Gitxaala Nation reopens Chances Prince Rupert with resort ambitions

The only Indigenous-owned casino in northern British Columbia is at the center of an ambitious waterfront redevelopment, after the Gitxaala Nation's economic development arm celebrated the grand reopening of Chances Prince Rupert and unveiled a vision to fold the property into a full-scale resort. The reopening of the Prince Rupert First Nations casino followed more than $2 million in first-year improvements and signaled that the Gitxaala intend to treat gaming as the cornerstone of a much larger hospitality play on the northern coast.

Gitxaala Enterprises Corporation acquired the Chances property in early 2025 and, working alongside the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, invested in a slate of upgrades including new slot machines, gaming chairs, flooring and renovated public spaces. The grand reopening drew tribal leadership and community members and reestablished the casino as both an employer and a revenue source for a nation that has been steadily expanding its commercial footprint in and around Prince Rupert.

From casino to resort destination

The longer-term plan reaches well beyond the gaming floor. Gitxaala Enterprises has said it wants to combine the Chances casino and sports bar with the nearby Crest Hotel, including its restaurant, lounge and convention centre, and add a planned spa to create what it describes as northern British Columbia's premier resort destination. Knitting those assets together would give the nation a single integrated waterfront property capable of capturing tourism, business travel and convention bookings in a regional market that has historically had limited high-end hospitality options.

The casino and hotel currently employ roughly 150 people, and the nation has indicated the resort vision could add another 10 to 15 jobs, with further hiring likely as additional phases come online. For a coastal community where stable, year-round employment can be scarce, that job base is a meaningful part of the project's appeal alongside the gaming and lodging revenue it generates.

Owning the casino, the hotel and the surrounding land lets a single nation capture spending across gaming, lodging, dining and conventions rather than ceding it to outside operators.

Specifics such as construction timelines, phasing and the full investment scale have not yet been released, and the nation has been careful to frame the resort as a vision still being defined rather than a fixed build schedule. That measured approach is consistent with how several First Nations have grown their gaming assets, acquiring an existing property first, stabilizing operations, then layering on hospitality once the cash flow supports it.

A model spreading across British Columbia

The Gitxaala project fits a broader pattern of First Nations taking direct ownership stakes in British Columbia's gaming sector rather than serving only as host communities. Our coverage of recent First Nations casino acquisitions in British Columbia tracks how nations have moved to buy and operate properties outright, capturing a larger share of the economic value generated on or near their territories.

Canada's gaming structure differs sharply from the United States, where the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act gives federally recognized tribes a direct path to operate casinos. In Canada, provincial lottery and gaming corporations such as BCLC retain regulatory control, and First Nations participate through revenue-sharing frameworks, host agreements and, increasingly, ownership of the underlying businesses. Our comparison of Canadian First Nations gaming revenue frameworks lays out how those provincial models distribute proceeds and where ownership stakes like Gitxaala's fit within them.

That distinction shapes what the Prince Rupert development can and cannot be. The casino remains tied into the BCLC system, but the surrounding hotel, convention and spa assets are commercial ventures the nation can develop on its own terms, allowing Gitxaala to build a resort experience around a regulated gaming core. The result is a hybrid model: a provincially regulated casino anchoring a privately held, Indigenous-owned hospitality complex.

The acquisition-first sequencing also reflects a pragmatic reading of risk. Rather than financing a speculative new-build, Gitxaala bought an operating casino with an existing customer base and revenue history, then used the early returns and BCLC's co-investment to fund renovations. Only once the property was stabilized did the nation begin articulating the larger resort vision. That staged approach lowers exposure at each step and lets the community see tangible results — refreshed gaming floors and preserved jobs — before committing to the more capital-intensive hotel and spa phases.

Why northern coastal tourism is the wager

Prince Rupert sits at the western terminus of a major rail corridor and serves as a gateway for cruise traffic, ferry connections and access to Haida Gwaii and the broader north coast. A consolidated waterfront resort would position the Gitxaala to capture more of that visitor flow, turning travelers who currently pass through into overnight guests. If the nation executes the full vision, Chances Prince Rupert would evolve from a standalone casino into the gaming heart of a destination property, an outcome that would deepen the nation's revenue base and reinforce its role as a major economic player on the northern coast.

For a fuller picture of tribal and First Nations gaming properties across both countries, readers can explore our casino directory, which catalogs operators, amenities and ownership across the United States and Canada.