Ontario casino gamblers will soon have a new casino to check out as the Seminole Tribe of Florida announced the groundbreaking of a new Ottawa property in partnership with Rideau Carleton Raceway. The project was originally delayed because of the pandemic, but the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is now set to begin construction soon.
Officials from the Seminoles, Hard Rock International, and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation were set to be part of a groundbreaking ceremony on June 6. Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, other city officials, and area business leaders were also to be part of the ceremonies and manning one of Hard Rock International’s legendary guitar-handled shovels.
Those attending the groundbreaking would be treated to new renderings of the property as well as other details on this tourism, gaming, and entertainment destination in the Canadian capital. In other news, a Canadian poker player recently landed a victory for a six-figure payday at the World Series of Poker.
What to Expect from Hard Rock Ottawa
Not much is known quite yet about the new Hard Rock casino at Rideau Carleton. The harness racing facility first opened in 1962 and the current casino opened in 2000 in partnership with Ontario Lottery and Gaming.
The current facility offers more than 1,200 slot machines along with electronic table games such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps, and more. The venue offers multiple restaurants along with live seasonal horse racing. The Hard Rock addition is expected to add to the casino offerings even more with a complete resort-style property.
“In partnership with Hard Rock, plans are underway for the development of a unique and dynamic destination that will re-energize Ottawa’s entertainment scene,” Rideau Carleton notes.
Initial renderings of the planned property shows a revamped facade in front and stretching the length of the track. Interior images show a sleek, modern, and bright ambiance. A new bar is pictured along with an extensive gaming area with several table games, numerous slot machines, rock ‘n’ roll imagery, and more.
Some of those plans may have changed, but Ottawa-area casino goers may expect similar experiences as seen at other Hard Rock facilities. Entertainment options are a major part of the Hard Rock brand as well, and there is the possibility that Hard Rock will greatly increase those types of offerings as well. More details will be known after the groundbreaking.
Canadian Player Grabs Gold at World Series of Poker
With the World Series of Poker now underway, a Canadian scored a title on Sunday in one of the most-coveted tournaments in the annual Las Vegas festival. Chanracy Khun took the title in the $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship for his first gold bracelet, the biggest trophy in poker, and a payout of $507,020.
The Quebec City poker player now has more than $1.8 million in live tournament winnings. Cashing in for the biggest poker payday of his career didn’t come without some major challenges. When action reached the final two players, Khun squared off against Doug Polk, one of the best heads-up players in the world.
“I feel really good,” he told WSOP.com after the win. “I’m relieved. And it’s tough to find any words, but it’s a mix of emotions. But at the end of the day, I’m really, really glad it’s over.”
A key hand later in the match saw Khun pick up a key pot with third pair after Polk made an all-in bluff on the river with Queen-high.
A big swing in the match between @DougPolkVids and @ChanMix123 as Khun hero calls Polk's Q-high river shove with third pair.
Khun doubles into the lead with the biggest pot of the match so far.
📺 – Watch live here: https://t.co/FVw1RZlSP7 pic.twitter.com/Kws21OO9K2
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) June 5, 2023
The Canadian’s intuition proved correct, keeping him alive in the tournament and sending Khun a nice pot. He later itted to some mistakes in the match, but his play proved good enough to get the job done.
“When you play heads up, you’re always going to play a different strategy against different opponents,” he said afterward. “I knew he was really, really good, so I just tried to do my best. And so I was just luckier than him today. So any other day, the match would have been different. And today was my lucky day.”
The event is one of the most prestigious among the game’s most well-heeled pros. This year’s tournament brought in 64 players for a $1.5 million prize pool. Along with topping Polk, Khun also knocked out a few other poker heavyweights including Sean Winter and Landon Tice.
With his new bracelet, Khun becomes one of the rare players who have both a WSOP championship and a World Poker Tour title. The WPT title came in 2013 when he topped a field of 249 players for a score of $258,448. In 2020 he also finished third in the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida, for $230,086.
