Tunica-area casinos review:

I had the opportunity to visit the Tunica, MS area casinos recently. Following is my review:

Introduction:There are nine full-service casinos in Tunica County, Mississippi. Coming from Memphis, I was surprised at how far the drive was to get there. I expected them to be right outside of town, but it was actually a 30-40 minute drive. There are two ways to get there: One, by going down Highway 61 (Shout out Bob Dylan) which is a limited-access highway but not a true freeway that is the shortest direct route. This is convenient if you are coming from the Memphis downtown area. The other way is to take I-55 south to the newly-built interstate 69, which runs west from I-55 to the “town” of Tunica Resorts. This is more convenient if you are coming from East Memphis or the airport, and it is the route I took. I-69 is interesting because it goes nowhere else but the casinos; it literally ends right at the road that goes to Sam’s Town. So everyone you see on the road you know is going to the casino :). That said, it is a very nice interstate and its nice to see the new infrastructure in the middle of an impoverished area.

There are nine casinos in Tunica set up in two distinct “clusters.” The first, further south, consists of Hollywood, Resorts, and Sam’s Town. The northern cluster consists of Gold Strike, Horseshoe, and Tunica Roadhouse. Fitzgeralds, Bally’s and Harrah’s are on their own, and don’t really fit into either cluster. (Although you could group Bally’s with the second cluster, since it is right off the road that leads to them).

The setting of the casinos is positively bizarre. It is pancake-flat cotton fields as far as the eye can see, interlaced with arrow-straight four-lane highways that carry the casino traffic, and a couple gas stations/convenience stores. That’s it. I saw a couple retail/housing developments, but they didn’t seem to be doing too well. It was all about getting into and out of the casinos as quickly as possible. There were no other tourist attractions, besides a “Riverpark” next to Fitzgerald’s that offered boat rides, I think. This place is all about gambling – screw normal civilization! To be fair, there is an actual town of Tunica that I heard is pretty nice, but it is far away from the casino area and I didn’t make it down there.

The casinos are not actually on boats, but are on barges floated on artificial ponds of water. To be honest, I didn’t see the water at any of them, except the ones who made it obvious with a little “moat” separating the casino from the parking lot which had fish in them. (Harrah’s and Bally’s did this). Otherwise, there is nothing to let you know you are on the water, and the casinos don’t have the “riverboat” architecture like the Indiana casinos do. They are all laid out pretty much the same way, with two levels of gaming and a restaurant/buffet or two. All the casinos also have a hotel attached.

As far as gaming, all the casinos have a ton of slots, of course, and a smaller amount of table games. The variety of table games was poor compared to what I expected from visiting other casinos. The most prevalent game was blackjack, followed by Three-Card poker. Carribean stud was in some casinos. Every casino had a roulette table, and a craps table. Some had crapless craps. Bally’s Tunica had Single 21. I was surprised at the amount of double-deck and single-deck blackjack available. There were no poker-based table games, and baccarat was rare. Video poker was available everywhere, but was rarely full-pay.

I visited the casinos in order from south to north over the course of two days. Following is my review of each.


Hollywood Casino: This is a Penn National property using their Hollywood brand. I am not a fan of Penn properties in general, and this was no exception. It was also the deadest casino I walked into. Their blackjack rules were all H17. I played $5 craps for a while, and found the dealers to be pretty good. The had a special advertised for the “Epic Buffet” breakfast for $0.77 on Saturday morning, so I made a note to come back for that one.


Resorts: Resorts was also pretty dead. I got the feeling this was the less popular of the casino clusters since it was farther away from Memphis. They had $1 craps and $2 blackjack advertised. The craps was 2x odds. I played for about 5 minutes, made $5, and gave it to the dealers. (I playfully annoyed them by screwing with the odds bets, testing them on the payouts). Then I played double-deck blackjack (0.45% H.E.) at an average bet of $25 for about 45 minutes. The minimum on this table was $5, which I thought was magnanimous. The gentlemen next to me was betting $5, and asked for a buffet comp from the pit boss, which she gave to him. I figured my action was good enough, so when I colored up I asked her for a buffet too. She gave it to me no questions asked, which I was pleased with. Turns out the buffet was doing crab and steak night ($19.99 regular cost), so I got to stuff myself with filet and crab, which was very good. Resorts is all right with me.


Sam’s Town: Having been to the Sam’s Town in Las Vegas, I can tell you the Sam’s Town in Tunica is exactly the same, right down to the “Boyd” font on the directional signs. The décor is also the same – 1800’s Old West Victorian. I played 9/6 Jacks video poker for a while, then went to check out the blackjack games. They had a $25 minimum single-deck game (standard rules, 0.26% H.E. realistic) which I thought was pretty good, having seen it in Vegas at only two places (El Cortez and Tuscany). I played this game for maybe ½ hour – the dealer just wasn’t very fun. Then I played craps for a little bit, and was on a winning roll, when I called my odds bet working on the come out. It hit, and the dealer didn’t pay my odds. The boxman immediately got very vociferous about me not having my odds working, but the woman next to me heard me and backed me up. The loud boxman just wouldn’t budge. I know it’s petty, but I immediately colored up and left. I just don’t need to deal with that sort of stuff. It was just the case of a lazy, unattentive dealer. (I had already seen him mispay another guy’s bet and he was very slow in getting bets booked). So, I left with a poor impression of Sam’s Town.


Fitzgerald’s: Having been to the Fitzgerald’s in Las Vegas and the Barden Gaming-owned Majestic Star in Indiana, I wasn’t expecting much from Fitz’s Tunica. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It was probably one of the nicer casinos in Tunica – as I understand, it had been recently remodeled, similar to how the Fitzgerald’s Las Vegas was rebranded from the Luck-o’-the-Irish “Fitzgerald’s” to the contemporary “Fitz’s.” The casino floor was deluxe-ish without being too tacky. It was also very dark. I made my way over to the High Limit pit to see what games they offered. They had the standard double-deck game at a $25 minimum, so I bought in for $800 at an empty table and asked if I could play two spots. The dealer said no, you have to play $50 on each, which was more than I was comfortable wagering. I asked the pit boss for an override but she said it was “company policy,” even at an empty table. I hate it when an authority figure tells you something is “company policy” when they can’t give you a reason for it. Anyway, the pit boss took my buy-in and came back with a brand-new players card and the business card for a host. I was shocked that I had been assigned a host! I’m not used to that kind of treatment for my meager action. I played $25 a hand for about 45 minutes, and I was the only player in the pit for most of the time, save an older guy there with his wife who kept switching between the tables and getting furious every time he lost a hand. When I colored up, I went over to see my host (!) to see if I could get any comps. I already had a room booked and paid for in Memphis, but it was about 10:00 and if I could get a room comp I was going to take it in lieu of driving back. My host was very receptive and said even though I didn’t have past action on my card, they had some extra rooms available and I could check in as soon as she wrote out my room comp. I thought this was extremely generous, especially since the value of a weekend room was $59, and I had only played 45 minutes. I went to the car to get my bag and checked out the room. The hotel had a pool and hot tub, and overlooked the Mississippi River. The room was nice, with newer pillow-top mattresses and a nice linen package. Everything else was standard Marriott-quality. I dropped off my bags, and went to the casino to play some Wizard of Oz slots since I saw an open machine and they are always filled everywhere I go. I actually won, --it’s a really fun game with the sound effects and motion in the chair. I also played craps, but it was boring so I stopped. I got to sleep around 2 A.M. Central. The next day I played some early-morning blackjack in the regular pit with a dealer who had a talent for impressions. He was really cracking up. I played at $25/hand for 45 minutes and earned a breakfast bar comp ($7.99 value). The pit boss pegged my loss at $27, which was about right, but I had paid out $7 in dealer tokes, so my actual loss was more like $20. My expected loss was of course much less. The breakfast buffet at Fitz’s was decent, and they had good bacon and grits, and biscuits and gravy, but the ham was the processed stuff with nitrates and not the good country ham. Still, Fitz’s did all right by me.


Bally’s: I drove over to check out Bally’s right after I checked in at the Fitz. It was extremely crowded, as I guess the action picked up as Friday night progressed. The theme is I guess some kind of Delta cotton farm. Despite the name, it is not a Harrah’s property but is in fact operated by Resorts, so I was able to use my card from Resorts there. I played double-deck blackjack and craps for an hour or two, and then left. I found Bally’s to be an unremarkable casino overall.


Gold Strike: The next day I drove up to the second cluster and entered Gold Strike. This is an MGM property and is by far the most opulent property in Tunica. It is also the tallest building in North Mississippi. The décor is faux-luxurious, which is not my favorite theme. I played craps for a little bit, then went into the high-limit salon and played single-deck blackjack at a $50 minimum for about 15 minutes. When I came back later, they had raised the minimum to $100 and I was told they couldn’t lower it. Their double-deck blackjack games were all at $25.


Horseshoe: Horseshoe is very large, and looks a lot like the Horseshoe outside of Chicago. It is a Harrah’s property, but they had the same games as everybody else. The craps table was full, so I didn’t play there, and they only had one table open at $5. So I played double-deck BJ at $25 minimum for a little bit. It wasn’t too exciting so I left.


Tunica Roadhouse: This used to be the Sheraton, but Harrah’s rebranded it to the “Roadhouse” moniker. The theme is a rude sawdust joint. Not a great theme, in my opinion, but they did have good video poker. They had a Deuces Wild game that paid 11 for the straight flush for a payback of 99.5%. They also had a promotion for a free football jersey if you earned 250 base points, and since, like the Wizard, I am a sucker for a free t-shirt, I played $1 Deuces to earn the 250 points. It took about half an hour, and I think I lost $200, so it was a very expensive t-shirt :)


Harrah’s: Harrah’s is the 800-pound gorilla in Tunica. They are the closest to Memphis, and also have the largest gaming area. However, this was not your typical Harrah's. For instance, they had very generous rules on their blackjack games, which is very un-Harrah’s like. I played blackjack in the high limit room on their single-deck game for $50/hand for about 1.5 hours. There were two guys there – college football fans – who were betting big, drinking and watching the football games on TV, and having a good old time. Basic strategy was generally followed, but went out the window sometimes. It’s been a while since I’ve seen people having fun at BJ. The dealer was also extremely friendly and told me stories about her daughter breaking into her house and stealing her furniture, and the no-good loser she is dating … gotta love Mississippi. When I finished playing, I asked the pit boss if my rating was good enough for any of their restaurants, and he gave me a $26 comp to Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill. I didn’t think Harrah’s did discretionary comps anymore, so I was very pleased with this development. At Toby Keith's, I ordered a steak, which took forever to arrive (service wasn’t great), but dang it, it was a good steak, especially since I didn’t have lunch. I took half of it to go for later. I really don’t think anyone can eat a whole steak in one sitting; it’s just too many calories for the average person, and this one was 14 oz. It tasted real good for lunch the next day. After dinner, I went back to the regular pit and found a single-deck game for $25. Wish I had known about this one earlier--I could have saved some money. I played this game at two hands of $25, which was fun, but the dealers were automatons. Then I went over to the craps table, which was fun and lively, mostly because of one dealer who was screwing with the players and making all sorts of funny calls.

Conclusion: Tunica is certainly a different kind of gambling destination. I reminds me of downtown Las Vegas, if downtown was all there was and the Strip didn’t exist. Smokers were heavily represented, and some of the people looked pretty downtrodden. Despite the state’s reputation for “Southern hospitality,” I didn’t find the dealers or employees to be any more or less friendly than normal, everyday Americans. There were some standouts, but most were boring. There was also a mix of black and white patrons in the casino, and some people had driven long distances to get there, but I think most people were Memphis locals. The gambling was by and large player-favorable, although I would have liked to have seen a better selection of full-pay video poker and lower minimums on blackjack. $5 craps was available just about everywhere. The second thing that surprised me was that this is the last bastion of the discretionary comp. I don’t think I’ve ever been comped so well, and I am by no means a high-roller. If you ever want to feel like a whale, I would recommend visiting Tunica.

(As a addendum, my own gambling on this trip was beyond horrible. I think I got paid once or twice out of 16 or so sessions. (DJTeddyBear, I can relate!) My bankroll took a $2K+ drop. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a run that bad, so needless to say, I got the wind knocked out of me a bit. I don’t think I let my losses color any of my reviews, however.)

Good post, thanks!

What is the story behind the cows in the photo of the Horseshoe?

How many roulette tables did you see? Hopefully each casino had 2 or 3.

Your own casino host! Very cool!

It's too bad Tunica is over an eight hour drive from me. I'd be fun to go make a little weekend gambling trip to a place like that, but if I'm going to buy plane tickets I might as well just go to Vegas.

Someday, maybe!

About 13 years ago, I visited Tunica when I was stuck in Memphis for four days with nothing else to do. I played at the Grand, which was chock full o' wongable bonusing slots at the time. I beat the hell out of them, and ate at the really good buffet, as well as the seafood joint in the lower level. I was wondering what had happened to that casino, since it wasn't on your list--then I saw--of COURSE. The Borg (Harrah's) assimilated it. Bleah.

There was no decent video poker even then in Tunica, but I remember my reaction when I went into the Horseshoe, and I saw that not only did they have lousy pay schedules, they had shorted the royals from 4,000 coins to 2,500!!! One of the few times that I've simply turned around and walked out of a casino without placing a single bet. Talk about petty ripoffs!

One thing that was common to ALL the casinos was that about 90% of the employees were ISMBWs (Immense, Slow-Moving Black Women). I remember standing in line to cash in my chips--one line, and I was the fifth and last in that line--and waiting twenty minutes. The cashier lady's movements were slow. And. Deliberate. I guess that when you live in that steambath of a climate, you lose any inclination to move at normal speed, let alone quickly.

Re the climate: I walked out to my car, and before I could cover the 100 yards from the casino entrance, the sky opened up and sheets of water started coming down. Falling catfish were hitting me on the head. I drove over to Sam's Town (maybe a ten minute drive), and by the time I got there, the sun was out again and it was about 175 degrees outside, with steam rising from everything.

I realize this was some time ago, but I get the feeling that things haven't changed all that much. If I'm in that part of the country and want to gamble, I think I'd much rather go down to Gulfport/Biloxi (and the less said about Shreveport, the better).

teddys,
Did you notice on the craps tables if the vig on the win for the buy 5 and 9 was in effect everywhere? I know it works that way at Harrah's, Horseshoe, and the GoldStrike. I assumed all the casinos in Tunica were that way, possibly due to gaming regulations, but then you mentioned the stingy 2x odds game, so now I am wondering about the buy bets.

I've heard of a shuttle bus from Memphis to Tunica Resorts but have no idea if it is still in operation or not. Since there are few shuttles in or around Tunica, renting a car makes sense anyway no matter what the Airport Shuttle might cost. Be advised, there is an airport in Tunica itself and it recently got an upgrade. Harrah's fly their Charter Flights from Atlanta, Orlando and Tampa into the Tunica Airport. Harrah's gets you to your casino promptly but I'm told your luggage will take forever to get there. Things may have changed recently on these Harrahs flights however since the airline they previously chartered, Allegiant Air, now actually schedules regular service from Atlanta to Tunica.

As to Comps, I've heard that meal and room Comps in Tunica are downright nearly universal due to Tunica really hurting for players. I don't know if its quite as simple as dropping a hat or having a pulse, but those are the claims that are made from time to time.

I'm shocked that anyone had 2x craps, but I guess it happens. Its a pity you were unimpressed by The Gold Strike since of all the people I've spoken to, they all raved about the place. Of course one of the men floored there for awhile so he might not have been particularly neutral. Most of the local gamblers here in Florida have to content themselves with Poker or BlackJack. Baccarat seems to not get much action at the Hard Rocks. Its all table minimums and no tippers all the time at Baccarat, though Baccarat dealers and Baccarat floors may not be entirely reliable sources of information on that issue. I've seen very little Baccarat action myself, everyone seated at the table has been Asian and ALL have religiously filled out charts and followed the Chip Leader. So the general action here in Florida is not all that great, but many have either played in Tunica or worked in Tunica and everyone starts off with The Gold Strike at the top of their list. That place that has Paula Deen's restaurant or used to have Paula Deen's restaurant would get some mention from time to time, but its always The Gold Strike that gets strongly recommended around here. For Craps, most from Florida go to Biloxi or Tunica, not those day boats.

Here is a small bit of Tunica trivia which I was told but am not absolutely certain is true: The original Mississippi laws permitting the casinos specified that the gambling facilities must either be sited on/in the Gulf of Mexico or in Mississippi River waters. The last part of that wording became important. The river casinos in the Tunica area were all built as floating barges on artificial lakes or lagoons. The water was supplied from the Mississippi river, but the facilities were not on the river in any sense. Some folks had visualized that all the casinos would be riverboats, so there was some objection to the way this was implemented, and the law was changed to require that any new casinos must be located on the actual river. After that, no more casinos have ever been built in the Tunica area. After Katrina, the law was revised to permit land-based casinos, but I don't know what the actual restrictions are now.

The Isle of Capri facility was located next to Sam's Town but has been closed for years (I don't even have a souvenir chip from there.) There have been persistent but unfulfilled rumors that someone will reopen it. The latest rumor that I heard is that reconstruction will start this fall (has it?) and that the place will open in fall 2011 with the name "Sportsman".

Thanks Teddys! Great post!

The cows are just from a photo I pulled off the internet. Sorry, I can't tell you the story behind them.

As far as roulette, I didn't really pay attention (I tend to tune out roulette), but it seemed to be an afterthought. Most casinos had two or three tables with one open. Blackjack was definitely king, with it outnumbering craps and roulette by a lot.

I didn't notice the vig on the 5/9, but they vig on the 4 and 10 was after, I think. I don't make number bets so I'm not really sure. I wished I had asked. The field was all triple the 12.

I saw a couple companies advertising car service between Memphis/Little Rock and Tunica. Not sure how much that would cost. I saw a lot of tour buses, so there are probably junket operators from Memphis and elsewhere. Harrah's runs a shuttle between its main property (the former Grand) and the Horsehoe/Roadhouse cluster. It seemed to be running pretty frequently.

Gold Strike is objectively the nicest casino of the bunch. However, I personally am not impressed with the "Trump"-ish theme. Their limits were also the highest. I didn't get a chance to check out their hotel or restaurants, but the facilities looked nice. I like whatever casino gives me the best treatment, so my favorite was the Fitz, and to a lesser extent, Harrah's. For craps Gold Strike is probably the best and I saw the biggest action there. Harrah's would be my choice to play, though. Horseshoe was the most crowded. All the places (at least in the Nothern part of the area) seemed to be getting a ton of action generally.

The Paula Deen buffet is at Harrah's. The pit boss offered me a comp for that too, but I took the Toby Keith's comp because it had more value, and I had already had a buffet at Resorts. And yes, comps did seem extremely easy to get. I probably could have given them far less action and still gotten comparably comped. In fact, I wish I had ... :(

Most if not all casinos collect the vig after a win on 5/9 and 4/10. On crapless craps the Goldstrike collects the vig upfront on 2,3,11,12 but the others only collect on winning bets

Correction:
Its AirTran, rather than Allegiant Air that provides service to Tunica.
AirTran will soon be merged with SouthWest Airlines.

"With flights between Tunica and Atlanta on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, AirTran
Airways is the only commercial carrier to provide scheduled, full-size jet access to Tunica, a first
for the area since the recent expansion of the Tunica Airport."

I don't know if any casinos provide shuttle service from the nearby Tunica airport or what a taxi fare would be.

I live in the Atlanta area, so Tunica is my premier gambling destination. Harrahs sends me comps for air, hotel, and meals up to twice a month. The flights are on Air Tran out of ATL and fly directly into Tunica airport - one hour flight. Harrahs then transports the plane load of passengers (some comped, others are on reduced fares) to the Harrahs complex (used to be the Grand owned by Harrahs) by buses. The stay is for four or five nights whichever I prefer. Those are the only commercial flights offered. There are charter flights by Allegient into Tunica airport. Those flights originate from Florida, California, Texas, and some other cities.

As has been previously posted, there is nothing to do within the confines of the Tunica casino area other than gamble, eat, watch TV, play golf, or exercise. There are no forms of transportation to the outside world. Harrahs does provide a free shuttle service to its other properties which runs most of the day until about 10:30 pm. Those properties consist of the Horseshoe and the Roadhouse, both of which are in a pod with the Goldstrike. There is one car rental agency, and rental are very expensive.

Gambling: There are lots of slots and they are pretty tight. I found that the Goldstrike had the best "opportunity" to win if slots is your game. I did play the slots at the Fitz between craps sessions last time I was there on 9-26. I walked away with a win of $1.03 then ventured back to the craps table for some real winning.
The Harrahs facilities have serveral craps tables ranging from $5 - $25; BJ; carnival card games, roulette, and most have poker rooms. In general, I have found that the vast majority of dealers are friendly, courteous, efficient, and do a good job. The attendance at the Harrahs venues is pretty strong while my visits to other casinos is very limited, but during the week those other places are really vacant.

I play craps; I win about 80+% of the time; the tables are 20X odds; the 4/10 vig is paid only after a win; the 5/9 place is paid true w/o a vig; and they do comp very well.

Katrina did not effect Tunica so the casinos are on barges on water that is diverted from the Mississippi River.

The weather during the summer is HOT and sticky. The other seasons have their normal range of temps and precipitation.

For me, it is a good gambling destination

tuttigym

Quote: tuttigym

Harrahs sends me comps for air, hotel, and meals up to twice a month. The flights are on Air Tran out of ATL and fly directly into Tunica airport - one hour flight.
The Harrahs facilities have several craps tables ranging from $5 - $25; BJ; carnival games, roulette, and most have poker rooms. I have found that the vast majority of dealers are friendly, courteous, efficient, and do a good job. The attendance at the Harrahs venues is pretty strong, but during the week those other places are really vacant.
I play craps; I win about 80+% of the time; the tables are 20X odds; the 4/10 vig is paid only after a win; the 5/9 place is paid true w/o a vig; and they do comp very well.

Congratulations on the "win 80+ percent of the time". That is a real good track record.
Flight, room and meals comped is great. I wish they would do that for me but my experience at the Biloxi Grand was not particularly favorable and I think Harrah's formed a low opinion of my action anyway. I know I formed a low opinion of their generosity and the food at the Biloxi Grand. From South Florida its atleast eight hours to Las Vegas, around 4 hours to Biloxi, 4 hours to Tunica but only 2 and a half hours to Atlantic City, so I guess I should be looking at Atlantic City casinos, but I prefer Las Vegas. I just don't like long airplane flights anymore.

I assume the 4/10 vig refers to Buying the 4 or 10 since many players opt to Buy the 4 or 10 (20.00 bet for 1 dollar "vig" often charged only on a winning bet at the time of the win) rather than Place it at a higher house edge of 6.67 percent.

As to your comments about 5/9 Place bets are paid at True Odds w/o a vig. Does this mean that a PlaceBet on the 5or9 would be paid at 3:2 for a zero percent house edge? If so, Placing the Inside Numbers would be a pretty good deal.

Usual situation is:
Number Payoff True Odds House PC
4 & 10 = 9 to 5 2 to 1 6.67%
5 & 9 = 7 to 5 3 to 2 4.00%
6 & 8 = 7 to 6 6 to 5 1.52%

Quote: FleaStiff

Congratulations on the "win 80+ percent of the time". That is a real good track record.
Flight, room and meals comped is great.

As to your comments about 5/9 Place bets are paid at True Odds w/o a vig. Does this mean that a PlaceBet on the 5or9 would be paid at 3:2 for a zero percent house edge? If so, Placing the Inside Numbers would be a pretty good deal.

I think he means that if you try to buy the 5/9, the dealers will just give you a 7:5 place bet instead of a buy. A lot of times when you try to buy the 5/9, the dealers don't know what the hell you're talking about and will just give you a 5/9 place instead. That's probably what's happening here.

As regards comps, those who know tutti know that he is a "valued customer" of the Harrah's corporation.

Quote: teddys

I think he means that if you try to buy the 5/9, the dealers will just give you a 7:5 place bet instead of a buy. A lot of times when you try to buy the 5/9, the dealers don't know what the hell you're talking about and will just give you a 5/9 place instead. That's probably what's happening here.

As regards comps, those who know tutti know that he is a "valued customer" of the Harrah's corporation.

In Tunica the 5/9 is an automatic BUY when you bet more than $20. It is vig paid on win. Throw a quarter down for the 5, and you will get paid $36 (25+12-1vig). You don't have to ask, it will just happen. Therefore, to maximize your bets, over $20 you should make 'even amount' bets on the 5/9, so you get the true 3:2 payouts. I also recall them being rather generous on when they rounded up the commissions, but I don't recall exactly. I am 99% certain a $30 5 paid $44, so that meant the $1.50 vig was rounded down.

Actually Teddys and Rahleigh are correct concerning the 5/9 and the 4/10. I guess I am a "valued customer" of Harrahs as they continue to send me those comps month after month. This Sunday I fly to Biloxi to the Grand - all comp. They are also sending me comps to AC but since they are not for two, need to take my girlfriend, I will not attend.

Thanks for the heads up on their buffet. I think I will venture over to the Palace (not the IP) for their spread which in the past has been unbeatable.

The last two times at Harrah's and the Horseshoe in Tunica I received the biggest compliment a player could get from the Boxman. They actually changed the wagering rules, not the table limits, the wagering rules because I was killing them with a bet that is suppose to be a one roll bet but was turned into a five roll bet.
I was on a $5 table which allows $1 bets on the "sucker" bets or the hardways. After I had hit them several times in a row, the boxman declared that the MINIMUM bet at the table would be $5 for all bets. He did piss off the patrons. I colored; cashed out; and went to the next table and did it again without any heat.

Does anyone want to guess what I did?

tuttigym

Good heavens, I completely forgot to post an update from my last trip here, which was months ago.

Went down for a stay at Harrah's, two nights comped (back when I was in their good graces). Got put up at the newer towers across the street from the casino. These are nice hotels. Huge rooms with high ceilings. I might have been upgraded to a corner room. Nice spacious lobbies with a snack bar. Rooms had fridges.

Casino was across the way, but I wouldn't care to walk. There was a shuttle bus. I drove.

Hit all the stores again from south to north. At Resorts, I got a comped breakfast buffet. It was pretty good, with good meats. Fitz's got rid of their high limit room and converted it to slots. Got a comped buffet there, too. Solid Southern food, as usual.

Tunica Roadhouse had a nice craps game with, I think, $2 minimums. Fun crews.

I played a lot of craps at the Gold Strike, buying the 5 and 9 exclusively for $20 each, working them on the comeout. I didn't do too well.

I also played single-deck blackjack at Harrah's, but I don't remember winning much, if anything. I think the trip was just about a wash, which was better than the last time.

Quote: tuttigym

The last two times at Harrah's and the Horseshoe in Tunica I received the biggest compliment a player could get from the Boxman. They actually changed the wagering rules, not the table limits, the wagering rules because I was killing them with a bet that is suppose to be a one roll bet but was turned into a five roll bet.
I was on a $5 table which allows $1 bets on the "sucker" bets or the hardways. After I had hit them several times in a row, the boxman declared that the MINIMUM bet at the table would be $5 for all bets. He did piss off the patrons. I colored; cashed out; and went to the next table and did it again without any heat.

Does anyone want to guess what I did?

tuttigym

Hi Tuttigym

I'll give it a whirl.

Did you "hop" the hardway for a buck, (odds 30 to 1 ), take the quarter of the payoff, and then use the other 4 for the extra $1 for 4 more rolls?

Otherwise the regular hardways only pays 10-1 and I can't see a box getting is "panties in a bunch" over $10.

Am I close?

Eagledice

Did you see any evidence of the massive flooding there this spring when they had to close the casinos? Was it hot and humid when you were there?

I used to live in Central Illinois, and Tunica was an easy, albeit boring, six-hour drive. When I had three days off, I would go down and spend some time playing down there. I have not been to Tunica since 2007, and I know things change. However, from the reviews I've read, much has stayed the same. These are my ramblings from my trips of yore.

OVERALL: You MUST, ABSOLUTELY MUST have transportation if you want to see all of Tunica. They had a joke of a shuttle that would run from casino to casino, but it was worthless most of the time. If you have a car, I would argue that Tunica is 10x better than AC and Las Vegas. I belive it to be the "Gambler's paradise." As mentioned in the review, the comps are endless, even for very low limit players, and the rooms are typically plentiful. Although I have a Vegas trip planned next week, I would much rather gamble in Tunica (except I'm not driving there, and I don't want to rent a car and you MUST HAVE A CAR IN TUNICA IF YOU LIKE TO CASINO HOP LIKE I DO!!!)

From North to South:
Harrahs (Formerly Grand): The biggest ain't the best, in my opinion. Before Harrah's took over, they did have Single-zero roulette (although I never played it), and single deck 3:2 could be found for $10 mins. They also were the only casino that really had Pai Gow Poker at the time. There are three hotels, two of which are about a half a mile off the property, but most likely too far to walk to from the casino. The rooms are comfortable. Luckilly, the shuttle runs consistently 24-hours (and is the only shuttle I would use in Tunica). The Paula Deen Buffet was not open at the time, but the one at Horseshoe Southern is fantastic. I always get really sick from eating too much food... it is SOOO INCREDIBLY TASTY THOUGH!!! Grand was the first Tunica casino I visited, and I really enjoyed the poker room when it was laid back. They made it bigger to compete, and I remember not enjoying it nearly as much after that.

Ballys: This is a joke of a casino. I've never stayed at Bally's, but supposedly it had the highest $/sq. foot. It is super tiny comparatively, but everytime I went it was deader than a doornail. A no-go for me.

Tunica Roadhouse (formerly Sheraton): This is probably my favorite casino without a poker room in the world. The table games staff was super attentive, and the hotel rooms are to die for. They were all suites with a jacuzzi in every room. The beds and beddings were plush, and a big shower was also very nice. The check-in when it was Sheraton was at a sit-down desk and very casual, yet elegant. I'm sure it's not the same now, but the hotel was worth it. The VP was fantastic too... 9/6 JoB all over... I hit two or three royals there. And the buffet (Big Kitchen Buffet) was the best hidden gem in Tunica. They also used to have the best daily promotions of any casino around. They had one, one time, that you would get 7:1 on a BJ if it was the first out of the shoe (shoe games only, and they only had 8-decks). Apparently, some guy would bet table max on the first hand, and then wait. He hit like 6 or 7 BJs for 3500 each, and they made the max $25 from then on. Overall though this had the best values with by far and away the best hotel.

Horseshoe: It's really sad to hear that the Shoe went downhill. They used to have single deck all over the floor, many at $10 with fantastic penetration. The dealers would count for you and even encourage you to raise your bet if the count was high. You could raise table mins. to whatever you wanted, and still grandfather in existing players. We had a great table going on a six-deck shoe one time, myself and a couple. The guy was playing at least 100 each hand, so they raised the min. to 50, but let me stay at 5. I often would sit on a double-deck game and raise the min to 25 to keep others from hopping on (and amazingly it worked most of the time). The casino hosts were attentive and helpful, and there was always someone to help you. The buffet is legendary, and the hotel was nice (although lacked the pizzazz of neighbor Sheraton). VP was pitiful there, but since Horseshoe and Roadhouse were both Harrah's, I'd get my VP on at Sheraton. 3-card was 4-1 on flush for a long time too... oh the days of old are long gone I'm sure.

Gold Strike: It also amazes me that people can rave about this joint. I understand that they had renovations recently, and while I was visiting, MGM was offering a very hostile takeover that was obvious on the face of every casino employee. I would joke that you could walk through Gold Strike and never see anybody smile, except one dealer name Jhydis (yeah it was a strange spelling). She is perhaps one of the best dealers I've seen... she runs a clean game, and ALWAYS smiles. And to me, THAT was the best thing of Gold Strike. Sure, they had okay VP, and their poker room was better than Horseshoe, but the attitude was sick. The hotel wasn't all that great either, but again, I understand they renovated.

Fitz: For a long time, the table games dealers at Fitz boxed their own tips. When this was the case, I really enjoyed playing there. Yes, I spent more on tips than I should have, but you got the best service there. They also had carport type parking, which is nice in Tunica's ever changing weather. Other than those two things, Fitz was a forgettable casino.

Sam's Town: I'm not a Boyd player. When I lived in Peoria, they owned Par-a-dice, and they really screwed over a lot of dealers when Illinois changed their gaming law. Sam's Town feels like where my grandma would have loved to play. The dealers overall there were the best, in the sense that they dealt the cards well and were pretty easy going. The hotel was ok, but I see online they now look fantastic. The poker room had really good promotions, but the action was rather boring most of the time. I didn't ever spend much time there, even when I stayed there.

Resorts (formerly Harrah's): The only reason I started making Resorts my destination was because I liked it when it was Harrah's. It lacked the charm of Harrah's, and the hotel was not up to Harrah's quality. The buffet was kind of gross, and it needed help. Yet, the dealers were great, and the games were surprisingly good. Then Colony bought it, the improved nearly everything and turned it into an AC casino. This took a lot of the dealer charm away, and I felt that it was very sterile. I've hit a few royals there, and spent a lot of time on DD and the comps program used to be uber generous. But the main reason I would play at Resorts was to walk when I was done with my favorite Tunica property...

Hollywood: Yes, Hollywood casino. I won a car there, I had amazing luck on table poker. They used to play 80s movie themes that you would sing with. They had the Orange Julius drink on the floor (a to-die-for drink... seriously, I came down to Tunica the second time JUST to get this drink). Decent DD BJ rules (although not fantastic), 4-1 on flush on 3-card. The rooms were nicely appointed, and the shower water came out boiling hot. I'm sad to find out that you did not like Hollywood, but I could see how Penn would screw with a good thing. I was playing very heavy at the time, and when I asked for an upgrade on my card, they said I wasn't even close. However, I always got to use VIP services for check-in and I was RFB without a doubt. I think I was also on watch on BJ there, for no good reason, since I don't change my bet even though I know how to count.

So yeah, Tunica was my favorite place. And I would love to go back again... thanks for the review... I really miss that gambler's paradise.