Casino’s big rigs have rolled all the way to the top of the State, and they might not be done yet.
The North Coast Petroleum Casino Truck Show has been named best in NSW, taking out the Outstanding Visitor Experience Award at the NSW Business Awards.
The State win comes after the event first claimed the category at the Northern Rivers Business NSW Awards.
“This award, I know council has a lot to do, but we’ve got so many volunteers,” said Richmond Valley Mayor Robert Mustow as he accepted the honour.
Mayor Mustow accepted the award alongside Richmond Valley Council General Manager Vaughan Macdonald and Member for Clarence Richie Williamson.
He asked the crowd to imagine parking more than 500 prime movers in the Casino CBD on a Saturday morning.
“It’s just unbelievable what our community gets together and can introduce an event like this,” he said.
The Casino Truck Show team wrote that the award belonged to everyone behind the event.
“This award is for the volunteers who give their time, their weekends, and so much of themselves to make this event happen,” the team wrote.
“It’s for the families, spectators, sponsors and the entire community who turn up and make Casino come alive.”
“And most importantly, it’s for the transport industry that we are so proud to represent.”
Now the Truck Show is chasing a second State gong. It is also a finalist in the Festival and Events category of the NSW Tourism Awards, with the winners to be announced at a gala dinner on November 9.
The recognition follows a record-breaking 2026 event. An estimated 45,000 people poured into Casino, generating $8.319 million in spending across the Richmond Valley during the event period. That is up 18.8 per cent on 2025.
“The Casino Truck Show is much more than a major event for our community,” Mr Macdonald said.
“It has become a genuine tourism drawcard, bringing people from across Australia to Casino and encouraging them to stay and explore the wider Northern Rivers.”
Visitors stayed right across the Richmond Valley and in neighbouring Lismore, Ballina, Grafton, Yamba, and Byron Bay.
“Our visitor survey received responses from people from 466 different towns and cities, with 47 per cent travelling from interstate and 73 per cent staying overnight,” Mr Macdonald said.
“That reach is delivering real benefits for businesses and communities across the region.”
The cash register figures back him up. CBA iQ data recorded 31,860 unique customers spending across the Richmond Valley during the event period. Visitors made up 46 per cent of all spending and 58 per cent of customers.
Casino businesses alone recorded $3.228 million in card spending, while customer numbers in the town jumped 23.1 per cent to 23,300.
The show also lit up social media, picking up more than 7,000 new followers and more than 3 million content views during the event. That push was supported by $20,000 in Flagship event funding from Destination NSW.
“This recognition belongs to our volunteers, sponsors, local businesses, trucking industry and community, whose support has helped turn the Casino Truck Show into a major tourism event we can all be proud of,” Mr Macdonald said.
The Truck Show team made it clear the success is far from over.
“We are proud, we are grateful and we are only getting started,” the team wrote. “Built by truck drivers, for truck drivers.”
For Mayor Mustow, the award is a win for every truckie in the country.
“And this event is not only for the volunteers, the council and the community,” he said.
“This is for every trucker, and I’m not a trucker, in Australia.”
“Because those chairs you’re sitting on tonight, that table you’re eating on, knives, forks, the food in your mouth, every day a trucker has contributed to your life.”
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