The Room That Opened in 2024
Until January 29, 2024, poker players in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area had to travel if they wanted a proper live room near Pickering. There simply was not a dedicated local option. That changed when Great Canadian Entertainment officially launched the poker room at Pickering Casino Resort and folded it into the Durham Live project that had been slowly building toward this kind of product.
The poker room is located on the third floor of the Hotel at Pickering Casino Resort, reached by elevator from the main lobby. The space covers close to 20,000 square feet and runs around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No regular shutdowns are scheduled. The resort itself sits at 888 Durham Live Avenue, Pickering, ON L1W 0C1, roughly a 40-minute drive east of downtown Toronto along Highway 401.
Pickering operates as part of the broader Great Canadian Entertainment network of Ontario casinos. One of the practical perks of that structure is the shared bad beat jackpot: eligible hands played at Pickering add to, and can hit, the same progressive pool that live players chase at other Great Canadian properties.
Tables, Stakes, and What Actually Runs
The room holds 18 tables in total. Sixteen are available for the regular player pool, while two are set aside as private high-stakes rooms for closed or more exclusive play. Day in, day out, the core action is No Limit Hold’em spread across multiple blind levels.
The 1/3 NLH tables are the workhorse of the room and usually the easiest game to sit in at any time. Alongside them, 2/5 NLH is commonly in action. Higher levels such as 5/10 and 10/20 depend on demand and the day of the week. For even bigger games, 25/50 can be set up on request if a suitable group is organized and approved. Omaha has its place as well: the room spreads 20/40 Limit Omaha Hi, run with a half-kill structure, as a complement to the Hold’em lineup rather than a replacement.
Rake in cash games is capped at CAD 10 per pot, with a maximum of CAD 20 taken. Players handle buy-ins in Canadian cash, either at the main casino cage or directly at the poker desk on level three, depending on what is most convenient.
| Game Format | Stakes (CAD) | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| No Limit Hold’em | 1/3, 2/5, 5/10, 10/20 | Standard NLH |
| No Limit Hold’em | 25/50 | On request |
| Omaha Hi | 20/40 | Limit with half-kill |
For anyone thinking about playing higher than the 1/3 or 2/5 games, especially Monday to Thursday, picking up the phone ahead of time is usually a better idea than walking in and expecting a big game to be running immediately.
Getting a Seat - How It Actually Works
Players have three main ways to get on a list: show up in person, call the room, or use the PokerAtlas app. Each option gets to the same place, but the experience is a little different.
Walking in is the most direct. Head straight to the Poker Desk on the third floor. Staff there will take your name, ask what game and stake you prefer, then hand you a pager. After that you wait nearby, either at the bar, in the seating area, or just on the rail. When the pager vibrates or lights up, go back to the desk, confirm your seat, buy in, and you are at the table. Once seated, tableside food service is offered so there is no need to leave the floor to grab something to eat.
Calling ahead, however, is the move a lot of players still skip. The poker room number is 289-539-0552, extension 8762. A quick call, your name, the game you want, and they will put you on the list and hold that spot for 90 minutes from the time of your call. If you arrive after that 90-minute mark, your seat is released without any exception mentioned by official channels. Make it within the window, go to the Poker Desk, confirm who you are, and you will be worked into the game.
The PokerAtlas app is another tool for getting organized before you leave home. Through the app, you can see which games are running and how the lists look, then add your name to a seat list remotely. It is important to note that this is a live game management system only - not an online poker site. There are no remote cash games attached to it, only live seat tracking for rooms like Pickering.
