Groups from Hussar, a village of 160 people east of Calgary, have run casinos at the Silver Dollar 14 times since 2006. (CBC)

Volunteers in an Alberta village are worried about the fate of the Calgary casino that helped them raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for community projects, including a $2.2-million rink.

The Silver Dollar Casino, which recently filed for bankruptcy, is the only one in the city that is open to charities and community groups from nearby rural communities.

Groups from Hussar, a village of 160 people east of Calgary, have run charity casinos at the Silver Dollar 14 times since 2006, raising about $50,000 each time.

Village volunteers also do traditional fundraising activities like bake sales and auctions, but couldn't run the new hockey and curling rink — built in part with casino cash — without more trips to the Silver Dollar.

"When you think of one weekend and you can come out of there with $60,000 and maybe 30 people have to give up one weekend. I don't know where else you can do that," said Lorilee Dundas, a Hussar volunteer.

The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission allows volunteers to work in the gambling operations, generally for a two-day period. Essentially, the charities are given a cut from the table and slots revenue at the casino where their group volunteered. It can be very lucrative.

Charities are expected to collect another $325 million directly from gambling revenue, mostly through volunteering at casinos.

But Fred Lindsay, Alberta's gaming minister, told CBC News that rural communities shouldn't worry about the future of the Silver Dollar Casino.

"I don't want to speculate about what is going to happen to that particular casino," he said. "The programs are going to continue to go on and we will certainly find a way to make sure that those communities still benefit from this particular industry here in our province."

Organized town maximizes casino dollars

Hussar might be a small village, but organized volunteers have figured out a way to keep casino cash flowing.

Wendy Kaiser and Cathy Dundas hold public meetings to co-ordinate fundraising activities in Hussar. (Erin Collins/CBC)

The waiting list for groups wanting to volunteer at the Silver Dollar is 30 months, but there is no limit on the number of groups from one community who can apply for casino time. So Kathy Dundas and Wendy Kaiser hold public meetings to co-ordinate fundraising activities between groups as diverse as the kindergarten group, the fish and game club and the agricultural society.

"We basically try to co-operate and support. If somebody had a major project, all the groups would help out," said Kathy Dundas.

"Not only that, but if somebody is going to apply for a grant we don't want to have two clubs applying for the same grant. So somebody will say ... 'You go ahead and apply for that and maybe you'll get it.' So that we aren't stepping on each other's toes," added Kaiser.

Silver Dollar Casino owner Evergreen Gaming has until May 15 to figure out how to deal with a $30-million note a creditor has called in.

Kaiser said she is not only worried about the fate of community initiatives like the new rink, she is concerned about neighbouring towns and villages.

"We've got projects that are finished and we just need to keep them going. But there are other towns that are starting a new project that were kind of counting on some of that money that is out there to get that project off the ground," she said.