Although a full grand opening is still a few weeks away, Chatham-Kent residents have been given their first taste of the new Cascades Casino. 
The facility, which includes close to a dozen table games and hundreds of slot machines, held what’s called a soft opening last night.
Spokesman Rob Mitchell says from concept to opening, the entire process has been great.
“This is one of the best communities we’ve ever worked with,” Mitchell says. “It went off like a Swiss watch. The transition, we started with (former Mayor) Randy Hope, Darrin Canniff now, and CAO Don Shropshire. It’s just been terrific with the cooperation we’ve had from the municipality to get this up and we did it in record time, just a little over 11 months.”
The Chatham facility is the first new build for Gateway Casinos in Ontario.
The casino also includes two family-friendly restaurants which are separated from the gaming floor.
“I love the separation of church and state, if you like, between the gaming box and the restaurant amenities,” Mitchell says. “It’s very important to us that families enjoy this facility. It’s about more than just gaming, it’s about live entertainment, it’s about sports, it’s that kind of stuff.”
Mitchel says they’ll continue to tweak the facility over the next few weeks as they see what work with patrons and what doesn’t.
The casino is fully licensed, can hold up to 700 people, and will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
An official grand opening celebration is planned for August 8th.