Biloxi -- Palace & IP

Since I lobbied for the separate "Casinos Outside Vegas" section, I feel obligated to post since there doesn't seem to be too much action here. I figured I could give a brief report of the two Biloxi Casinos I visited this past weekend. A more detailed trip report to follow can be found here.

Palace

The Palace is still smoke-free, and remains the only smoke-free casino in Biloxi. We stayed there because we didn't have any room offers anywhere, and they showed the cheapest rooms ($139) when we booked three weeks out.

The hotel is nice. I would put it as a solid 4-star (out of 5) resort. The rooms were well appointed, and had a nice looking pool that we didn't visit because is stormed all day on Saturday. In the vein of Wizard's hotel reports, I can say that they have a "McDonald's style" line at check-in, but oddly, enough, the patrons organized themselves in a first-come, first-served "Wendy's style" fashion. So, we got to check in with the next available clerk after all the folks that were there before us were served! Maybe smoke-free brings in more courteous clientele? The Palace also served complimentary champagne and cheese to people waiting to check in, which was a very nice touch.

The casino itself was about averaged-sized for Biloxi, maybe a little less than average. Table games were: Craps (10x odds, Double the 12 on the field), BJ -- 6D, 3:2, H17, DA2, RSA, 70-80% pen; and 2D (didn't check the rules), Roulette, 3CP, PGP, MS Stud. All games had $5 tables available throughout the weekend, except the 2D game, which was $10. The dealers we had were professional, friendly, and for the most part, fun. There was a small high-limit room with not much action within.

They have plenty of slots including a few "must hit by" jackpot machines (whose meters appear to move very slowly), and several movie themed slots (I'm a Lord of the Rings fan, so the LoTR slot will usually get a $20 bill from me). Although, I'm disappointed that the Willy Wonka slot doesn't play the "You get nothing, you lose! Good day, sir!" clip when you run out of money.

They have a small VP area by the bar (which has really bad karaoke singers on Saturday nights). The best game I found was $1 8/6 JoB.

There were decent crowds in the evening over the weekend, but not too crowded to find a seat at your favorite game.

IP

We didn't stay at the IP, so I can't comment about the hotel.

The casino is on the larger side. They had 6 craps tables, a couple of 3CP, 4CP, and MS Stud tables, Roulette, PGP, Midi-Bac, and lots of BJ. I didn't play at any except the 4CP, so I can't comment on the conditions. Although, I did see several $5 tables throughout the evening. One of the 6 Craps tables remained at $5, but I never saw a place open up at it. There was also a high-limit room with a couple of $50 min BJ games going.

Lots of slots, including a separate $1/$5 slot room (not for the high-limit slots -- they were in a different room) in what was the Poker Room the last time I was there. Evidently, they moved the Poker Room up to the 2nd floor, but I didn't see it.

They had a nice VP bar called Insomnia on the 1st floor. It had maybe 12 or 15 machines that were multi-denominational, and each denomination had it's own progressive jackpot for a royal. I don't know all the pay tables for all the games, but the best I found was Deuces Wild with the LV Airport/Illinois Deuces paytable (98.91%). They also had a bank of machines near the bar with the same pay tables. There were also some $1/$2 machines in the $1/$5 slot room, but the pay tables didn't seem any better. VPfree2 says there are also some VP on the 2nd floor, but I didn't seek them out this trip.

The buffet was pretty good. It featured snow crab legs and prime rib at the carving station. If we weren't comped, the price would have been $27. The wait to get a table was about 25 minutes.

In general, the IP was packed on Saturday evening. There were long lines at cashier and the buffet, and there were not very many open seats at the $5 tables. I had a few minutes' wait for a bar VP seat to open up. And parking was a bit of a mess. They have plenty of room in the garage, but with only one entrance and only one exit, it is a slow parade up the floors to find a spot, and a slow parade down the floors when it was time to leave. As for the valet, we probably saw a couple dozen people waiting for their cars when we left.

Oh, here's a tip if you need the services of the cashier or player's club on a busy night: There's a separate, smaller cashier window tucked in a corner of the main floor adjacent to the high-limit slot room. While the main cashier had long lines the entire evening, the other cashier had very small or sometimes no lines.

New Construction

There appears to be two new casino buildings going up in Biloxi. One is across the Bay from the IP, and the other is adjacent to the Beau Rivage. I didn't gather any information about either, except a dealer told me the one across form the IP was supposed to have an awesome Poker Room. We'll see.

Nice report Joeman. Well documented and detailed, except how did you do?!?! Hope you had a fun trip either way! Were the BJ tables dealt from a shoe or CSM?

Thanks, Romes. I'll post a report in the Trip Reports section in a bit.

At the tables at the Palace, cards were dealt from a shoe and hand-shuffled. I didn't play BJ at the IP, and didn't notice. Although, my Dad played, and I'm sure he would have said something if they were dealing from a CSM.

For anyone interested, the trip report is up now.

I'm thinking the new constuction seen across the street from The Beau would be MGM park, home of your Biloxi Shuckers!

Ah, yes. I did see the new ballpark. But there is also construction of a high rise on the beach, but now that I think about it, it may have been adjacent to the Golden Nugget, not the BR. Maybe it's just an expansion of the GN?

BTW, your Shuckers beat the snot out of my Suns last week!

I've haven't been to Biloxi and louisiana casinos since pre-hurricane. I used to go there from Texas quite a few times. Sooner or later, hope to head over there again.

It's definitely worth a trip. I'd say the overall Casino situation is at least as strong as it was pre-Katrina. The Palace is greatly improved. I haven't been to the Golden Nugget, but I have to assume it has to be an improvement over the Pile of Debris Isle of Capri. And it appears that they are currently expanding.

Although, I will miss the Grand's Poker Room, and the Treasure Bay is a shell of what it once was. I used to love the Pirate Ship!

I've been told that the Shuckers are 12-6 and in first place. Currently all their games are "away" untill MGM park opens. When that is I don't know. I do know the casino Scarlett Pearl will open in December.

I've been visiting IP, The Palace Casino and Beau Rivage on the weekends for a couple of months. I used to gamble quite a bit. Katrina happened. Money was lost. Time went by. Not sure what happened, either the new job with more money or it just felt like time to go back.

So, I can tell you that as a non-smoker, I want to like The Palace. And, I guess I do. But - they don't have any $5 or $25 video poker machines. The highest they have is $2. And that's fine, I guess. I can't really afford to play on the $5 machine very often, unless I've done well on the $2 machines. But, I can always go to IP or Beau Rivage for the $5 play.

Years ago, I think it was '98, I went out to Vegas, pretty much on a lark. I had 3 grand total to my name. En route, I stopped in at Tunica, and in the first 15 minutes, I won a Royal Flush for $4k on a JoB machine. They took out 10% for state taxes (in Biloxi, I recently learned they only take out 3% for state taxes - but that could have changed state wide, I don't know)

I lived in Vegas for about 6 months off that 3 grand. Rooms were free, food was free. Entertainment was mostly free. I had picked up one of the "how to win at video poker" books, read it a couple of times and did pretty well with that strategy.

In fact, I still do. I have to watch myself, sometimes I'll press hold on a card - and the button didn't register. I've lost made money doing things like that. Not a lot, but it still bugs me.

Anyway, I digress. Imperial Palace has an interesting comp system. I don't like it. They are now a part of Boyd Gaming (They weren't before Katrina).

If you only visit once a week for four weeks, they take your coin-in total and divide by the number of days you were there. And, the free play you get will correlate with that dollar total. I haven't yet gotten the ratio pinpointed.

The Palace - their player privilege system is awful. You can't use the free play for video poker, only slots. So, I'll go in the high roller area and use mine on a $10 slot. I will not use my own money in those things - great payoffs, but too few and far between in my experience. I used to like dumping the last couple of 5 dollar coins in those machines just to see if my last play of the day would be a winner. But, now, having to pull out the wallet, grab a 20 or a 100, slide the player card in, it's too much like work for one tug on the reels.

I've stayed at both hotels (For free, of course). The rooms are nice - easily as nice as any Marriott hotel you'd stay at. I have no idea why those fools put a tv in the bathroom. That's just beyond me. They both have fitness centers, but IP has them beat as far as restaurants go. IP has more choices, but the buffets are pretty much the same. I do prefer The Palace because it never seems to be as crowded.

Additionally, IP has some work to do in the outside area. The roads in are just shells. They used to be pavement - but Katrina washed that out. IP rebuilt or remodeled (They are just boats that floated out before the storm hit) and it's great inside, but outside is pretty ugly. Another plus for The Palace Casino is the road into is nicely paved. Or at least, not shells/gravel.

I recommend, that if you're into gambling - go to Vegas. Finding a 6/9 JoB is tough. Most are 5/8 or 6/8. The only 6/9 JoB I've found was for $5 video poker. That's not to say Boomtown, or Harrah's or Hardrock or any of the others don't have 6/9, I just haven't seen them.

One thing that's interesting to me at Imperial Palace is the progressive machines at the bar. The Bonus poker is 1/2/3/4/5/8/200/400/250/progressive. Compared to the JoB which is also 6/8/125/250/progressive - it seems very odd. I'm not complaining. I'll take the hit on the flush to get that better payout on the quads.

Anyway - that's my limited take on those two casinos. I had no idea this page existed until today, or I'd have paid more attention.

HR has $5 9/6 JoB in high limit room. I have found $1 9/6 JoB upstairs at IP in the non smoking section next to the bar. Palace has to be the only casino that rewards the table player with free slot play. Fools.

I'm sorry --- HR?

Do you mean Harrah's?

I'd play $5 JoB at any of the Mississippi beach casinos if I knew which ones had the better pay tables.

Quote: ukaserex

I'm sorry --- HR?

Do you mean Harrah's?

My guess is Hard Rock.

Good guess! And while you are there, stay at the new Platinum Tower, best standard room in Biloxi, IMHO!

When I went last week, I literally smacked myself on the head realizing Hard Rock was what HR was for. I've actually never been there before. I guess I'm thinking there will be horribly loud music and way too much smoke.