Ask anyone who lives here how far the casino is and the answer comes back in minutes off the 401, never in kilometres. That is the local unit of measurement. The place sits at 888 Durham Live Avenue, immediately south of the highway, roughly 16 kilometres east of downtown Toronto, and everybody in town has their own shortcut to the lot.
My visit started at Pearson, because my brother’s flight landed there and I had promised him a ride. Google said 53 minutes. Google was right, give or take the usual crawl past the airport ramps. We pulled into the parking structure a little after seven on a weekday evening, which in my experience is the sweet spot: the dinner crowd has not arrived, the weekend buses have not either, and you can still walk up to a table without hovering behind somebody’s shoulder.
What follows is one evening, not a verdict on the whole property. But after four years of driving past this thing while it grew out of the Durham Live site, I had opinions to check.
Where it is and how I got there
The resort opened in phases: the gaming floor to the public on July 26, 2021, the 275-room hotel in January 2023, and the full destination resort officially on April 27, 2023. It cost around 500 million dollars to build and covers over 330,000 square feet, of which 96,000 is gaming floor.
Parking is complimentary in both the multi-level garage and the outdoor lot. I use the outdoor lot when I am only staying a couple of hours, because walking out is faster than spiralling down a ramp behind six other cars. Hotel guests get complimentary enclosed parking, which is the better deal if you are staying the night.
| How you get there | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Car from downtown Toronto | roughly 35 to 55 minutes | parking complimentary |
| Car from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) | 53 minutes | parking complimentary |
| GO train from Union Station | about 1 h 26 m | C$7 to C$9 |
| Line 90 bus from Union Station | about 1 h 24 m | C$6 to C$8 |
| GO bus, Union to Ajax GO (4 times daily) | about 40 minutes | C$6 to C$8 |
Transit riders come through Pickering GO station and finish by local bus, taxi or ride-share. Durham Region Transit’s 100-series routes serve the area, including the 112 to Taunton Road via Alexander Knox Road, the 118 to Taunton via Whites Road, and the 121 to Pickering Parkway Terminal. My honest advice to visiting friends: if you are coming from the city without a car, budget the connection time, not just the train time.
What the floor looked like inside
One level, no stairs, no hunting. Slots, live tables, electronic terminals and the Great Canadian Sportsbook are all grouped so you can cross from one to the other without changing floors. That layout is the single best thing about the building.
The inventory: approximately 2,200 slot machines, denominations running from a penny to 100 dollars, more than 90 live table games, and over 50 electronic table games set up in a stadium-style area, served by roughly 140 live dealer stadium terminals. My brother, who had not been since the year it opened, spent twenty minutes just reading machine themes.
Here is my one real complaint, and locals say it too. On a quiet weeknight the floor reads as enormous rather than lively. High ceilings, long sightlines, a lot of carpet between you and the next person. Some reviewers reach for the word warehouse and I understand why, even if I think that is harsh. It fills out on Friday and Saturday and the feeling disappears entirely, but if you want atmosphere on a Tuesday, sit at a table rather than wander.
If you have seen social ads promising welcome bonuses under this property’s name, treat them carefully: the operator publishes its own list of fraudulent advertising using its brands, and an independent review of what runs as Pickering Casino online explains which digital properties actually carry the name. The casino itself is a bricks-and-mortar venue.
The poker room, and why you will not find it on the main floor
This tripped up my brother completely. The poker room is not on the gaming floor. You take the hotel elevators to the third floor, where 20,000 square feet of space holds an 18-table room including two private high-stakes rooms. It runs 24 hours a day.
The games spread there are 1/3, 2/5, 5/10 and 10/20 No Limit, plus 20/40 Omaha half-kill limit. Regulars order from the tableside bar and food service, which comes from The District, the resort’s food hall, so nobody has to leave a seat to eat. It is a genuinely separate room with its own rhythm, quieter than the floor below.
Where we ate, and what was actually open
Nine dining venues operate on site. We had planned on Copperhorn Meet House, the steakhouse set inside the gaming floor, and that is where the planning fell apart: it serves Wednesday to Sunday, 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm, and we were there on the wrong night. Worth checking before you build an evening around it. It also has a private dining room on the gaming floor for gatherings of up to 30, and because of its location you must be 19 to sit there.
1) Sun Sui Wah for Cantonese, with roast Peking duck, seafood and handcrafted dim sum.
2) CA·SU·AL, a gastropub with local craft beer, 19 and over.
3) Rock House Grill, the casual all-day option: burgers, fried chicken, fish and chips, gyros, breakfast, salads.
4) ZIOs Italian, which serves until 2 am and is where half the late crowd ends up.
5) Starbucks, open 24 hours, which is the only reason some of us survive the drive home.
6) The Bar at PCR, on the west end of the casino floor, wines and beers, open daily.
We landed at Rock House Grill and had zero regrets. Great Canadian Rewards members can spend Comp Dollars at many participating dining venues, which is why the locals at the next table were all tapping cards before paying.
What the evening cost
Parking was free. That is the part visitors never believe. The transit alternative would have been C$7 to C$9 each way on the GO train from Union, plus a local connection.
Beyond that, the spend is whatever you decide it is. Penny denominations exist on the slot bank, 100-dollar machines exist too, and the poker room starts at 1/3 No Limit. Dinner at a casual venue sat well below what the steakhouse would have run. For anyone extending the night, published hotel rates have appeared from around C$109 for a King room and C$260 for an Executive room depending on date and channel, with a resort fee of C$11.29 per night charged through some booking channels. Rooms range from 388 to 775 square feet, check-in is 4:00 pm and check-out 11:00 am, and guests get the Aquatic Oasis pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room plus a 24-hour fitness centre.
Age limits, dress code and hours
You must be 19 to enter and to gamble, provincewide, and staff check. The dress code is smart casual, which in practice meant nobody at our end of the floor looked out of place in jeans and a decent jacket. Gaming runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, holidays included, which is how a 7 pm arrival turns into a midnight departure without anyone deciding it should.
The Arena, the 2,500-seat venue on site, hosts live music, comedy, sport and other events through the year. On event nights the whole property reorganises around the show, and the lot fills earlier than usual. Plan accordingly if you are coming purely for the floor.
Would I go again
Yes, and I will, because it is fifteen minutes from my house and the parking is free. For someone driving in from Pearson or the city, the honest pitch is this: a single-level floor you can actually navigate, a poker room that feels separate in a good way, late Italian food, and a coffee shop that never closes. The trade-off is the scale of the room on a slow night.
Go on a weekend if you want noise. Go midweek if you want a seat. Check the steakhouse hours either way.
You must be 19 or older to enter the gaming floor in Ontario. Set a limit before you go and treat the money as the price of the evening.