Gold Horse Casino Team

It wasn’t an easy feat, even with more than 23 years of experience and hundreds of talented team members from across the organization. The idea of a new casino, in the last market in the province without one, had been warming up in the minds of many for quite some time. Conversations stirred and, before long, a partnership was formed between SIGA, the FSIN, Border Tribal Council and Little Pine First Nation.

We broke ground for the new casino in the summer of 2017, working with our many partners to host a sod turning on Little Pine First Nation land where the casino would be developed. The next year and a half would see the partners and Superior Construction work together on the facility build, and on continued planning.

This is when SIGA’s project team of 30 plus subject matter experts really came to life. Their excitement, knowledge and skills, dedication and drive, all contributed to the massive success of this project – as did the contributions from employees across SIGA as ideas turned to action. Once construction was underway, the project team spent many hours on the road and many nights in hotels. They pored over details resulting in game changing moments. One of these innovations, a first for SIGA, was to combine the design of the gaming floor bar with the restaurant to create a bar and grill atmosphere. This move was a huge success, creating a more cohesive entertainment experience between our gaming floor and food and beverage options. The final days and weeks leading up to the soft and grand opening, in late 2018 and early 2019 respectively, required additional hands and hearts to come together to make it all possible. Hundreds of employees from across SIGA put on their game faces and joined the effort – many contributing on site and others helping remotely to coordinate final details. And the payoff was huge – hundreds of smiling guests
clamoured to be part of our seventh casino opening events.

The celebrations were instagrammable, bringing all the glitz and glam of the strip to the Border City. Horse-shaped ice sculptures, Vegas style show girls and guys on the floor, sold-out shows by Aaron Goodvin, The Trews, and James Barker Band, prizes including two trips to Las Vegas, and more!

Over and above this, the new casino mobilized all of SIGA behind a common goal – to bring the same exceptional entertainment experiences SIGA casinos are known for to the community of Lloydminster and, in the process, create employment, support economic development, and generate revenue for our shareholders, the 74 First Nations, and Saskatchewan.

• Gold Horse employees completed more than 1,600 hours of online training between October and December 2018.
• Gold Horse employees completed more than 7.5 weeks (at 37.5 hours/week) of facilitator-led training between mid-October and mid-December 2018.

Learn more about the economic impact of Gold Horse Casino in our annual report