The Montreal Casino (), located in Montreal, Quebec, is the largest casino in Canada. Situated on Notre Dame Island, in Jean-Drapeau Park, it consists of two former Expo 67 pavilion buildings. The casino is open to the public seven days a week, operating morning until late night. It first opened on October 9, 1993. The casino is owned and operated by the Société des casinos du Québec (a subsidiary of Loto-Québec), which owns three other casinos in the province. All profits go to the provincial Government of Quebec. As of 2019, it employed 2,800 people. Grounds The casino is located within the St Lawrence river on Notre Dame Island–a man-made island built for the 1967 World's Fair. It is situated within Jean-Drapeau Park, an urban park and former grounds of Expo 67, and shares the island with the Gilles Villeneuve racing circuit, the Olympic Basin and an artificial lake with small beach. Access to the casino is served by the Concordia bridge through Cité du Havre, or by public transit via the Jean Drapeau Metro station (on the neighboring Saint Helen's Island) and then boarding a dedicated connecting bus. History In 1992, the government of Quebec created the Société des casinos du Québec (SCQ) and tasked them to build casinos in the province. The Montreal Casino was the first among the two to be founded for the project and cost $95 million to build. The casino replaced the Palais des civilisations which used to showcase international cultural exhibitions, and prior to that was the Quebec Pavilion during Expo 67. It also made use the formerly vacant France pavilion, which was annexed via a constructed bridge way when both buildings were renovated to become the casino. The casino received thousands of players within the first few weeks of its opening and 780,000 in its first year. During its opening year it employed 700 people. In 1993, it went through its first major expansion. In 1997, the Casino became a 24-hour establishment. In 2003, it became a non-smoking casino since July that year, and the former smoking lounges were closed in May 2006 with the passing of a new provincial law. In 2013, it saw a second major renovation when Loto-Québec collaborated with Moment Factory to renew the gaming areas of the casino. The installation featured a digital wall that expanded over three floors. Late the following year, it opened the area