Ohio River Casino Round-up Trip Report

For the opening rounds of the NCAA basketball March Madness tournament, my brother and I usually meet up somewhere to watch the first and second rounds on TV, do some gambling, and have a couple of beers.

(We had tickets to be at the tournament in person in 2020 for the first 2 Rounds, but that was the year it was cancelled due to Covid, so I guess it just wasn’t meant to be).

Belterra in Florence, IN – Day 1 & 2

This year, we started out at Belterra in Florence, Indiana. It is about 45 minutes south of Cincinnati. I have been there before, so I had a couple of Comp nights to start us out. It is a very nice hotel.

They have a few pet “friendly” rooms, but they would be friendlier if they didn’t charge $ 50 per night to bring a small dog. I asked if they would comp my pooch, they said they would have to check and when I get my receipt in my e-mail, I will know what they decided.

There are 2 machines with a good Video Poker pay table in the entire place, and sometimes they are tied up. But this trip one of them was available every time I wanted to play, and between Bonus Poker Deluxe and a good session at Blackjack ( 3/2, good rules including Surrender ), I did well there. I tried the stadium style Blackjack but left as soon as I had an Ace-7 hand I wanted to double down on, but didn’t have that option.

Side-trip:

Clifty Falls State Park is worth the drive down to Madison. We drove through and saw Turkeys and the main waterfall. The weather was excellent for this time of year.

Belterra Results: Up ~ $ 650

Rising Star in Rising Sun, IN

The Rising Star casino is a short drive upriver from Belterra so we went up to check it out. I was thinking that it might be nice to get on their mailing list for future hotel room offers.

However, this place needs to be closed down for a week and power-washed and steam cleaned. There was a nice enough entryway with a couple of places to eat, but the Riverboat itself was dingy and depressing.

We stayed long enough for me to hit a Straight Flush on 9-5 Video Poker and then hit the road.

Suggestion to Ownership / Management:

How are you going to survive when you have worse Video Poker than the casino 20 miles North of you AND the casino 20 miles South of you ? Hint: Video Poker players who care enough to check a pay table also bring with them friends/spouses/etc who plop down at Slot machines.

Rising Star Results: Up ~ $ 240




Hollywood in Lawrenceburg, IN – Day 3,4

I don’t think I have stopped here before (not sure why), but I was pleasantly surprised on how nice this casino is for being on the River on a Barge. In fact, I am sure many people don’t realize they are on a barge because it is so large and so nice. It has the feel of a nice mid to upper range property in Vegas. The large parking garage was easy to get in and out of (there are actually 2 separate ones). It was the kind where it is all one-way traffic, and that makes it easier to navigate.

There is a large bank of video poker machines with 9-6 Jacks or Better, Triple Double Bonus, and Bonus Deuces Wild, all with good paytables. I liked the Bonus Deuces Wild game and hit quad deuces on our 2nd day there, woot woot.

I would like to return here sometime, hopefully with some COMP’d nights in hand.

Hollywood Results: Up ~ 750



We stayed at a nearby Red Roof Inn because Pets Stay Free, and as far as Red Roof Inns go, it was a fairly nice one with interior corridors. But it is still a Red Roof Inn, which means that someone was having a loud argument at 3:30 am one night, and there is a smoke alarm chirping in the distance somewhere. The first room I got when I checked in had a very small TV, but they let me move to a room next door that had a much larger 43” TV.

And finally, anyone recognize this delicacy ?

Ahh, Skyline... onions under the cheese?

Quote: Dieter

Ahh, Skyline... onions under the cheese?

Yes Indeed, Sir, Yes Indeed !

I used to like Hollywood but have not been there in forever. Do they have an BJ besides stadium and high limits? I think the celebrity pit is open Thursday-sunday.rising star or grand Victoria or whatever it's called now did not upgrade when horshoe Cincy opened. Now called Jack's or hard rock Cincy. Rising star pretty much caters to slot players only.used to have a 24 restaurant probably not open at all.and the windy road to the casino sucks. Glad you came out ahead all 3 places :-)

Quote: JohnnyQ

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I am not a fan of Cincinnati chili. I grew up in Ohio but to me Chili should not contain sugar.

Quote: DRich

Quote: JohnnyQ

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I am not a fan of Cincinnati chili. I grew up in Ohio but to me Chili should not contain sugar.
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totally agree no sugar in chili. I have lived in Indiana all my life

Is there sugar? There’s an overpowering amount of cinnamon in it, which is just weird and bizarre, and I believe chocolate which I guess would contain sugar.

Quote: mcallister3200

Is there sugar? There’s an overpowering amount of cinnamon in it, which is just weird and bizarre, and I believe chocolate which I guess would contain sugar.
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If the cans (which do not seem to include sugar as a listed ingredient) are believed to be the same great taste one can find in the restaurant, I would guess no.
The tomato sauce may add some sweetness.

Quote: avianrandy

I used to like Hollywood but have not been there in forever. Do they have an BJ besides stadium and high limits?

YES, I think they had some 3/2, $ 15 or $ 20 Blackjack tables. I was going to play a session but the open tables were full and the it looked like the table they were opening was going to take a while. Next time I guess.....

Ok. Thanks for replying

A few comments I forgot to include for LAWRENCEBURG:

1) HAPPY DRAGON Chinese Food Take-out, in the Kroger plaza, was excellent. Best General Tso's I have had in a long time.

2) HOLLYWOOD had a Ticket Machine that doesn't dispense 100 dollar bills, just up to 20's. It is right near the Video Poker area, so avoid that one if you have a decent pay-out. APPARENTLY there is a small sign on it, but I didn't see it so I ended up taking up a handful of 20's up to the cashier to convert.

Lol#2 I would take that problem any day. I used to go to Lawrenceburg when it was Argosy. A ship with 3 levels. They used to have a lot more BJ tables. I was told they had problems with dealers coming to work is why they put in stadium. I enjoy the celebrity impersonator pit when I used to go.michaek Jackson,rod Stewart,Betty boop,Katy Perry impersonator dealers. Anna Nichole Smith was my favorite but she is no longer there. Rod Stewart good dealer great personality. I think they have live poker downstairs if you like that

Quote: JohnnyQ

They have a few pet “friendly” rooms, but they would be friendlier if they didn’t charge $ 50 per night to bring a small dog. I asked if they would comp my pooch, they said they would have to check and when I get my receipt in my e-mail, I will know what they decided.

And just fyi, NO, no comp for my dog.

Boooo to belterra. So you only ended up 600 ahead there then.tgey could have at least gave him a doggy bag from the restaurant. Very good trip report and nice read.

IF he could sign-up for a player's club card he could probably get offers to stay for free too ( I would probably have to help him with Vid Poker strategy, he is fun but not too bright ).

Room comps are not too hard to get at Belterra, but when they say ANY DAY OF THE WEEK, they don't really mean it. A Comp'd room on Friday and Saturdays are never available, even if you check multiple different weekends.

Went to Hoosier park in Anderson today...first time in ages.ended up playing 3 card poker and came out $50 ahead and that was after tipping dealers. Progressive there $647,xxx and change for royal flush. Costs $5 shot for the progressive bet. Noticed they have vending machines in corner where self service drinks used to be. Red bull vending machine 5.50 for 12 oz red bull. Chop,candy and pastries way overpriced in other machine. Cigarette machine average $13 pack. Didn't touch a slot machine. They took out some restaurants. They had a pizza restaurant upstairs 5.99 for slice of cheese pizza. Steakhouse opens at 5 they said. Deli shop pricey. 3.99 for hot dog. When you first go in they have an electronic big 6 wheel. I did get a card from Hollywood casino in Lawrenceburg for casino rate hotel room.down at bottom it says 11.99 amenity fee charged per day. They have no pool,spa or fitness center. Guess amenities are coffee and wifi. Probably not even a morning newspaper lol depending on casino rate, probably stay at red roof inn probably cheaper. On card poker,2 community cards are dealt first for progressive then players get their cards. At Anderson,you can play pair plus without 6 card bet. Was told at sister property in Shelbyville you have to play both. They are under Harrah's umbrella

Chips not chops good ol autocorrect

Of course, thank you for the information, but I think that if I won a lot of money in a casino, I wouldn't care which bills to get in 20 or 100

Quote: GiavaniMallari

Of course, thank you for the information, but I think that if I won a lot of money in a casino, I wouldn't care which bills to get in 20 or 100
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Most people would not care. I have had a few jackpots of $50k and was satisfied with all 100's.

They forgot to refill the ATMs at Harrahs AC one weeekend about a year ago--the only one giving out money was the one in the High Limit area. Pulling a kilobuck in fives was vaguely enraging, but it was better than nothing, which is what all the other ATMs were giving.