Sand Hills Casino is a slots-only First Nations casino 10 minutes south of Carberry, off Highway 5. It is the nearest venue in this guide to Brandon, 47.0 km in a straight line, and it runs no live table games.
Slots, a grill, no tables
The floor holds 300 slot machines and no live table games. Hours run Sunday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 2:00 AM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 3:00 AM. A Saturday shift that ends at 3:00 AM ends on Sunday morning. Holiday hours should be checked on the casino's own site.
Sand Hills marks its site footer 18+, in line with Manitoba's legal age. Gold Club membership costs nothing.
The Oasis Bar & Grill opens daily at 11:00 AM. Its regular menu runs Sunday to Thursday 11 AM to 10 PM, and Friday and Saturday 11 AM to 11 PM. After that the late menu takes over, Sunday to Thursday 10 PM to 12 AM and Friday and Saturday 11 PM to 1 AM. Free live music plays in the Oasis on select Fridays and Saturdays.
Owned by the AMC
Sand Hills Casino is owned by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. That follows the AMC and provincial position on new First Nations casinos: each is owned equally by all First Nations, with revenue shared equally. Sand Hills is where that position was applied, so no single nation holds it alone.
It officially opened on Monday, June 23, 2014, as Manitoba's third First Nations-owned casino, after Aseneskak in 2002 and South Beach in 2005. The 2011 gaming agreement for the project used another name, Spirit Sands Casino. The Spirit Sands themselves are dunes in Spruce Woods Provincial Park, in Western Manitoba.
Brandon voters rejected a casino in their community in 2008. None of the venues in this guide is in Brandon itself.
Getting there
Sand Hills sits off Highway 5, on Swan Lake First Nation land, 10 minutes south of Carberry. The distances here are straight lines, not road distances: Carberry 12.9 km, Brandon 47.0 km, Neepawa 53.5 km and Minnedosa 66.1 km.
From Portage la Prairie the casino is 77.9 km away, though Assiniboia Downs sits nearer to Portage at 69.4 km. Winnipeg City Hall is 157.4 km from Sand Hills. The casino runs bus tours with partner operators, and its own site carries the details.
Online, and stepping away
Sand Hills does not offer online gambling. It calls online pages or ads that use its name scams, and it says the only legitimate online gambling in Manitoba is PlayNow Manitoba.
Its own voluntary self-exclusion lasts one year or longer. Enrolment takes a consent form, a gambling education course and a photo. Coming back requires an application, filed after at least one year. The Gambling Helpline, 1-800-463-1554, answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Questions
Is there blackjack at Sand Hills?
Sand Hills has no blackjack and no live table games, only 300 slot machines. From Brandon, the nearest live tables in this guide are at McPhillips Station Casino in Winnipeg, 200.0 km away in a straight line.
How late is Sand Hills open on Friday?
Friday hours run 10:00 AM to 3:00 AM. That 3:00 AM close falls on Saturday morning, at the end of the Friday evening shift. Holiday hours should be checked on the casino's own site.
Does Sand Hills have its own online site?
Sand Hills says it does not offer online gambling and calls online pages or ads using its name scams. PlayNow.com is the only gambling site licensed in Manitoba.