What Are Your Thoughts on an August Trip?

We are planning on taking a relatively low-rolling trip ($350/day bankroll) to the casinos "near" us next month. All hotel nights are comped... There are two scenarios in play, and I'd like your thoughts on them...

Itinerary A--Biloxi is about 7 hours away from home. This would be a three night trip. We enjoy the Beau Rivage and have the following offers:

--3 nights
--$50 in Table Play
--Entry in a BJ tournament
--$52 in Express Comps
--$45 in free slot play @ Pile of Debris, Lake Charles on the way home

Itinerary B--this is about 10 hours (likely less) of extra driving but includes these things:

--1 night in Bossier City @ DiamondJacks (acceptable to us but not a top tier hotel)
--$200 in Table Play
--$80 Steakhouse Comp
--1 night in Tunica @ Gold Strike
--$175 in Table Play @ Gold Strike
--$35 in Table Plat @ Horseshoe
--2 nights @ Beau Rivage in Biloxi
--$50 in Table Play
--Entry in a BJ tournament
--$52 in Express Comps
--$45 in free slot play @ Pile of Debris, Lake Charles on the way home

Trip "A" has about $147 in free play and comps; trip "B" has about $711.

Trip "A" shows as 902 miles and less than 14 hours of travel time
Trip "B" is about 1434 miles and less than 23 hours of travel time

I'm trying to decide what to do and I welcome your input...

Yipes. I don't know.
If you do that extra travelling you gonna be rested enough to make use of the casino in an intelligent manner or you going to be falling asleep at the BJ table/Craps table? Ain't no comps worth a DUI, or a gambling session while only half awake. Ain't no comps worth playing BJ while constantly looking at your watch instead of at the dealer's cleavage.. uh, I mean dealer's up card. If a tight schedule distracts you then its too costly a schedule.

80 Comp at a steak house is nice but can't Beau Rivage points be used at three different steak houses in town?

45 dollars in slot play is worth at most twenty dollars but only if you would normally be playing slots of the type of machine it is valid in. I don't really play slots at all, except perhaps for social reasons and to sit down after leaning over a craps table.

Its 500 more miles and 10 more hours of travel, plus Biloxi casinos are 'near' each other but not really adjacent. You going to drink and drive or you going to wait for a shuttle going and coming back to your car?

I would think its too much travel time and frustration for illusory "COMPS" that for me would not be all that valuable.

--the drives will be fine as far as DUI type issues since I won't be drinking and playing before any of the those...tired could be a little issue, but I'd have to play all night not to be ready to drive by checkout time. I expect to get 6-8 hours of sleep per night.

The travel time is a lot, though...but we also like all three places....

With me, the distance wouldn't be too much of an issue if the table play isn't match play, but free play. Give you an idea, I drive a F250 super duty that has the 5.8l in it and gets about 14mpg.

Trip a would cost me $161 just in gas for one way, free play just barely covers that.

Trip b would cost me $256 just in gas, however, the free play/comps covers both my drive there and home, so I personally would go with trip b.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

The table games stuff is all promo chips good for one resolved bet. DiamondJacks will give it to me in $5 chips; the MLife ones say something about no more than five chips issued, so most likely it will be quarters.

Quote: RonC

The table games stuff is all promo chips good for one resolved bet. DiamondJacks will give it to me in $5 chips; the MLife ones say something about no more than five chips issued, so most likely it will be quarters.

So, if you make a $5 bet with the promo chip, they pay you $5 with 'real' chips and take the promo chip? If this is the case, the $410 in free table play has a value closer to $200 (real money). I'm not sure if this would sway you one way or another, just something to factor in.

Did I read correctly, is the Bossier/Tunica/Biloxi trip 4 days where the straight Biloxi trip is only 3? Maybe 5-10 years ago, I would have recommend the Bossier trip (an extra day = extra fun), but I can see value now in staying put for the duration and not have to worry about packing up, checking in/out each day of the trip. Plus, although I haven't stayed at the Beau, I would imagine it is the nicest of the hotels you mentioned.

On the other hand, if you are "low rolling," you can't stay at the tables all day. So, if you take the Bossier trip, you have the driving to break up your time, but if you take the Biloxi trip, you "stuck" there for the duration. This might not be a bad thing if you enjoy what that area has to offer.

Personally, I would lean ever so slightly toward the Biloxi trip.

Quote: Joeman

So, if you make a $5 bet with the promo chip, they pay you $5 with 'real' chips and take the promo chip? If this is the case, the $410 in free table play has a value closer to $200 (real money). I'm not sure if this would sway you one way or another, just something to factor in.

Did I read correctly, is the Bossier/Tunica/Biloxi trip 4 days where the straight Biloxi trip is only 3? Maybe 5-10 years ago, I would have recommend the Bossier trip (an extra day = extra fun), but I can see value now in staying put for the duration and not have to worry about packing up, checking in/out each day of the trip. Plus, although I haven't stayed at the Beau, I would imagine it is the nicest of the hotels you mentioned.

On the other hand, if you are "low rolling," you can't stay at the tables all day. So, if you take the Bossier trip, you have the driving to break up your time, but if you take the Biloxi trip, you "stuck" there for the duration. This might not be a bad thing if you enjoy what that area has to offer.

Personally, I would lean ever so slightly toward the Biloxi trip.

Beau is definitely the nicest. From my perspective, it is also the most expensive as far as gambling goes...they usually have $10 or higher craps tables. My wife is okay with a $175 in slots playing pennies for a while; $175 on the tables is just way low for that minimum bet...

I am definitely undecided; any decision I make may get overruled by the boss.

Ron,

I'll admit I'm partial to Biloxi (although I've visited a lot of the Tunica and Louisiana casinos and like them also). So, here's my two cents worth...

Stay in Biloxi and check out the other 8 local casinos (plus several more west of Biloxi). In my experience, Beau usually starts sorta slow until early afternoon. Rather than spend a half day driving, visit other casinos in the mornings. WoV posters seem to like the Hard Rock. (Me, too!) And, the new casino -- the Scarlet Pearl -- has received good, bad, and "meh" reviews, if I recall correctly. (I'll soon stay at the Pearl to check it out for myself.) But, I've played there, and the staff is quite friendly. One morning they opened a game for me so I would play, and gave me a free buffet when I said I hadn't yet tried it and wanted to know when it started serving lunch.

I think my daily play budget is about the same as yours. Most of the other casinos have lower table limits than Beau, which I appreciate. It is a VERY competitive casino environment, and that works to your advantage. Play and room offers I've been getting suggest a bunch'a casinos are hurting for players. Plus, August is generally a slow casino month anyhow (as folks in the South with families get ready for school, and everyone else gets ready for football).

I dunno why your Biloxi trip is shorter, but I guess it has to do with comped room nights available to you. Weekday rates at a non-Beau property (before taxes & fees) are probably available for about $75. If your schedule allows a fourth day, pay for a night at one you like, give them some play while Beau wakes up, and you may have extra free nights waiting for your next gaming trip. The visitors bureau (gulfcoast-dot-org) has deals on local casino (and non-casino) hotels, plus a "deals and offers" section for other discounts in the area.

Hope to see a great trip report, whichever vacation you take! Good luck.

Quote: RonC

Beau is definitely the nicest. From my perspective, it is also the most expensive as far as gambling goes...they usually have $10 or higher craps tables. My wife is okay with a $175 in slots playing pennies for a while; $175 on the tables is just way low for that minimum bet...

I am definitely undecided; any decision I make may get overruled by the boss.

Ah, I didn't consider the minimums. Actually, I haven't been to the Beau since before Katrina, but I do recall it was a more expensive place to play. When I was out there earlier this year, the IP, Palace, and Harrah's had $5 tables going (although, I never did see a spot open up at the IP $5 table, and the only table going when I was at Harrah's was Crapless). I do like the Palace (smoke-free is a plus in my book), but they are stingy with comps & mailers.

Although, if you give all your action to other casinos, I'd imagine the Beau won't be as inclined to invite you back.

Quote: LuckyPhow

I dunno why your Biloxi trip is shorter, but I guess it has to do with comped room nights available to you. Weekday rates at a non-Beau property (before taxes & fees) are probably available for about $75. If your schedule allows a fourth day, pay for a night at one you like, give them some play while Beau wakes up, and you may have extra free nights waiting for your next gaming trip. The visitors bureau (gulfcoast-dot-org) has deals on local casino (and non-casino) hotels, plus a "deals and offers" section for other discounts in the area.

Others would know better than I, but I wonder if you showed a host at another casino your Beau Rivage offer, and mentioned that you were shopping for a new place to play, if they might do something for you for that 4th night.

Check out Scarlet Pearl in Biloxi (Technically D'Iberville) for nicer rooms, better attitude dealers and lower minimums. The best place for low rollers would be Treasure Bay with $3 table games early AM weekdays. To me the only thing The Beau now has is a better buffet. Bigger is not always better. Next door at Hard Rock, the rooms are also nicer in the new Platinum Tower.

I really liked the treasures $3 min on Ms stud. Low mins plus still having a chance for a nice pay day.

Yup, the royal, with optimum betting, would pay $12K. But I think their minimum table is still $2.

I didn't do all the math but are willing to drive 10 extra hours for 200-300 dollars seems like a lot of driving for minimal return after expenses