Two seasons by the lake road
Cold Lake Casino Online by Season
Near Cold Lake, on Cold Lake First Nations land at Route 28 & Hwy 897, stands Casino Dene. Cold Lake Casino, an independent guide from the Two Seasons desk that handles no wagers, traces one evening there in winter and again in summer.
By the Two Seasons deskChecked October 6, 2026
Frost window
Is Casino Dene open then?
Mountain time: open by 11 am, closing 2 am or 3 am, with the pane's sky following the month's computed light.
…
| Night | Doors | Closing |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | by 11 am | 2 am |
| Tuesday | by 11 am | 2 am |
| Wednesday | by 11 am | 2 am |
| Thursday | by 11 am | 2 am |
| Friday | by 11 am | 3 am |
| Saturday | by 11 am | 3 am |
| Sunday | by 11 am | 2 am |
Mountain time. Before 11 am: not confirmed, call 780-594-7900. Holiday hours are not published.
One door, two kinds of light
Casino Dene's published hours have no summer or winter version: 2 am after Sunday to Thursday, 3 am after Friday and Saturday. The daylight is another matter. By our calculation, December 21 brings 7 h 18 min at the casino's coordinates, and June 21 brings 17 h 13 min.
In winter the evening starts in the dark, with blue dusk arriving in the afternoon. The whole visit, from arrival to the drive home, runs under a night sky. Summer turns that around. Guests pull in under a high, pale sky and walk out after dark, the last gold long gone.
Cold Lake First Nations' casino
Casino Dene stands on reserve land belonging to Cold Lake First Nations, south of the city. The Nation's Denesuline (Chipewyan) Tribe conceived it as an economic development project, and an agreement with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) made it real. Guests first walked through its doors on September 27, 2007. Under Alberta's Host First Nation model, the province counts six such casinos, and Casino Dene is among them. Its designated charity is the Dene Ts'edi Society.
The floor holds more than 250 games across slots, VLTs and tables. At the 10 table games, the top bet is $100. The casino is open by 11 am every day and closes at 2 am after Sunday through Thursday, and at 3 am after Friday and Saturday. Holiday hours go unpublished, so a phone call is the way to confirm them.
- over 250
- slots, VLTs and table games
- 10
- table games, bets up to $100
- Thu to Sun
- poker tournaments
- 2 am / 3 am
- closing, Sun to Thu / Fri and Sat
December evenings at the casino
Winter evenings here start in darkness. Computed daylight falls to 8 h 08 min on November 21 and 7 h 18 min on December 21. Long before the 2 am or 3 am close, the sky over the lot has gone from blue to black.
Casino Dene lists ample parking among its features. A security escort to the vehicle is available on request, one of the complimentary services, along with coffee on the casino floor. For anyone not driving home, Hotel Dene & Conference Centre stands directly across the parking lot. The winter page covers that evening in more detail.
The way in and out
Your arrival, floe by floe
Pick a month, a night and the hours. Light is computed from the casino's coordinates; the rest is the casino's own information.
- Address: Route 28 & Hwy 897, Cold Lake, AB T9M 1P4.
- Parking: ample space, as the casino puts it.
- Leaving late: a security escort to your vehicle is available on request.
- Hotel Dene & Conference Centre is directly across the parking lot.
| Night | Doors | Closing |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | by 11 am | 2 am |
| Tuesday | by 11 am | 2 am |
| Wednesday | by 11 am | 2 am |
| Thursday | by 11 am | 2 am |
| Friday | by 11 am | 3 am |
| Saturday | by 11 am | 3 am |
| Sunday | by 11 am | 2 am |
Mountain time. Before 11 am: not confirmed, call 780-594-7900. Holiday hours are not published.
June, and the long light
By June 21 the computed daylight reaches 17 h 13 min. The light lingers over the lot well into the evening. Guests drive in under a gold evening sky and leave long after it fades.
Live entertainment comes every weekend with no charge at the door, and Aurora Bar and Lounge has a new, bigger stage. Upcoming acts are listed at casinodene.com/events. Aurora is non-smoking and 18+, with all-day breakfast served every day. On Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, every week, Casino Dene holds poker tournaments. The Two Seasons desk's summer page carries that evening further.
From both sides of the line
Casino Dene draws guests from both provinces: Lakeland towns on the Alberta side and Saskatchewan communities across the line to the east. A few of them are marked on the map beside this text. Measured as the crow flies, the City of Cold Lake lies 12.1 km off and Bonnyville 34.3 km.
Over the provincial line, Meadow Lake is 119.5 km in a straight line. Edmonton lies 231.3 km away by the same measure. Roads are longer than all of these figures. The map opens Google Maps directions for the drive.
Cracks in the ice
How far, in a straight line
Every crack runs straight from the casino to a town. Roads are longer; the button opens real directions.
34.3km in a straight line from Bonnyville
Directions in Google MapsPoints: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors.
| From | Province | Straight line |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Lake | Alberta | 12.1 km |
| Bonnyville | Alberta | 34.3 km |
| Elk Point | Alberta | 66.6 km |
| St. Paul | Alberta | 80.0 km |
| St. Walburg | Saskatchewan | 104.8 km |
| Vermilion | Alberta | 118.6 km |
| Meadow Lake | Saskatchewan | 119.5 km |
| Lloydminster | Alberta | 120.4 km |
| Lac La Biche | Alberta | 121.7 km |
| Two Hills | Alberta | 121.9 km |
| Turtleford | Saskatchewan | 136.1 km |
| Lashburn | Saskatchewan | 142.8 km |
| Smoky Lake | Alberta | 148.0 km |
| Vegreville | Alberta | 152.2 km |
| Maidstone | Saskatchewan | 153.9 km |
| Wainwright | Alberta | 173.7 km |
| Athabasca | Alberta | 201.1 km |
| Fort Saskatchewan | Alberta | 207.3 km |
| Spiritwood | Saskatchewan | 209.3 km |
| North Battleford | Saskatchewan | 217.0 km |
| Sherwood Park | Alberta | 220.6 km |
| Edmonton | Alberta | 231.3 km |
The regulated online market
Online gaming in Alberta now runs as a regulated market. Oversight sits with AGLC, while the market itself is operated by the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC). Two things make an online operator lawful: AGLC registration, and an AiGC operating agreement in its own name. Readers of Cold Lake Casino can search any site in the AiGC directory, abigaming.ca/players/registered-igaming-sites; an operator not listed there is outside regulation.
PlayAlberta.ca (Play Alberta) is owned by the province and run by AGLC, and the Alberta government receives what it earns. Every registered site must keep anyone not physically inside Alberta from playing. Cold Lake Casino's online page goes into more detail.
Help first, then the last paid link
Help in Alberta
- Recovery Alberta's Addiction Helpline, 1-866-332-2322, handles problem gambling calls day and night, keeps them private and charges nothing.
- Day or night, 211 Alberta makes confidential referrals to gambling support; a call to 211, a text reading INFO sent to 211, or its online chat all reach it.
- AGLC's Self-Exclusion Program accepts enrolments solely through selfexclusion.ca, and a chosen term runs to its end with no early cancellation.
Questions by the lake
Do Friday nights at Casino Dene run later than weeknights?
They do: Friday and Saturday nights at Casino Dene run until 3 am Mountain time. From Sunday to Thursday, the night ends at 2 am. No holiday schedule is posted, and a call to 780-594-7900 confirms it.
How dark is it outside at closing time in December?
Night has long since fallen by the time the doors close. By our calculation, the 21st of December brings 7 h 18 min of daylight at the casino's coordinates. The drive home starts in full darkness, so plan it before the evening begins.
Is there somewhere to sleep without getting back in the car?
Hotel Dene & Conference Centre faces Casino Dene from directly across its parking lot. Guest rooms come with one king or two queen beds, and a king suite is also offered. The hotel keeps its own website, hoteldene.com.
Can a guest from Meadow Lake in Saskatchewan make the trip?
Meadow Lake is 119.5 km from Casino Dene in a straight line, across the provincial line to the east. Roads are longer than that figure, so the map's Google Maps link is the place to plan the route.
Is this guide connected to the people who run Casino Dene?
Cold Lake Casino is a separate, independent guide, unconnected to Casino Dene, Cold Lake First Nations, Hotel Dene or AGLC. The Two Seasons desk accepts no wagers of any kind.