Casino, New South Wales

Casino is a town in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales. In 2006, Casino had a population of 9,400 people. 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 north of Sydney and 228 km south of Brisbane.

Overview
Casino is the seat of the Richmond Valley Council, a Local Government Area.

It 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 is serviced by Lismore Airport in Lismore 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

Also

 * Arthur Percy Sullivan (1896–1937), Victoria Cross recipient, worked at a bank in Casino during the 1930s.
 * The song "I've Been Everywhere" references Casino in its second verse.