Stoney Nakoda, the one out west

The nearest neighbour is Grey Eagle Resort & Casino, 61.6 km away in a straight line. Every other casino on the map is farther than that. The farthest is Deerfoot Inn & Casino, at 74.2 km in a straight line. Downtown Calgary falls between those two figures, at 66.3 km in a straight line.

On the home map, Stoney Nakoda is the drop at the left edge. Slide the radius up and the other eight casinos merge into one group once it reaches 9.0 km. Stoney Nakoda keeps its distance. It joins them only at a radius of 61.6 km, with the slider most of the way to its 70 km end.

Straight lines ignore roads, so none of these figures says anything about driving time. The map draws no highways, only dots and the empty space between them.

Stoney Nakoda Resort & Casino is one of six Host First Nation casinos in Alberta. It stands on Stoney Nakoda First Nation reserve land at Morley, on Treaty 7 territory.

The gaming floor has over 300 slots, plus tables for blackjack, roulette and a table game built on Texas Hold'em. No-Limit Texas Hold'em cash games are dealt there on Friday and Saturday nights. The main floor is non-smoking. Smokers have a separate ventilated slot room of their own.

Beyond the floor, the hotel has 100 rooms and suites and a fitness centre. The indoor pool, with its waterslide and hot tub, is open to resort guests. For food, The Ridge restaurant serves daily from 8 AM to 9 PM, with room service after 9 PM. The Sidelines Lounge keeps daily hours of 10 AM to 2 AM.

Every day, Monday through Sunday, the slot machines run from 10 AM until 4 AM. The tables follow their own clock: they start at 2 PM and shut at 3 AM, and that holds for all seven days as well. No-Limit Texas Hold'em cash games are a Friday and Saturday night arrangement.

Food keeps its own hours. The Ridge serves from 8 AM to 9 PM daily, and room service takes over after that. The Sidelines Lounge keeps daily hours, from 10 AM until 2 AM. Its kitchen keeps going until 11 PM from Sunday to Thursday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Holidays fall outside these hours; for them, look at the venue's own site.

On the road toward Kananaskis, the casino stands a short turn off Highway 40, at 888 Nakoda Way, Mînî Thnî, Alberta T0L 1N0. The phone number is 403-881-2830. Its map point, taken from OpenStreetMap, is linked from this page.

Parking on site is free. Trucks and RVs park free as well, for up to 2 nights, when registered at the front desk. This guide knows nothing about the roads in between, which the map politely leaves to the driver.