Three casinos within three kilometres

Cowboys Casino and Elbow River Casino are 0.5 km apart in a straight line. Cowboys puts itself in downtown Calgary, steps from Stampede Park and the Entertainment District. Elbow River places itself in downtown Calgary as well, a block from the Stampede grounds and Victoria Park station. On the map the two dots nearly touch.

ACE Casino Blackfoot sits a little apart from them. In a straight line it is 2.3 km from Elbow River Casino and 2.5 km from Cowboys Casino. It describes itself as reachable from downtown Calgary by car and by public transit.

Those three lines settle the group at a 3 km radius. Set the slider there and the trio forms one cluster, while the other six casinos each stand alone. The map draws lines; it does not draw roads.

At Cowboys Casino the poker room is open 24 hours a day. It deals No-Limit Texas Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha and Limit Texas Hold'em at nine-handed tables. Elbow River Casino builds its room around limit Texas Hold'em and limit Omaha. That room opens Sunday to Wednesday 10 AM to 3 AM and runs 24 hours Thursday to Saturday. ACE Casino Blackfoot lists no poker room.

Table games at Cowboys Casino and ACE Casino Blackfoot both run daily 12 PM to 3 AM. Elbow River Casino has 35+ table games; separate table hours are not published, but Tile Pai Gow opens at 1 PM daily. Craps appears at Cowboys Wednesday to Saturday 7 PM to 3 AM, and on the ACE Casino Blackfoot table list.

Cowboys has the Six Shooter Slot Lounge for $1 to $5 high-limit slots and a high-limit table room with a private bar. At ACE Casino Blackfoot the high-limit room holds two EZ Baccarat tables, by private booking only, with bets from $25. Elbow River Casino adds an off-track betting facility with a racing theatre. It also hosts live bands every Friday and Saturday night on the Bayou stage, plus Yuk Yuk's comedy shows.

Past midnight the three keep different clocks. Cowboys Casino stays open until 5 AM every day, with slots running to 5 AM and tables to 3 AM. Elbow River Casino closes at 3 AM daily, though its poker room runs 24 hours Thursday to Saturday. ACE Casino Blackfoot closes at 3 AM Monday to Thursday. On weekends it runs nonstop, from Friday at 9 AM until Sunday at 3 AM.

Food winds down before the gaming floors do. Centre Bar & Eatery at Cowboys is open until 2 AM, and Jester's Deli by the main entrance at Elbow River until 2:30 AM. At ACE Casino Blackfoot the Center Bar runs until 2 AM, while The Kitchen closes at 11 PM.

Holiday hours are not covered here and should be checked on each venue's own site.

Cowboys Casino offers free heated underground parking for casino and venue guests, with a parkade clearance of 6'1". Anyone driving something taller will need a different plan there. Elbow River Casino has secure air-conditioned underground parking. For ACE Casino Blackfoot this guide has no parking details to give. The map, as ever, knows nothing about queues at the gate.