LuckyPhow
LuckyPhow
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November 10th, 2016 at 10:46:58 AM permalink
If all goes well, I plan to be battling it out with the Biloxi casinos from (approximately) December 8 to December 16. My normal stomping grounds include Beau Rivage, Imperial Palace, Hard Rock, Treasure Bay, and (most recently) Scarlet Pearl. I have not yet made any hotel reservations, but plan to do so in the next week.

So, two questions:

  1. Will any WoV folks be in the area then? Perhaps interested in touching base for dinner or just shaking hands (errr... or, is it just a fist bump now?)
  2. Has anyone visited Biloxi recently with timely info to share? Or, non-recent visitors who have their own pearls of wisdom?


This should be a slow time for the casinos, and I expect the offers to be reasonably generous. I'm such a sucker for generous offers, don'cher know?
FleaStiff
FleaStiff
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November 10th, 2016 at 11:02:12 AM permalink
The Beau Rivage is the best. Remember too that their points are redeemable at several fine restaurants a few miles distant from the casino.

I won't be there though, just stepped on the scales and I doubt any airline will ever let me fly.
terapined
terapined
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November 10th, 2016 at 11:49:29 AM permalink
I've had good luck at the Island View casino down the highway
They had 99.54 JOB 25cent
Have to check VPFREE to make sure still 99.54%
Only place I have ever hit the 1k Royal

I've spent thousands in Vegas, never hit a Royal
I've spent hundreds in the Biloxi area, hit 1 royal
Go figure
LuckyPhow
LuckyPhow
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November 10th, 2016 at 12:09:02 PM permalink
Quote: terapined


I've had good luck at the Island View casino...
Only place I have ever hit the 1k Royal


I like the Island View Casino in Gulfport, but it is about 12 miles distant from the Biloxi casinos. I sometimes go there, but their offers are pretty meager, IMHO. (But, my play doesn't deserve a lot, either.) Good table games at low minimums. Good selection of slots. Serve-yourself soda machines.

My two JoB $1K Royals came in Biloxi. One at Isle (of Capri) Casino (now the Golden Nugget) and one at the Beau Rivage. I'm soon to be off in search of my third Royal.
ukaserex
ukaserex
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December 13th, 2016 at 11:29:34 AM permalink
I just made my second trip to Biloxi since April this past weekend. Took all of 90 minutes to make the rounds. The Free Play offers were just too generous to pass up. But, I spent less than 20 minutes at each stop, so I didn't really notice anything worth passing on.

I think, as far as Video Poker goes, the best play is at IP for $2 and lower. For $5 or more, head to Hard Rock.

The food, for my money, is better outside of the buffets - like High Tide Cafe at the IP and Half Shell at Hard Rock. If you must do a buffet and you've got the comps for it, the one at the Beau is better than average.

I've only stayed at the Beau, the IP and The Palace Casino Resort. PCR has slightly better rooms in my opinion - but of the casinos you mention, I'd stay at IP or Beau. Beau has slightly nicer rooms, but there's a whole lot of flashy decor which makes me feel uncomfortable, like they're waiting for me to pay for it.

I'm more inclined now than before to game at Treasure Bay because of its smaller size. Seems like they have to "try harder" - but I'm sure that's all in my head.

I like gaming at PCR - non-smoking - but their hotel staff is so slow sometimes - and their hosts aren't the brightest of the bunch. Still,they've treated me well. (Until I stopped playing, of course.)
"Those who have no idea what they are doing, genuinely have no idea that they don't know what they are doing." - John Cleese
FleaStiff
FleaStiff
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December 13th, 2016 at 12:37:37 PM permalink
Quote: ukaserex

I like gaming at PCR - non-smoking - but their hotel staff is so slow sometimes - and their hosts aren't the brightest of the bunch. Still,they've treated me well. (Until I stopped playing, of course.)

When I was having non-stop bad luck at the old Isle of Capri and they bluntly replied to my shuttle inquiry with "we don't help people get to other casinos", I did the short bus/ short walk thing and arrived at The Palace sweating like a pig and over-reacting to the sudden air conditioning. Instantly a waitress appeared with a bottle of water and guided me over to a plushly upholstered bench and stayed with me; when I finally braved the craps table it was crowded but one of the most pleasant crews ever.
DeMango
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December 13th, 2016 at 1:59:23 PM permalink
Typing this at my desk at Scarlet Pearl. One must try this hotel before tabulating final opinions. And yes all buffets suck in Biloxi but The Beau's sucks the least!
When a rock is thrown into a pack of dogs, the one that yells the loudest is the one who got hit.
LuckyPhow
LuckyPhow
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December 13th, 2016 at 6:49:11 PM permalink
Quote: DeMango


Typing this at my desk at Scarlet Pearl. One must try this hotel before tabulating final opinions. And yes all buffets suck in Biloxi but The Beau's sucks the least!


Whatta coincidence! I'm typing this at the desk in my Beau Rivage hotel room. Tomorrow and the next day (Wednesday and Thursday, 14-15 Dec.) I will be at the Scarlet Pearl Casino/Hotel. Slot tournament tomorrow morning at Scarlet's casino. (Then, home on Friday.)

Earlier this trip I stayed several nights in the Imperial Palace. For the first time in my memory (and I probably would have remembered), Firefox said IP's WiFi Internet connection was completely insecure and strongly advised not using it (so I didn't).This is totally contrary to my previous IP experiences.

As far as buffets go, I agree Beau Rivage has the best, but I like the Hard Rock buffet also. I confess, I'm easily satisfied. The High Tide restaurant at the Imperial Palace is quite good as an affordable sit-down restaurant. If you are slumming at the low-limit Treasure Bay Casino, its inexpensive sit-down restaurant (The Den) has a great seafood alfredo. Unfortunately, the River Card Bonus table game was not open when I visited.

After getting almost nothing but a hard time for years from the (Caesar's) Harrahs Gulfcoast Casino, I received several offers this trip. And the reason why became clear to me as soon as I visited. The parking lot was almost totally empty (even on the weekend). A dealer commented she had never seen the casino this empty, and "empty" gives it every benefit of the doubt. Table-game free-play offers I received couldn't be used on any "poker" games, only on "even-money bets" on roulette (red-black, etc.) or BJ (but, paying even money on a natural Blackjack!) No mention of it being used on the craps table. So, I played roulette, losing one and winning one. Harrah's buffet is probably the worst of the worst on the coast. And, it was so "empty" the two times I ate there, the staff just told diners, "Sit wherever you want." I like the half-off Steak-n-Shake milkshakes (from 2pm-5pm weekdays).

Gaming this week has been up and down and down and up and down. But, the war is not yet finished. I battle the casinos again tomorrow.
ukaserex
ukaserex
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December 29th, 2016 at 5:20:05 PM permalink
Quote: DeMango

Typing this at my desk at Scarlet Pearl. One must try this hotel before tabulating final opinions. And yes all buffets suck in Biloxi but The Beau's sucks the least!



Thank you for this endorsement. How is the internet there? I found the internet at PCR to be horrible. Couldn't stream videos a bit.
"Those who have no idea what they are doing, genuinely have no idea that they don't know what they are doing." - John Cleese
FleaStiff
FleaStiff
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December 29th, 2016 at 7:00:16 PM permalink
The M Resort (South of the Vegas Strip by about eight miles) is just about the only casino that I know has bandwidth galore.

All other casinos seem to outsource their internet access but even if they do it in-house, the casinos don't want to provide anything over minimal bandwidth in their lobby areas. The rest of the hotel usually has internet in the exhibit areas or near the exhibit/conference rooms though it may be sporadic or depend on convention booking.

Internet for rooms is often priced as part of the now-dreaded Resort Fee... but its still a Gamble in the Casino, don't watch movies in your hotel room desire on the part of the casinos.

Members of the Seminole Poker Breakfast gathering discussed this some time ago and said Tunica is the worst. One poker player said he takes a cheapie with him and doesn't use it much which I thought was a good idea considering all the airplane and hotel room thefts.
DeMango
DeMango
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December 29th, 2016 at 11:10:51 PM permalink
Quote: ukaserex

Thank you for this endorsement. How is the internet there? I found the internet at PCR to be horrible. Couldn't stream videos a bit.


PCR, I assume Pearl Casino Resort? Scarlet Pearl is very good, as is Harrah's, Treasure Bay and seemingly slightly slower, Hard Rock. I do a bit of video streaming and the latter had minor issues. But those are the only rooms in my rotation, so I can't speak for all.
When a rock is thrown into a pack of dogs, the one that yells the loudest is the one who got hit.
LuckyPhow
LuckyPhow
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December 30th, 2016 at 6:37:31 AM permalink
Quote: FleaStiff


The ... Vegas Strip ... casinos seem to outsource their internet access but ... don't want to provide anything over minimal ...


FleaS,

Can't say I'm surprised, what with all the complaints everyone has about parking fees, wretched VP, horrible BJ rules, terrible service by hosts & staff, and on and on. Why would casinos not put the "squeeze" on hotel guests?

And, the casinos start with an overall "guaranteed" advantage. Their greed seems to ooze from every pore.

Quote: FleaStiff


Tunica is the worst.


A careful check would probably show that the most accurate geographic definition of "middle of nowhere" is Tunica. I don't want to give it any undeserved credit. For what it is, I think it does a pretty good job of trying to give gaming patrons a fair deal. That's generally been my experience when I've played there. Of course, your mileage may vary.

However, for a better-than-average gaming location, gimmie Biloxi any day.
LuckyPhow
LuckyPhow
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December 30th, 2016 at 7:13:16 AM permalink
Quote: ukaserex


Thank you for this [Scarlet Pearl] endorsement. How is the internet there? I found the internet at PCR to be horrible. Couldn't stream videos a bit.


uk,

I'm not sure the Palace Casino has its "technology" act completely up to date. About 2 years ago, I had a discussion with some Biloxi casino security staff. They told me every casino in the Biloxi/Gulfport area had digital security cameras. That is, every casino except the Palace Casino, which was still using video cassette recorders. Whereas other casinos could answer a question from the floor in less than a minute, it could take 30 minutes at the Palace. The poor service you experienced could be because the Palace Casino internet service is similarly behind the times. But, Palace Casino hasn't given me a good room offer in years, so I cannot speak about its current service.

As far as my own experience with internet access from casino hotels, it has been good overall. My recent bad experience at the IP Casino is contrary to what I normally find. I've also had good experience at Beau Rivage, Scarlet Pearl (which probably has the newest everything), and the Golden Nugget (which has other "stuff" I do not like, but I'll give it an OK on internet access).

I don't stream movies on my computer. However, I have logged into the live poker game feed from Jason Sommerville (aka, JCarver) on his Twitch TV show (IMHO, best accessed here: Run It UP Poker), and I cannot recall any significant problems at any of the Biloxi casino hotels where I've stayed.
FleaStiff
FleaStiff
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December 30th, 2016 at 7:20:00 AM permalink
Quote: LuckyPhow

... for a better-than-average gaming location, gimmie Biloxi any day.

Yes. I wish they would install a great municipal de-humidifier, but I do agree. Biloxi is much closer for me than Vegas and the term "Vegas" just doesn't cut as much ice as before.

As with all casinos, there are pluses and minuses; many of them are uniquely personal to the individual player, but its a 'casino-dense' area and the Beau Rivage's Point Sytem extends the benefits fun-area even further.

Its not Vegas and it doesn't pretend to be, besides it sure is closer to Florida than Vegas is. Cheaper and shorter flights. And, perhaps because its in the South, coffee is an accepted beveage whereas Vegas MBAs tend to discourage in-room coffee makers.
ukaserex
ukaserex
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January 4th, 2017 at 1:09:58 PM permalink
PCR - sorry, I was referring to Palace Casino Resort.

There were many nights I'd had a free room - but no fridge, no microwave and the internet was like a fast dial-up. Good enough for email, but no streaming.

Now that I can record Netflix, it wouldn't be an issue - but last year, staying there alone, sometimes my discipline got suspect and I'd lose what I won just because I got bored and wanted to try something new. Foolish.

So, I stopped staying there.
"Those who have no idea what they are doing, genuinely have no idea that they don't know what they are doing." - John Cleese
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