Dakota Dunes Casino — Attraction in Saskatchewan

We decided to stay at the hotel for a night in May so we could play in the casino. Built in October 2020, it was quite nice, although a bit pricey at $190 a night.

The pros: Since it's on reserve land, people with an FN Status card don't have to pay PST! The views on either side of the hotel are amazing, and you can easily see why they call it the dunes. Unfortunately, it was cloudy so we weren't able to take in a sunset, which must be spectacular. The hotel lobby was beautifully designed and very spacious. The rooms were very nice and clean, with very comfortable beds. All TVs have casting options so we were able to enjoy our favorite Prime show before bed (please turn off the auto smoothing on the TVs though!). The rain shower was amazing, and such lovely little soaps and shampoos. We shared an absolutely delicious and ENORMOUS porterhouse steak for dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was the highlight of our trip. All the staff, from the hotel workers to the casino workers, were awesome and super friendly. I especially appreciated the heated benches provided outside for smokers.

The cons: the casino is NO FUN. Most of the machines cost quite a bit to play, with very little payout. I blew through $60 in 45 minutes just playing penny machines at the minimum bet. I noticed most of the SIGA casinos are like this now, which is too bad because I used to love going to them. Vegas it is, I guess!

We tried going to the casino restaurant for dinner, having had an amazing prime rib there prior to covid, and after waiting about 10 minutes to be seated found a very limited menu with no real gf options for either of us, which is why we ended up at the hotel restaurant. The range between the two was very wide; prices at the hotel restaurant were triple the ones in the casino. A nice middle ground eating establishment would have been great.

I'd advise requesting feather pillows because the poly ones provided are too thin for one and too thick for two. Despite the comfortable bed, I had an awful sleep due to the pillows and the super loud A/C, which happened to be blowing right on my bed so I was often freezing and then way too hot.

I would love to give this more stars, but the lack of a middle ground restaurant, the no-fun casino, and the poor sleep for the price we paid are why I...

Extremely disappointing bar service. Second time back. Same issue comes up. Before I go into a big rant I want to make one thing clear I can go into any bar in Saskatoon or even New Island Sushi and ask for a MaiTai and get one. To walk up to the casino bar and have my spouse ask for her favourite drink, a Maitai only to have the bartender try to work around making it is insanity.

My spouse asked for a maitai and the bartender said “I don’t know what that is” I said “the last time we were here we had this issue it’s on your drink chart” - a list of drinks the bar should be able to make when ordered

She then said to my spouse “can you tell me how to make it” So my spouse showed her how to make it on with a quick google search. She then refused to offer a substitute for the orange curaçao, which they have …..blue curaçao…….. which my spouse said to her face. The bartender then said quite rudely “pick something simple” I’m sorry what?

Now imagine my dismay after the manager comes and tells me the situation will be dealt with accordingly then comes back and tells me I’m the problem because it’s busy and I should have empathy for the bartender.

Keep in mind I chose to step away from the bar instead of stopping the flow of traffic and making a scene when it was so busy.

They then told me I was being condescending when I was upset and made me produce my ID again after already having a beer in hand.

After I produced my ID in good faith they took it aside and wrote down all my personal information.

The manager asked what I wanted to be done about it? How about an apology and the promise that it will be dealt with in mature matter. I wasted $20 on our drinks plus the fuel to drive 1 1/2 hours for this?

Could have sat in my lazyboy at home and gambled online and made my spouse her maitai for that price.

This is the second time they failed to make a Maitai. The worst part is they have a drink on the menu called “The Frozen Hawaiian” that is essentially a slushy MaiTai……….

Absolutely horrendous service at best. I will be gambling in my small town bar from now on, who also knows how to make a Maitai….

I have only won money here. And chose to use it gambling here to have a longer night. I...

Very Disappointed with the "resolution" with team at Dakota Dunes Casino.

At the electronic table games with friends. Playing Roulette and Blackjack for hours. Split betting zero/double zero while playing blackjack.

On two separate occasions my machine malfunctions. Both were from taking insurance on a hand and having the machine double prompt me to "stand". Resulting in the hand being void and needing to call an attendant.

On the second occasion, my machine had the same issue, however, this time, it really posed issues that took around 15-20 minutes to resolve. In that time, my bets are unable to be placed, funds are in the machine, and player card is with the staff.

The precedent of steadily betting on 0/00 zero was clear over the last hour of play. During the time it took to fix the machine (ultimately got taken out of service) 0/00 was hit not once, not twice, but three times in a row.

I was assured that efforts will be made to make things right. The result? the casino boss essentially saying "too bad". If you were gambling online, you would have lost that money anyways. We aren't going to offer you anything for the inconvenience.

Now, I understand that at the absolute end of the day, a bet that isn't placed is not a bet that can be won. Those are the facts. However, when you factor the situation in its entirety, it is reasonable for the casino to at least offer something for the inconvenience of missing a clear window of opportunity that would have been claimed if not for the malfunction and mishandling of the machine and the players funding & card.

Its frustrating how the player will 100% of the time be penalized for any mistakes they make during their play at the casino. If they mis-signal or misclick a button, they will still pay for their bet. (which is reasonable & fair) However, when the casino has a malfunction that is beyond the ability of the player, the casino STILL will take the stance that its the player who is at fault and not the casino. Generally, I am in favor of in person gambling for the environment and the factor that humans are involved. But after this experience, I am going to be taking a firm step back from...