Casino is a town in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, Australia, with a population of 9,400 people in 2006 It lies on the banks of the Richmond River and is situated at the junction of the Bruxner Highway and the Summerland Way.
It is located 726 km (451 mi) north of Sydney and 228 km (142 mi) south of Brisbane.
Overview
Casino is the seat of the Richmond Valley Council, a Local Government Area.
The town is named after the Casino Station, owned by Clarke Irving, which was named after Cassino (near Monte Cassino) in Italy, with which it has a sister city agreement.
Casino is among Australia's largest beef centres. It is the regional hub of a very large cattle industry and positions itself as the "Beef Capital" of Australia, although the city of Rockhampton also claims this title. In addition it is the service centre for a rich agricultural area.
Each year the town celebrates Beef Week. It was cancelled in 2007 due to the drought. In 2008, Casino hosted Beef Week from 27 May to the 3 June.
Transport
Casino is situated on the main North Coast railway line between Sydney and Brisbane, north of Grafton. A branch line runs via Lismore to Murwillumbah; that line is currently closed, although lobbying is taking place to re-open it. Casino railway station is the terminus of the daily CountryLink Casino XPT from Sydney and there is a daily service to and from Brisbane via the Brisbane XPT.
In the 1920s, a never completed railway branch line to Bonalbo was started.
Casino is serviced by Lismore Airport with several daily flights to Sydney.
Among its many schools are the main ones: Casino High School, Casino Public School, Casino West Public School, St. Mary's Primary School, St. Mary's High School and Casino Christian Community School.
Notable people
Ian Callinan (1937–), High Court judge
Pat Darling (1913–2007), nurse and author
John Elford, rugby league player
Jeff Fatt (1953–), musician and actor, one of The Wiggles
Thomas George (1949–), politician
Ben Kennedy (1974–), rugby league player
Matt King (1980–), rugby league player
Tess Mallos, food journalist and author
Chris Munce (1969–), horse racing jockey
Albert Torrens (1976–), rugby league player
Damien Wright (1975–), cricket player
Brian Smith, rugby league player and coach (attended Casino High School)
 

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