Horseshoe Food Review and Margaritaville TR

Just came back from a Memorial Day weekend trip to my favorite midwest gambling destination, Shreveport, LA.

Since I already did a trip report of the Horseshoe and Shreveport, and because someone asked me about the casino food, I thought I would do a review of the food at the Horseshoe and a review of the Margaritaville Casino.

After calling my host and getting a room for the weekend, I drove to the Horseshoe and arrived around 11. As I stated in an earlier review, it is very easy to score a comp in Shreveport.

This is what the Horseshoe looks like from the outside. It's easily the nicest and cleanest casino in Shreveport/Bossier City.




I bought in for $5,000 and did some gambling. I was up around $3000 and decided to go eat something and do the first food review.

Around midnight, I got a comp to the Jasmine Noodle bar, a restaurant at which I would normally never eat, if not for the purpose of doing a review. The reason I wouldn't normally eat at Jasmines is because the place is never very busy, which is an indicator that people are voting with their feet.

This is what the place looks like and this is what I ordered.





In one word: chewy. I can tell that they're trying to save costs by using a lower grade of short rib. Also, I ordered a skewer of beef with peanut sauce. Again, it was chewy.

There's no way that any reasonable person could bite into this meat and think that chewing on the equivalent of a rubber band was delicious. This restaurant is a clear example of managements' failure to taste test their own food.

The chips in the pic represent an initial buy in of $5000.

Next day, for the sake of doing another review, I got a comp to the Burger Bar for lunch. This is is the Burger Bar, which four years ago, was just a regular casino cafe.



This is the menu. Notice that there are a lot of nonBurger offerings. That's because the menu is exactly the same as when the restaurant was a casino cafe (I've eaten here dozen of times when it was branded as a cafe). Apparently, their rebranding was limited to changing the name of the restaurant and signage.



For the sake of this review, I ordered the Burger. This is the $12 burger. It was pretty good. The bread was sweet, fyi, like a Kings Hawaiian type of sweet. The patties were cooked to my correct specification.



This is the pathway to the casino. The casino is on a permanently anchored riverboat. When I first came to this casino in my younger days, the check point security would card me. I knew I was getting older when security stopped carding me.



You can tell the casino is on a riverboat from the shape of the casino. This is the perspective from one end of the table games portion of the Horseshoe.




I continued to gamble some more, going up and down, up and down, like a rollercoaster. Then the craps table got really really smoking hot.

Have you ever played craps where everything that could possibly go right, went right? It was weird and surreal.

I would do a pass bet of $5+$500 max odds and then a come bet of $5+$500 (100x odds). Then I would have a second come bet of $5+$200 odds, if there wasn't a decision on the pass bet. So I had a max of $1200 worth of odds at anytime. I do this because I find the off and on exciting. I'm hoping that when the second come bet is in the come area, the initial $5+$500 come bet results in an off and on.

So on this specific shooter, I had a point of 5 and then my first come bet resulted in a point of 8. The 8 hit like around eight to ten times in a row (with some 2, 3, and 11s in between), paying a total of $605 each time. Neither a seven nor another come point was established during this streak. Finally, on the same sequence, the shooter established a come of 9, so I put the $200 odds on the 9 (I had $5+$500 on the point of 5 and $5+$500 on the come point of 8). Then the 8 hit, paying my 8 again $605. So I pressed the 9 to max odds of $500.

I now had a point 5 pass bet of $5+$500 and a come 9 of $5+$500.

Then the 8 was established for the come, so I put up $200 odds.

Then the 9 hit, paying $755 total, and taking off the 9.

So I pressed the 8 to $500 odds.

Then the come 9 rolled. So I put up $200 odds on the 9.

Then the 8 hit, paying $605.

So the I pressed the 9 to $500.

Then the point of 9 rolled, paying $755, resulting in the 9 coming down.

This back and forth sequence of 8 and 9, rolling, paying, pressing, rolling, happened like 5-7 times. I didn't keep track, but it was exciting as hell.

However, the table was strangely silent because everyone was betting stuff like the hardaways, and 8 was easy everytime. I notice that people rarely play the come because the belief is ingrained in lots of players that the come bet is a bad bet because a specific number has to hit twice. I'm not going to argue this issue, which has already been argued millions of times.

A few people did win on the place 8 and 9, but no one pressed their 8 or 9. So I was celebrating almost by myself.

One guy was annoyed because he was betting the Bonus craps bets (rebranded AllSmall/AllTall/RollEmAll side bet), where the objective is to roll as many numbers as possible, and the dice kept repeating the same 8, 9, 2, 3, and 11 numbers.

Finally, the 8 and 9 streak was snapped and the shooter rolled a 4. I was so excited and commenting on how the 8 and 9 kept rolling and didn't pay attention to the 4 come. So the dealer asked, hey you want your odds on the 4?

According to my betting pattern, I should have thrown $200 odds on the 4. But I was pumped with excitement, and the dice were already out, so I threw down a purple chip. I immediately realized my mistake and was about to say '$200 of that', but before I could say it, the shooter threw the dice, and immediately hit a 4 hit for $1005 payout.

The dealer asked, hey you gonna take care of me? First time I had ever been asked for a tip at the Shoe, and normally, I would say, I could have easily lost that bet too; but, she was nice about it. So I threw the dealer a red chip. Made her quite happy.

Finally, the point of 5 hit, paying $755.

Everything that could have happened right, happened. It was surreal.

This is the end result, starting from the $8000 I had earlier.





Even though I'm not superstitious, I said, I think I've used up all my luck and started to place bet $12 six and $12 8, and no pass bets. I was just enjoying my luck. The table then went on a hellacious cold streak of point, seven, point, seven, point, seven, etc. It was like the table was taking its money back from the other players.

Even place betting only $12/$12 at a time on 6 and 8, I lost $300 worth of 6/8 place bets to the cold streak.

Peeved that I just lost $300 worth of place bets, I colored up, went and surveyed the other games and killed some time playing carnival games.

On a side note, the Horseshoe only has 3-2 BJ. There is no 6-5 BJ.

I scouted the other carnival games. Lots of Mississippi Stud tables, 3CP, some High Card Flush game, and some ridiculous game called Four Card Poker. There is no PaiGow Poker or tile.

I decided to play Four Card poker. Bought in, got five red chips for a green chip, and I didn't play the Bonus. As usual, just like at 3CP, people started admonishing me on how I would hit the straight flush. To which I always reply, I hope I hit the straight flush because then I would win $5.

A different guy commented, you have all that money and you don't want to even play the bonus. To which I replied, I don't play sucker bets, maybe thats why I have so much money. To which he replied, it's not a sucker bet when it hits. Lol at that comment.

In all five hands I was dealt, I didn't get a single pair.

Back to the food review.

I got a comp to the Horshoes' high end version of a steak house, as I had eaten at the Four Winds restaurant last time, and I had a bad taste in my mouth from the Noodle Bar.



I've eaten at this steak house plenty of times. This is what I ordered.

The escargot was good.



It seems that Jacks SteakHouse has undergone the same cost cutting as Jasmines Noodle Bar because the prime rib was like a select or choice quality cut. It wasn't very tender.

Also, I sent the prime rib back because it arrived cold, like it had been sitting at room temperature for a while.

The corn was very good.



The next day, I had the buffet. Here are some pics of the buffet.



Seafood...



Dessert station...



I have a insatiable sweet tooth. The dessert was good.



I swear that some CET bean counter has taken over the food at the Horseshoe, and this bean counter has not taste tested the food.

I tried to think...what pic can I take to show how the food has slipped a level. So I took a pic of this...the Jonah crab. The Horseshoe used to serve Stone crab. Jonah crab is a trash catch, but it looks kind of like Stone crab, so it's often sold as a cheaper alternative to Stone crab.

If you've ever eaten stone crab, the claws come out in nice lumps of claw meat. This is how the cheaper and trashy Jonah crab comes out. The meat breaks up easily and has a powdery taste; it's not the neat lump of claw meat.



Also, the bacon was a low quality thin cut bacon that you find at a hotel continental buffet. Another victim of cost cutting.

Oh, well. Harrahs...er...CET.

I love the feeling of being up big, and there's no feeling worse to me than being up big and then losing it all. So I decided to waste some time and went to do a review of the Margaritaville casino.



This is their rather colorful players card. There were no freebies or match play goodies for signing up.



It's one of the few casinos without a parking garage. Because of the lack of levels of parking, it can be hard to find a parking spot. I guess they don't have the budget to build a parking garage.

This is the table games area of the Margaritaville Casino.



Notice that the chips have the Jimmy Buffet theme. I also noticed that this casino is a low rollers paradise. The $500 chips are very clean and have sharp edges, meaning they aren't used very often.




Here's the craps table. It's $5 craps with 100x odds.



So I buy into the craps table, and the dealer starts making jokes with one of the rather 'rough' females. The dealer is making jokes which, as a business owner myself, I find horrifying. One such joke was, 'woman, don't tell this man what to do, a woman's job is to listen!'. This was because she was telling me, in a rather boisterous manner, that her sister was shooting and she asked if I could wait until the next shooter to buy in.

I buy in for $2000, but I miscounted and threw in $2100. I tell the box to send me back the spare $100. To which, the 'rough' female, who is to my immediate left, asks in a semi joking way, if I like buying in for round numbers, and if she can have the spare bill. Lol, I guess there's no shame in asking. I usually cap my black or bigger chips.

Upon buying in, the same dealer immediately recognized me. Says, 'hey you play at the Horseshoe. I used to work there.' He then starts trashing the Horseshoe, saying it was a bad place to work and he's happy to be here. Lol.

I buy in for $2000 and immediately hit come bet after come bet and doubling my buy in. After the point hits, the 7 on the come out rolls, and my odds are saved. Again, I hate being up and losing, so I start betting $12 place bets on the 6 and 8, just enjoying free drinks and watching the dice roll. I win about $50 on the place bets by the time I get bored.

After a while, I take my chips to a BJ table. This is the BJ table.

No 6-5 at Margaritaville.

My newly enhanced stack of Margaritaville chips.



Notice that they still hand shuffle. You can tell it's a poor casino because it has no Shufflemaster device, which reminded me of a toy that I had purchased many years ago. I once bought a Shufflemaster (which Shufflemaster used to sell for $16,000). I was a kid who grew up poor, and when my business took off, one of the first toys I bought was a Shufflemaster because I wanted the casino model.



Just for fun, I thought I'd include this...

Here is it with my Horseshoe room key. Sadly, it sits unused, as a forgotten toy. I took it out tonight for this photo op.



Back to the review. The Margaritaville is a low roller casino and you can tell. They don't have the most attractive cocktail waitresses, and some of the tables have cigarette ash on them. Also, some of the chairs have cigarette burn marks on them. There is also a weird smell that permeates the casino.

Notice the T-shirts that the dealers wear, meant for Memorial Day, but somewhat inappropriately commercialized. Also, dealers and floors wearing t-shirts just appears unprofessional to me. I get the laid back look Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville look, but if I owned the place, I'd have them wearing Hawaiian shirts.

The Margaritaville has the bubble craps machine, and it was packed.

After a while, I cashed out and went back to the Horseshoe. I think that the Margaritaville will be my substitute for the El Dorado in the future.

Back at the Horseshoe, I told myself that I would halve my odds and set a loss limit of $5000. If I lost $5000, I'd call it a trip.

When I went back to the Horseshoe, one shooter after I bought in, the floor raised the minimum to $10. Unlike in Vegas, where they grandfather-in existing players, they do not do that here. So I laid back and relaxed for the rest of the evening place betting $12 Six and $12 Eight, enjoyed the free drinks, and watched the dice roll. I decided to wait until the morning, when the limits went back to $5, to seriously play craps again.

After a while of playing $12 6 and 8, I got bored and called it an evening.

In the morning, I went to the tables and noticed that the casino was dead, but the limits were still $10 min. So I decided to call it a trip, got a quick brunch buffet, and drove home.

The host is trying to get me to play baccarat because next August, they have a free $32,000 prize pool bacc tournament. She said that she's already reserved my entry. I'm not sure I understood her correctly, but she either said that she only has 22 entries for the free baccarat tournament, or she only has 22 more entries. I think she said the later because that's a lot of free money for a 22 person promo tournament; but then again, baccarat guys are known to drop lots of money.

I doubt I'll return in August. My gambling appetite is pretty satiated for a long time. It was a fun weekend. I'm not the gambler of my younger days.

The Horseshoe is the best casino in Shreveport/Bossier City, but the food quality has taken a dive lately.

Oh, one final detail. The Horseshoe now charges a resort fee, even if the room is comped.

Marvelous review.

I did not notice the theme of the tee-shirts but I sure did notice that they had long sleeves (albeit tight at the wrists), this is rather uncommon in the casino world where dealer attire generally focuses on a relatively short sleeved shirt with no pocket and black pants with no pockets. (Only poker dealers have shirt pockets). Usually dealers can't wear sleeves or wrist watches, surveillance wants to see clean hands and clean wrists too.

I think the 'you gonna take care of me' was justified... after all she knew your pattern and that the Barney was not being bet in its entirety.

Thanks for sampling the eateries you normally would have avoided. That is above and beyond the call of duty. A reviewer is always at liberty to say "I can't comment on the Xxxxxxx restaurant because I chose not to eat there".

I noted your Corona was on the felt... no drink cups or drink tray?

Sweet Moses, your dash looks like a car from the future. Is that a Tesla?

Those kings Hawaiian rolls really grind my gears. Why does bread need high fructose corn syrup? It doesn't.

Quote: klimate10

Oh, one final detail. The Horseshoe now charges a resort fee, even if the room is comped.

...another annoying growing trend in the casino industry. Many places, like the Palms in LV, can't get it straight. All the literature says a resort fee will be charged. Reservations says they don't charge resort fees on comped rooms. Front desk wants to charge resort fees on my credit card when checking out of a comped room. All senior citizens should have life alert and all resort fees should be optional.

Quote: FleaStiff

Marvelous review.

I completely agree. Herculean effort to insert all the photo links, and they really make the reader feel like they're "there" with Klimate. Extra points for suffering through all the junkie food so we don't have to.

Quote: FleaStiff

Usually dealers can't wear sleeves or wrist watches

Really? Don't know where you gamble, but in Mississippi most dealers wear wrist watches, and their uniforms have long sleeves (often with button cuffs to keep them tight). As cold as some casinos keep their air conditioner, it would almost be criminal not to have long sleeves. I dunno how the drink servers with skimpy costumes do it.

Quote: LuckyPhow

I dunno how the drink servers with skimpy costumes do it.

At least they are moving around creating some heat.. not standing in the same spot for an hour.

Quote: klimate10

Just came back from a Memorial Day weekend trip to my favorite midwest gambling destination, Shreveport, LA.

You sure have the polished eye of someone with a hospitality background, capturing the essence of the property, the people, and even the procedures. All your TRs with pictures is so telling, especially the food close-ups. When your time allows, pls visit my "Galloping Goumet" TR -- my stomach and I are glad to say we would recommend a return to all of them with the 1 or 2 exceptions noted (95% were in LA). I look forward to more of your TRs!
https://wizardofvegas.com/member/lostwages/blog/#post1410

klimate10,

great review!
how are you not Diamond with that amount of betting?

also, what game did you play when you won your 1st $3k?
And how much did you win in that super hot streak craps session?

Quote: FleaStiff

I noted your Corona was on the felt... no drink cups or drink tray?

Those drink holders are disgusting. Look inside one of them next time.

No floor or dealer has ever given me a hard time for not using a drink holder.

Quote: LuckyPhow

...in Mississippi most dealers wear wrist watches, and their uniforms have long sleeves (often with button cuffs to keep them tight). As cold as some casinos keep their air conditioner, it would almost be criminal not to have long sleeves. I dunno how the drink servers with skimpy costumes do it.

Thanks for the kind words.

My observation is that most dealers wear long sleeves. I noticed that the Margaritaville dealer in the pic would pull some mints out of her apron. Then she would of the mint back in her apron without showing her hands to the camera.

From a surveillance perspective, that seems like multiple asset risks to me.

The drink servers also wear nude colored tights/pantyhose. Keeps them warm.

Quote: LostWages

https://wizardofvegas.com/member/lostwages/blog/#post1410

Love the blog. Very good reading!

Quote: 100xOdds

how are you not Diamond with that amount of betting?

also, what game did you play when you won your 1st $3k?
And how much did you win in that super hot streak craps session?

I've never found it necessary to advance TR levels. I've always been a Gold member. At a certain buy in, they're probably hoping that I play something else.

It's just the casinos liberal attitude in Shreveport and the Midwest casinos in general.

However, with Harrahs taking over, it's unknown if it'll last.

The only game I seriously play nowadays is craps. All the wins came from craps. And almost all the wins, aside from the initial 3k win and the Margaritaville win, came from the hot streak.

If you are betting $5 come bets you will stay Gold, no matter what odds you back it with!

Quote: DeMango

If you are betting $5 come bets you will stay Gold, no matter what odds you back it with!

This is very true, especially in my case

Quote: 100xOdds

klimate10,

great review!
how are you not Diamond with that amount of betting?

also, what game did you play when you won your 1st $3k?
And how much did you win in that super hot streak craps session?

Are you diamond? I forgot.

Quote: RogerKint

Are you diamond? I forgot.

What all do you have to do to become a Diamond player? I assume there are lots of benefits? I can't Harrahs would give back more than the expected loss.

I've heard the Diamond Club membership eases your checkin (two cocktails) and allows you access to the Diamond Lounge which lets you graze from a mini-buffet.

At the red chip line bets, I don't think they would let you keep your Diamond Status for long but am not sure of this.

Free Parking!

For some reason, I witnessed an unusually large number of dealer mistakes this trip. Horseshoe dealers and floors are usually pretty sharp.

Free parking lol

Quote: klimate10

Free parking lol

Doesn't apply in MS and LA but it might save a few bucks in Vegas.

Quote: klimate10

What all do you have to do to become a Diamond player? I assume there are lots of benefits? I can't Harrahs would give back more than the expected loss.

You don't have to pay resort fees for one. You need to get 15k tier credits from Jan1-Dec 31 to become diamond.

Nice report! But calling this the Midwest is a bit of a stretch. Louisiana is well into the South. There are no "free" drinks in the Midwest usually. :(

Quote: tringlomane

You don't have to pay resort fees for one. You need to get 15k tier credits from Jan1-Dec 31 to become diamond.

Nice report! But calling this the Midwest is a bit of a stretch. Louisiana is well into the South. There are no "free" drinks in the Midwest usually. :(

That's probably correct from a geographical perspective.

When I say 'Midwest casinos', I guess I am referring to the style of casinos that I see in the general part of the US that is usually in the central time zones. These casinos are usually characterized by their small sizes, generous comps, lack of party pit type sexy dealers, high craps odds (100x is common and 10-20x is stingy in the Midwest), always 3-2 BJ, always free parking, a relatively economically disadvantaged clientele, and rather friendly dealers. Of course, there are exceptions, such as the Harrahs NOLA casino.

This compared to the glitzy mega resorts of Vegas and the northeast, or even Pennsylvania, where taxes are so high and the resorts so large that the casino has to gouge their clientele with horrible odds and high limits. But hey, the casino has to meet their debt service and the clientele are willing to help.

As to the lack of free alcoholic drinks, are you referring to the Native American casinos? If you're talking about the Native American casinos, then yes, there are no free alcoholic drinks at some of them. I've been to NA casinos in Iowa, and they have free alcoholic drinks. Also, every Louisanna casino has free alcoholic drinks, even Coushatta.

I'm all for a casino that is not a glitzy mega box with some sort of expensive 'theme' to it. 100x at craps, 3:2 in the BJ pit, all sounds great to me. First time I went to a tribal casino I never even thought to ask if cocktails were free or not. One couple who wanted to buy in during what they felt was "MY" shoe even bought me a hot chocolate without my realizing that it was indeed actually bought, not just tipped a buck.

Quote: RogerKint

Sweet Moses, your dash looks like a car from the future. Is that a Tesla?

Those kings Hawaiian rolls really grind my gears. Why does bread need high fructose corn syrup? It doesn't.



...another annoying growing trend in the casino industry. Many places, like the Palms in LV, can't get it straight. All the literature says a resort fee will be charged. Reservations says they don't charge resort fees on comped rooms. Front desk wants to charge resort fees on my credit card when checking out of a comped room. All senior citizens should have life alert and all resort fees should be optional.

Tesla dashboard:

Roger,

Thats a Mercedes GL dashboard in the first pic.

Quote: klimate10

What all do you have to do to become a Diamond player? I assume there are lots of benefits? I can't Harrahs would give back more than the expected loss.

diamond = access to diamond lounge, free parking and no resort fees on rooms (including comped).

Horseshoe Casino Bossier City:
VIP Lounge for Seven Stars and Diamond cardholders-> offers snacks and finger food like cheese and crackers, vegetables for dipping, and two or three hot appetizers.
There is a bar which seats 10 people and additional seating at tables and sofas for about 30 more guests.
Monday - Thursday: 4 to 9 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: Noon to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 1 to 9 p.m.

for that casino, there's $1 9/6 JoB video poker at rare $10 per tier credit (for that low house edge game).
at $1 denom, it'll take you ~8hrs to get 2500 tier credits to get the 5k bonus tc.
2 days of that = 5k tc + 10k bonus tc = 15k tc = Diamond

expected loss = -$230 +/- $3k

I'm cheap. even tho i have accumulated $350/35k rewards credit, i prefer to eat for free at the Diamond lounge. :)
plus no resort fees even tho my rc can take care of it.
getting the TotalRewards credit card eliminates parking fees so that benefit is meh. (and if u don't have the credit score to get that easy to get credit card, then maybe you shouldn't be gambling.)

Quote: Mosca

Tesla dashboard:

jealous about the speed.
i haven't been 3 digits since i got my security clearance over a decade ago. :(
(reckless driving charge would be bad.)

Amazing review klimate. Thanks for the info and glad you had a rather positive trip! =D

I've also found Diamond to be quite worth it for CET. $100 diamond dinner, return rewards at most places you play initially to get Diamond will be $100-$500 pending how you play it, no resort fee's, mailers from the play (if you do diamond in a day, or two =P, which I did), no waiting in lines, and access to the diamond lounges (which is 'decent' but not some massive perk - good for a quick snack and cheap/free drinks in a usually nicer setting). As 100xOdds pointed out, the EV is usually about -$230, which from the first few things I posted you clearly get way more than that back, plus the other 'perks.'