Starlight Casino New Westminster Canada - Gaming Overview

Gaming Floor

Starlight Casino at 350 Gifford Street is open 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. This is not a seasonal schedule or a temporary promo - the doors simply do not close. On the main floor, the property offers more than 935 slot machines and 54 gaming tables, which places it among the larger brick-and-mortar casinos in the Greater Vancouver area.

The gaming space is broken into zones instead of one continuous hall of machines. Slots dominate the central floor area. Table games sit in their own defined sections, and there is a Stadium Gaming zone that uses an electronic shared-play setup. It feels partly like a slot environment and partly like a traditional table, depending on how it is used. A separate Racebook area handles horse race wagering, and a distinct VIP gaming section is available for players who qualify for that level of access.

Anyone entering the casino floor must be at least 19 years old. This age rule comes from provincial regulations in British Columbia and is not something the casino can adjust on a case-by-case basis. Exemptions are not advertised in any official material.

Poker Room Hours and Reservations

Gateway Casinos and Entertainment added a dedicated poker room to the New Westminster property in October 2023. It does not follow the same 24/7 timetable as the rest of the gaming floor, so planning ahead matters if poker is the main reason for your visit.

Current hours listed on the official site are:

1. Sunday through Thursday: 11:00 AM to late
2. Friday and Saturday: 24 Hours

There is one detail worth paying attention to. A Gateway press release from October 2023 mentioned Sunday to Thursday hours as 11:00 AM to 3:00 AM, which is not exactly the same as the “11AM to Late” wording on the casino’s poker page. For anyone looking to play very late on a weeknight, it is safer to phone the property and confirm when they are actually closing that day. The reservation number for the poker room is 604-777-3500.

Access to poker follows the same 19+ requirement that applies to the entire floor. Verified sources do not list fixed buy-in minimums or a stable lineup of game formats at this time, so game mix and limits should be checked directly with the room.

Encore Rewards

A loyalty program called Encore Rewards runs across the casino. For repeat visitors, this is the primary way to link gaming activity to benefits such as comps or other perks. Detailed information on point accumulation, redemption values, or tier thresholds is not confirmed in the sources used here, so those specifics should be reviewed either on-site or through starlightcasino.ca.

Enrollment is handled at the property itself. Guests should bring valid government-issued identification, because age and identity are verified as part of the sign-up process. That is a standard requirement at Gateway venues.

Restaurants and Live Entertainment

Outside the gaming areas, the property includes on-site dining and a live entertainment offering. Names of restaurants, menu details, and similar information are not verified through primary documentation in this review, so they are noted as present but not confirmed point by point.

Live events are scheduled on selected dates and rotated over time. The official website also lists sports viewing as a separate feature, tied into the Racebook area and following the sports-bar-style amenities that appear at other Gateway locations. Because event calendars change, the most reliable way to check what is active on a specific night is either the starlightcasino.ca site or a direct call to the casino.

Local reports have described parking as complimentary, but this is not clearly confirmed within the casino’s published materials. If parking costs would affect your plans, it is worth asking the venue directly before you rely on outside listings.

A general practical point that fits larger casinos: when the visit is centered around specific table games or a poker session, calling ahead to ask about current wait times or open seats can prevent standing in line for too long, especially on Fridays, Saturdays or holiday periods.

Planning Your Visit Around the Poker Room

Because the poker room keeps different hours from the main floor, it is worth thinking through the timing before you arrive. On weekends, the 24 Hours schedule means a Friday or Saturday session can start or end at any point without concern. On Sunday through Thursday, the 11:00 AM opening means morning arrivals will find the room closed, and late-night players should confirm closing time directly with the room at 604-777-3500 before making the trip. Pairing a poker visit with dinner at one of the on-site restaurants is a straightforward way to fill the gap if you arrive before the room opens.

Regulatory Context and Responsible Gaming

Starlight Casino operates under the provincial regulatory framework that governs land-based gaming in British Columbia. Gateway Casinos and Entertainment is listed as the operator. A specific license number is not cited in the information used for this review, but brick-and-mortar casinos in BC function under the same provincial rules regardless of branding.

The 19+ age minimum applies across the property: main floor, poker room, Racebook, and all VIP spaces. Staff may request identification at any point if there is uncertainty about a guest’s age, and remaining on the floor without meeting the requirement is not permitted.

Responsible gambling services in British Columbia are coordinated through provincial programs, not by the individual casino alone. The BC Responsible and Problem Gambling Program provides information and support to anyone who needs help and operates independently from the property. As a Gateway-operated site, Starlight Casino is expected to align with provincial responsible gaming policies and display related information on-site.

Ownership and Brand Context

The venue is run by Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Limited, which manages several casino properties in British Columbia and in other provinces. The Starlight name appears at multiple locations within the Gateway portfolio, including casinos in Edmonton and Point Edward, so the brand label by itself does not uniquely identify the New Westminster property.

When searching for information or reaching out for reservations, it is safer to include “New Westminster” or refer to the Gifford Street address. That reduces the chance of mixing it up with another Starlight-branded site. The New Westminster property is reported to have opened in 2007, a date that comes from secondary references rather than the casino’s own formal publications.

Contact and Practical Information

The casino can be contacted through several direct channels:

1. Main phone: 604-777-2WIN (604-777-2946)
2. Poker room reservations: 604-777-3500
3. Email: [email protected]
4. Address: 350 Gifford Street, New Westminster, BC V3M 7A3
5. Official site: starlightcasino.ca

All opening hours mentioned here follow local Pacific Time in British Columbia. The property is located in the Queensborough area of New Westminster, so travelers coming from outside the Lower Mainland should plan for transit specifically into that neighbourhood rather than downtown alone.

Listings on platforms such as Tripadvisor, Yelp, and Google Maps confirm the same street address and primary phone contact. When those third-party sites show different business hours or slightly outdated numbers, the official website and a direct call to the casino remain more reliable, especially if timing, poker availability or special events are critical to your visit.

Getting the Most from Direct Contact

With two separate phone lines available — the main casino line at 604-777-2946 and the dedicated poker room number at 604-777-3500 — it is worth knowing which to use before you call. General questions about hours, parking, dining or live entertainment are best directed to the main line. Poker-specific queries, including seat availability and current game formats, are handled more efficiently through the poker room number. For non-urgent questions, the email address [email protected] provides a written record of any information you receive, which can be useful when planning around specific events or dates.