A few monthly entertainment events are new to Elements Casino in Cloverdale.
A “Dueling Pianos” night will take place in the Molson Canadian Lounge on Saturday (April 14, 9 p.m. start), and a new Country Nights promo, featuring live bands, will get going in the casino’s 300-seat Dragon Lounge on Saturday, April 21.
As well, Desi Nights (billed as “Surrey’s only monthly South Asian event”) returns to the Dragon Lounge on April 27, and a monthly classic rock-themed night will be launched there in June.
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“We recently decided to up the ante on live entertainment and now feature several monthly events,” Michael Worth, the casino’s general manager, told the Now-Leader.
“Our tagline at Elements Casino Surrey is ‘It’s All Here’ because we strive to deliver all the elements of a great night out to our guests,” he added. “With four restaurants and lounges (including our Diamond Buffet), over 500 slot machines, 24 table games, banquet and event space, and seasonal live horse racing, it’s all here at Surrey’s largest casino.”
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Kadooh, a Langley-based musician, will headline the Country Nights launch event on April 21.
The Alberta-raised Kadooh, whose real name is Simon Clow, shares roots in small-town Hanna with the Kroeger brothers of Nickelback fame, and followed them to the West Coast a few years after Chad and Mike moved here to make it as rock stars.
Kadooh played guitar in several bands over the years, including State of Shock (best known for the 2007 pop-rock hit “Money Honey”) and Chris Buck Band, before venturing solo as a country artist. Today, he’s signed to 604 Records and is working on an EP (due out this summer) with Jeff Johnson and Chad Kroeger.
At Elements, Kadooh’s five-piece band will include Jesse Wainwright, also formerly of State of Shock. Other country artists on the bill, which is booked by Vancouver-based The Live Agency, are Abbotsford’s Myles Murphy, Westwinds and Britches & Boots. Cover is $10 and the doors open at 8 p.m.
In May, another Country Nights event is booked at Elements on May 5, with Dueling Pianos on May 12 and Desi Nights on May 25.
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Also this spring, “A Night with March Hare” will feature the local show band on Friday, May 4. The $40 ticket includes a buffet dinner and show, history of the band, a Q&A with its members and door prizes.
At Elements, live entertainment was to be a major focus of the casino when the renovated and rebranded facility was opened in December of 2015. Great Canadian spent close to $11 million to refurbish the 56,000-square-foot property, formerly known as Fraser Downs Racetrack Casino and first opened 40 years ago.
The venue’s live-entertainment venue, originally called Escape and since renamed Dragon Lounge, was created in what was a multi-tiered clubhouse area where patrons watched harness racing. To start, the Escape stage featured dance bands and other performers two or three nights a week, but that schedule has not continued at Dragon Lounge in recent months.
“We started scaling back (live entertainment) six or seven months ago, and we really haven’t done much in there,” Worth told the Now-Leader in January.
The venue’s monthly entertainment calendar is posted at elementscasinosurrey.com, or call 604-575-5603.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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