The city of Vancouver’s newest and largest casino finally gets an opening date after lengthy delays and much controversy.

This month will witness the grand opening of the new Parq Vancouver casino hotel, the $700m project by Nevada-based Paragon Gaming. The Parq, which originally targeted a 2016 opening, will hold a celebratory “first roll of the dice” at 11pm on Friday, September 29th.

Earlier that Friday, the Edgewater Casino across the street from the Parq will officially close its doors after 12 years of operation. Paragon is transferring the Edgewater’s gaming license to the Parq, a process that prompted no shortage of drama on the city’s political scene.

The Parq will boast a 72k-square-foot gaming floor, twice the size of the Edgewater’s casino footprint. Paragon originally planned to fill this space with up to 1,500 slot machines and 150 gaming tables – a significant boost from Edgewater’s 600 slots and 75 tables – but concerns over the impact of this expansion on local residents ultimately caused civic politicians to restrict the Parq’s gaming palette to the Edgewater’s limits.