Detroit area casino reviews

I've never been to Detroit.
I've heard that Greektown opened with some really weird past-posting at the craps table that was taking money out the door like crazy. Always the same "players" with the Box telling any hesitant dealer to pay. I've heard it was a way to have one partner force the casino into bankruptcy to freeze out another partner but have no idea if that was true.
I've also heard that craps at Greektown is all "hoopin', hollerin' and hardways" but don't know if that is true or just dealer's gripe.

If a property is in bankruptcy and it is being run by a Sweat The Money place like Isle of Capri, then I would not expect the casino to emerge from bankruptcy any too soon.

Quote: makeshots22

Why not? Just supply and demand?

Yes.

Went to go play at Motor City at Saturday night, and saw a SUV with a busted out back window with glass everywhere in the parking lot...needless to say, I went straight over to MGM.

Vandalism of vehicles is common. Decades ago I was at Circus Circus and when I reported my vehicle had been tampered with to a security guard he gunned his pickup truck and got to that first level but fast. It was one of the best policed casinos at the time but even in broad daylight they can't stop all thieves. They sure try though. Casinos want any money you have to go to them, not to thieves or hookers or conmen. Parking lot problems may be low priority items but they will have casino security fill out forms on it. They atleast keep track of what happens there but car prowls and hookers who roll their clients are often things you have to be careful of. It used to be that only young attractive females had to be wary of chloral hydrate being put in their drinks, but when a gambler has his pockets bulging with casino chips, even males have to watch their drinks or else they are going to have an attractive female "help them" to their rooms. Casinos are magnets for people with money and criminals are no fools: they go where the money is highest and the police presence is lowest.

Quote: makeshots22

Went to go play at Motor City at Saturday night, and saw a SUV with a busted out back window with glass everywhere in the parking lot...needless to say, I went straight over to MGM.

Motor City is in a not-so-nice part of town. And that's not good news when we're talking about Detroit. Also, the crowd can be very rough, in my experience. The low limit table game rules are bad. However, it is a very funky, modern looking casino. It has a Motown feel with a very futuristic design. Lots of great music piped through the speakers, and I've been impressed more than once with the quality of the bands and singers at the Chromatic Bar. It's worth visiting at least once (especially if you like Motown and gambling), if you live in the area. Just take a beat up old car or a taxi (but don't walk there!)

I asked the Wizard a couple of years ago about Two Way Monte for the proper strategy and the house egde but got no response. I know he is busy plus I am sure the game is very dificult to analyze. But it is in James Grosjeans "Beyond Counting C++". I didnt read much into it but if I remember right, the edge on it was not as bad as I thought it would be.

Does Casino Windsor play Mississippi Stud face up?

Quote: dwheatley

Does Casino Windsor play Mississippi Stud face up?

No, as of my last visit in May 2010.

That said, I did see someone playing two hands on my last trip. Also, some dealers don't seem to mind if you talk about your hand to other players.

Great post Teddy and I couldn't agree more with you. As an advantage gambler from the Detroit area who frequents these place often, its about time someone gave an indepth review about them.

I do have to say that MGM does have alot of $10 bj games throught the day. I have to warn people to stay clear of pit 16 which is the one by itself near the carnival games pit as they changed the bj payoff to 6/5 with the standard 8D rules they offer! Luckily it is just this one pit and it is usually closed. All three are pretty much the same for blackjack like you wrote but G-Town does offer a 2D, H17, DOA, DAS, resplit to 4 hands, no RSA, no surrender for a .38% edge. BJ play at all three is not good, so if you are one of the select few that hit your A,7 vs a 9,10 or ace, be prepared to get admonished. Even worse if you double your A,8 vs 6 or A,7 vs 2 in the H17 game. As for video poker, MGM is horrid and not even worth a mention. Greektown has many 9-6 JoB along with the NSUD. You didn't mention that Greektown has a $1, 9/6 JoB Progressive at the Circle Bar on the second floor and as of saturday evening the jackpot was over $5500 which puts in in positive territory. I see it get there pretty regularly also. Motorcity's best VP is 9/6 Job and can be found in all sorts of denominations. Most are located on the spin poker machines. I can say I only play VP with my "reward play" and I use it on the penny, 100 play, 9/5 Job. I know I am giving up a full 1% or so but I do also get more "entertainment value" from it. I had $85 in reward play just this past weekend and it would have been burned up in 10 minutes on the quarter 9/6. So on the 100 play, and I only played 1 hand at a time at 5 cents a hand. It took me 4 hours to play those 1700 hands ("entertainmen value" lol). Variance was on my side as I made over 100% of my $85 freeplay, and without hitting a royal. Never hit one before anyway. I was dealt a pat A,2,3,4,5 in clubs though but what was odd about it was that I was dealt the same exact pat hand in January! No draw same straight flush, but yet to have even drawn to a royal. BTW have been dealt 7 pat straight flushes in all my VP play and no royals or drawn to royals, what are the odds?

Anyway, for the poker player, Greektown has 12 tables I believe, and they offer $3-$6 and $5-$10 limit along with $50-$200 buy in no limit with $1/$2 blinds. They also have a few varieties of Omaha. Greektown has the best tournaments and has hosted 2 Heartland Poker Tour tournaments. It is also non-smoking. Motorcity has 12 tables located on the 1st floor in a non-smoking room. They offer mostly no limit games with limit games by request. The most common is the $50-$200 buy in, no-limit and a $200-$500 buy in no-limit game with $2/$5 blinds. On wednesdays and saturdays they play $5-$10 limit Omaha hi-lo. MGM has all of the same games but their room is small with only 8 tables. We had thought they would have a big room to try and attract big games along with big tournaments, so we were disappointed. It is located on the 3rd floor, up the elevators and is next to the Ignite Lounge. I would not recommend playing there on the weekends as the noise and smoke from the lounge is bad. You can always call these rooms direct as their phone numbers are listed on the casinos webiste. I cannont comment on Windsor as I have not been there since 9/11. The hassles of the border crossing do not make it worth the time even with the proper documents.

To get comps at MGM, its best to ask a table games supervisor. They will usually get you what you want even if the kiosks where you swipe to check you balance says you don't qualify. Motorcity comp system is very generous and you can build them up as opposed to MGM's. Here you can swipe your card at the various kiosks and get an exact comp balance down to the last penny. This is an excellent idea and I don't know why the others haven't followed suit. Keeps the players club lines short. Greektown has the same but here you can also turn comps into freeplay or freebets. For every $30 in comps you can get $10 in freeplay or freebets. The other casinos do not do this.

Overall, the Detroit casinos are not bad compared to other locations across the country and there are many opportunities for the advantage gambler at various games. Considering the economic conditions here, these places are ALWAYS packed.