poker, Pai Gow Poker, Three & Four Card Poker and Texas Hold Em Bonus Poker. As of 2007, there is no longer a bingo hall on premises.
The Casino is currently receiving renovations that will be completed in July of 2020. The expansion includes a 100 room hotel as well as a 20,000 square foot addition to hold more slots and tables and a 500 seat entertainment centre.
