On October 30, 2025, Petroglyph Development Group (PDG), a wholly owned corporation of Snuneymuxw First Nation, announced that it entered into definitive agreements with Great Canadian Entertainment to acquire two casino businesses, River Rock Casino Resort and Chances Casino Maple Ridge, in transformative transactions for the Canadian gaming industry and for Indigenous economic development. Upon closing and subject to regulatory and other approvals, PDG is expected to become one of the largest casino operators by revenue in British Columbia, and anticipates being the largest Canadian Indigenous owned gaming operator by revenue in Canada, cementing Snuneymuxw as a leading force in the Province's gaming industry.
River Rock Casino Resort has been Western Canada's largest casino resort for over twenty years and Chances Casino Maple Ridge has been a cornerstone of the Maple Ridge community. Building on PDG's recent historic acquisitions of Casino Nanaimo and Elements Casino Victoria that closed in January 2025, these transactions demonstrate the strength of the collaboration between PDG and Great Canadian Entertainment and the momentum of PDG's growing gaming platform. The acquisitions mark a major step toward economic self-determination for Snuneymuxw, strengthening Snuneymuxw's long-term prosperity, financial independence and restoring an economy that thrived for thousands of years.
The Snuneymuxw are a vibrant First Nation of the Coast Salish People, located in the center of Coast Salish territory on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the Fraser River, Burrard Inlet and the Howe Sound. The Snuneymuxw territory encompasses one of the most productive and resource rich areas at the heart of the Salish Sea.
PDG is Snuneymuxw First Nation's business and economic development corporation. Its diversified portfolio now spans forestry, gaming, hospitality, cannabis production and retail, tourism, transportation and logistics, business management, real estate and development, and convenience and fuel retail.
Founded in 1982, Great Canadian Entertainment is one of Canada's premier gaming and hospitality companies with gaming, entertainment, hospitality and resort facilities in Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
McCarthy Tétrault is advising Snuneymuxw and PDG with a team led by Pavan Jawanda that includes Jordan Chu, Thomas Fung, Declan Sakuls, Benjamin Rivard, Glynnis Morgan (M&A), Mike Dolson, Camille Belanger (Tax), Craig Shirreff, Nick Kasting, Vaibhav Aggarwal (Real Estate), Christopher McHardy, Jessica Hoskins (Labour & Employment), Julia Miller, Emmanuel Onyemachi (Pensions), Selina Lee-Anderson (Environmental), Jason Gudofsky, Vivian Ng (Competition), Vincent Yip (IP), Marissa Caldwell (Data and Privacy), as well as paralegals Bonnie Campbell and Isabel Gonzales.