From Boulevard Casino to Great Canadian
The complex at 2080 United Boulevard in Coquitlam opened as Boulevard Casino on October 13, 2001. It became Hard Rock Casino Vancouver on December 20, 2013, under a licensing agreement tied to the Hard Rock brand through the Seminole Tribe of Florida. That arrangement ended in December 2023, when the property was rebranded as Great Canadian Casino Vancouver, its current name. The Petroglyph Development Group, a corporation of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, announced its acquisition on December 19, 2025 and completed it on May 5, 2026, and now owns and operates the casino.
The Show Theatre: A Shape-Shifting Concert Room
The casino's live-music venue, originally the Red Robinson Show Theatre and later marketed as the Molson Canadian Theatre, now operates as The Show Theatre. The 21,000-square-foot hall opened September 16, 2006 with an inaugural performance by Little Richard, part of a $105-million expansion. It seats 1,074 and is billed as the largest theatre in the world to use a spiral lift system, which raises and lowers individual rows to switch between four setups: Standard Theatre, Rock Concert, Cabaret, and Cabaret with Dance Floor. Capacity ranges from about 150 in intimate configurations to roughly 1,100 standing.
Programming: Mid-Size Touring Concerts, Comedy and Cabaret
Programmed in collaboration with Live Nation Canada, the theatre books a broad mix of touring concerts, comedy, and theatrical productions, with a calendar running well into 2026 and 2027. Documented performers span legacy and contemporary acts including Tony Bennett, Paul Anka, The Beach Boys, Barenaked Ladies, and rock acts such as Buckcherry and W.A.S.P., alongside comedy bookings like Jay Leno, Howie Mandel, and Bill Maher. The flexible row system lets the same room host a seated theatre crowd one night and a standing rock show the next.
Role in the Regional Scene
Set in Coquitlam in Metro Vancouver's Tri-Cities, the property is one of British Columbia's largest casinos by gaming space, with 80,000 square feet holding roughly 950 slot machines plus table games. Its 1,074-seat theatre fills a mid-size tier between Vancouver's small clubs and large arenas, giving the eastern suburbs a destination room for touring concerts and comedy, served by a 1,600-vehicle, six-level parkade built in the 2006 expansion. A concert scene from the TV series Psych was filmed in the theatre on April 24, 2007.