Playing pokies in Cairns

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Located in tropical North Queensland, Cairns attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year thanks to the natural beauty on offer by the likes of the Daintree Rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef and some of the most pristine beaches Australia has to offer. But it’s not all about scenic environments and the great outdoors – many tourists and locals are drawn in to the Cairn’s casino and surrounding pubs and clubs with the prospect of striking it lucky on the pokies. Whether you live in Cairns or are just passing by, we explain where to play the pokies around the area and discuss the convenient online pokies alternatives for when you can’t make it to your local venue.

Pokies at The Reef Casino

The Reef Hotel Casino offers Cairns most premium destination for playing the pokies, with over 500 electronic poker machines on offer. New games are added all the time, with featured machines including Back to the Future, Frogger and Goliath. In addition to the pokies, The Reef also houses all the casino classics including blackjack, roulette, baccarat, sic-bo and some uniquely Cairns games like Reef Routine and Paradise Pontoon.

The casino features two main bars, outdoor smoking areas, TAB facilities, Keno Lounge and the biggest LCD screens in Queensland screening all the latest sporting events. There’s an onsite hotel with 128 rooms, 320 undercover parking sites and four restaurants to dine in.

The Reef Casino is open Sunday to Thursday from 9AM to 3AM, and Friday and Saturday from 9AM to 5AM. It is closed all day on Good Friday and Christmas Day, and on Anzac Day until 1PM.

Aquis Casino development

The Aquis Great Barrier Reef is an integrated resort currently in development in Cairns. The original plans for the $8 billion Aquis project was to offer a state-of-the-art casino, but in 2016 plans for the casino were squashed. Hong Kong developer Tony Fung dumped the casino plans, leaving rival casino operators to submit proposals to the Queensland Government for an alternative casino development. Whether or not another developer will get plans approved for a new casino license remains to be seen.

Playing pokies at Cairns clubs and pubs

There is no shortage of options when heading out to throw a few dollars into the pokies around Cairns. From sports clubs to pubs, these are some of the venues in Cairns offering the best pokies and gaming facilities:

• Brothers Leagues Club – 24-32 Armstrong St, Edmonton
• Cairns RSL Social Club – 115-119 Esplanade, Cairns
• Cazayl’s Social Club – 344 Mulgrave Road, Cairns
• Dunwoody’s Tavern – 317 Sheridan Street, North Cairns
• Q-Sports Bar – 86 Sheridan St, Cairns City
• Red Beret Hotel – 411 Kamerunga Road, Redlynch
• Stratford Bowling Club – 3 Rinks Cl, Stratford
• The Cock & Bull – 6 Grove St, Cairns North
• The Woodshed – 24 Shields St, Cairns City
• West Cairns Bowling Club – 16 Gatton St, Westcourt

Online pokies sites

If you live in Cairns but are miles away from The Reef Casino, or nowhere near a pub that houses electronic poker machines, playing the pokies online offers an excellent alternative. This is a convenient option for when you can’t make it to your local pokies venue but would still like to try your luck on a game. Not only do you not have to worry about dress codes or transport, you get access to a much wider selection of games at online casinos and can benefit from the lucrative welcome bonuses offered by online vendors. When it comes to the best online casinos offering the biggest range of reputable online pokies, these leading sites get our top recommendation:

Casino.com – Enjoy hundreds of games from leading software provider, Playtech, available download-free directly over your Web browser or by downloading the premium Casino.com software. Choose from a fantastic range of pokies including a large collection of progressive jackpot pokies like the Marvel Comics collection.

Slots Million – Slots Million offers the largest selection of real money pokies on the Internet, with over 1400 slot games available for instant-play from all the best software studios including Microgaming, NetEnt, BetSoft, iSoftBet and many more.

House of Jack – This vibrant online casino is one of our favourites for real money pokies, with a great range of online slot games from some of the best software developers available to play instantly over your Web browser.