Horseshoe Cleveland Opens Today

article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer acknowledged this site:

http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/05/cleveland_casino_games_rules_a.html

Too bad I couldn't find out what the specific BJ rules were at the Horseshoe!

Very nice:

"Here's a basic overview of the games promised for the Cleveland casino, with the help of Robert Hannum, a professor of risk analysis and gaming at the University of Denver whose research has been recognized by the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and wizardofodds.com, a website to which Horseshoe Casino officials directed The Plain Dealer in response to questions about the games and rules".

Horseshoe Casino officials directed questions to wizardofodds.com: I guess that's good that this is the go-to site for casino game information, even among industry insiders. However, they should have interviewed the Wizard rather than Hannum:

"Become a good poker player. "If you're a skilled player, you can win in the long run," Hannum says. "In the house-banked games [elsewhere in the casino], you cannot."

Evidently Professor Hannum is unaware of dice setting and Roulette clocking. Such is the trouble when one lives
in the world of academia.

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If anyone needs a host here I'd recommend Darryl Margolis, he's an old Vegas friend.

Has anyone visited the Horseshoe Cleveland yet? Please give an update to the Craps conditions there...

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Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Very busy. 64 tables, 2100 slots, 30 table poker room. Bj 8 decks H17, 6 decks high limit S17. 3cp 1/4/5 AB, 1/3/6 PP. Everything else pretty typical. VP is pretty bad too. 8/6 JoB best I saw.

8/6? hot damn! That's still better than the best games here in MN.

This is the temporary location, right? When is the hard opening in the permanent spot?

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Quote: Ibeatyouraces

I did last night, see above. Sorry but I could not get near a craps table but looked typical of any other Horseshoe property.

I think you mean because so full of players? (excuse the stupidity of the question but I've been abroad for a number of years)

Personally I'm shocked that Cleveland Ohio has a full on casino. I'm in for some more shocking casino news and experiences when I return. I recall having to go to Las Vegas or Atlantic City, the others being strictly slot machines and bingo.

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Last night all tables I saw were $25 minimum except for UTH, Let it Ride and 3 card poker. Poker room was full. Tables were full. Place was crowded I will not go back for a few weeks until the newness dies down. Did not stay long pretty much just a walk through. I do not like to play when I fell like I am part of the cattle drive. You have to get a total rewards card even if you have one. The ones we use in Vegas and AC do not work. I did not wait in line this time. I paid $6 to park which they validate if you play for 30 min. or longer. I think there might be a minimum tier credit earned attached to that. Very nice inside but narrow and not a lot of room to walk around.

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Quote: MrRalph

You have to get a total rewards card even if you have one. The ones we use in Vegas and AC do not work. I did not wait in line this time.

Is it the new TR logo, or you have to get a new number?? I know Caesars doesn't own the place outright, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did have different numbers, but they've been advertising it as a TR casino. I'm Diamond, so hopefully I won't wait long if that's the case, but I've had my same number so longer I have it memorized.

I was thinking of going up on Sunday or even tonight, but if it's still crowded, I'll wait a few weeks. Toledo is a bit farther, but it's a Hollywood, so I'll only go up for my casino chip and to walk around.

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Teddy said previously that its is a temp and don't know when the permanent one opens. Its in the Higbee building a few blocks from Quicken Loans Arena. There could be better vp but didnt see any. It was too packed to check all the machines and tables. I don't think they allow surrender on bj either but not sure. Parking was/is expensive but can be validated with 30 minutes of play time AND 15 teir credits earned with the TR card.

This is not temporary. I would doubt someone would spend $350m for a temp structure.

There are plans to build an additional building on the opposite side of of Huron between the road and the Cuyahoga River. Rock Gaming is actually bitching about needing to fill in 15 feet of the River to build the Hotel, but because it is still used by shipping vessels they need the Army Corp of Engineers to recommend it, and Congress to approve it, so that probably isn't going to happen.

The plan is to then connect the two via a skyway. The original idea was to make one section smoking and one non-smoking, according to Len Komrowski (the lead for Rock Gaming), until he was informed by media that Ohio is a smoke-free state.

Rumor has it Len also bought the new seats for Quicken Loans Arena and made them smaller to fit more seats. When the contractors went to install them, the fire chief shut it down due to lack of egress for the new max capacity. Rumor as it he cost Gilbert a little more than a million on that F-up, but he still works for Danny Boy, so he must do something right.

I am not sure if you get a new number or they just register your card there. I had to do that the first time I was in AC. My last trip to Vegas I got the new style card when I checked in, but it is the same number and both work. When I get around to waiting in line I will let you know.

So I got an offer yesterday evening from Horseshoe Cleveland, inviting me for a free two night stay Sunday-Thursday this coming week. I don't have two days off, but I'm only 2 hours away, so I'm going up Sunday, and staying at the Ritz-Carlton. I'm sure table mins will be way out of my league, so I'll probably wait a couple hours to get on a limit poker table (NL action will be ridiculous).

I'll log some VP time, even on a less than optimal schedule, so I can at least get my RC's registered there. Luckily, lines should be short since I doubt there are a lot of Diamonds in the area.

Quote: Tiltpoul

So I got an offer yesterday evening from Horseshoe Cleveland, inviting me for a free two night stay Sunday-Thursday this coming week. I don't have two days off, but I'm only 2 hours away, so I'm going up Sunday, and staying at the Ritz-Carlton. I'm sure table mins will be way out of my league, so I'll probably wait a couple hours to get on a limit poker table (NL action will be ridiculous).

I'll log some VP time, even on a less than optimal schedule, so I can at least get my RC's registered there. Luckily, lines should be short since I doubt there are a lot of Diamonds in the area.

Just for fun, I logged into TR. For the period from 6/19 to 6/22, Horseshoe will let me book the Ritz for $335 TOTAL. www.ritzcarlton.com is $445 EACH NIGHT. There's a little subsidization for you...

here is an app for the games available and wait list for the poker room at horseshoe and others it is Bravo poker live

Quote: rdw4potus

Just for fun, I logged into TR. For the period from 6/19 to 6/22, Horseshoe will let me book the Ritz for $335 TOTAL. www.ritzcarlton.com is $445 EACH NIGHT. There's a little subsidization for you...

Well I do live in Ohio, so it could be a day trip for me. However, if it's a day trip, I'm less likely to gamble later into the evening. I suppose it's an enticement to get me to go up there more often... and maybe I will. Who knows??

Quote: Tiltpoul

So I got an offer yesterday evening from Horseshoe Cleveland, inviting me for a free two night stay Sunday-Thursday this coming week. I don't have two days off, but I'm only 2 hours away, so I'm going up Sunday, and staying at the Ritz-Carlton. I'm sure table mins will be way out of my league, so I'll probably wait a couple hours to get on a limit poker table (NL action will be ridiculous).

That is a very generous offer. Dan Gilbert (Rock Gaming, et al.) owns the Ritz Carlton as well as the casino, which is probably how he can offer it for free. If I recall, you are Diamond but not a huge roller, and the Ritz is SUPER nice, so that's a good deal. If I was still Diamond, I wonder if they would have offered it to me.

Be sure to check out the Diamond Lounge, it is supposedly in the old women's dressing room of the department store or something.

Of course we expect a full report :)

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I went up with the Mrs early Sunday morning to check it out.

And, we thought it was very very AVERAGE, and we were
UNDERWHELMED considering all the local hype.

I guess it is ok for a temporary facility. But the outside of the
building is downright plain ( it is an old downtown department
store).

I think they need one of those large screen type building
billboards. Nothing tacky, but enough that you know without
a doubt that it is a casino.

And before anyone starts about sign ordinances, first of all,
it's Cleveland of all places. And secondly, there are a
number of those type of signs already in Cleveland.

We were a bit amused that the brand new parking
garage they built is NOT connected to the casino by
an enclosed pedestrian bridge. So you park and then
walk down to the city streets and cross an intersection.
OK, but not what we expected.

GOOD STUFF:

The state of Ohio is non-smoking inside public
buildings, including the Horseshoe Casino.

Nice high ceilings on the main floor.

I think we can use our TR comp credits
there. So we no longer have a potential
issue of expiring comp $.

NOT SO GOOD:

High breakfast buffet price on Sundays. It was
$ 21.99 I think, we didn't eat there.

Cramped lay-out on the main floor.

Low ceilings on the 2nd floor.

It's in downtown Cleveland.

All in all, the
RIVERS casino on the "North Shore" side
of Pittsburgh is much nicer
as far as the design, riverfront area,
nearby science center, newness feel,
etc.

VP:

There was lots of 8/6 Jacks or Better, which WOO says
is 98.6 %.

There was also 20/12/10/4/4/3/2/1 Dueces Wild at
the 25 cent level at 97.58 %

Blackjack:

A few $ 15 tables early this morning, but mostly
$ 25 and a few $ 50. A dealer told me you can
DAS, No Surrender, No resplitting Aces, and Dealer
Hits Soft 17 out on the floor but he said the High
Limit area is Stand on Soft 17.

Quote: JohnnyQ

I went up with the Mrs early Sunday morning to check it out.

And, we thought it was very very AVERAGE, and we were
UNDERWHELMED.

Sounds like a typical old style dept store building.
Cavernous main floor, all the floors above it have
low ceilings. That was the way they built things
in the 40's, banks were the same way.

Thanks for using the compact writing style.
I read your post in no time, much easier than
when its sprawled across the whole page.

It seems as though JohnnyQ and I were at Horseshoe around the same time.

First, I got up to Cleveland around 9am, and my GPS said I was only a minute away from the casino when I got off the interstate. That MIGHT have been true, except there was a fantastic marathon for some worthy cause (I'm sure) that diverted the traffic every which way. This made a 1 minute journey into a 40 minute trek to the parking lot. Needless to say, I'm glad I went to the bathroom first, and it left me quite frustrated.

Anyways, I finally found the notorious parking deck JohnnyQ is referring to. It is a very strange place for it, and if you didn't know any better, you might assume the casino is in the very small building that houses the valet parking. Right now, Valet is open only to Diamonds and Seven Stars, and now I wish I would have used it.

The casino at 10am was buzzing more than any casino I've EVER been to on a Sunday morning. I would argue the traffic was similar to Friday night traffic, but it MIGHT have been busier. Luckily, ROC Gaming accounted for this and nearly every table was open. The advertising says 65 tables, and that probably right. There are three pits downstairs, mostly Roulette, BJ and Craps, with all the carnival poker games, including TCP, MS Stud, UTH, LIR and Four Card. Table mins were usually $15 for poker, $25 for BJ, though TCP and one UTH table had $10 mins.

I decided to play some UTH, in hopes of getting my $1 chip. I prefer this game at $5, so I can do the 4x raises without worry, but I have played it at $10 many times. This was NOT one of those times that I should have... The dealer COULD NOT MISS. Plus, they don't allow you to surrender the main hand if your bonus hand is 3 of a kind, which is a very bad rule. I twice lost against a dealer full house with trips on the board. In minutes, I was down about $300, and decided this wasn't my day for UTH.

I went upstairs and checked out the other table games. There were a couple $15 BJ tables upstairs, and this seemed much more reasonable. JohnnyQ seemed to get the rules right. They also have two Midi-Bacc tables and two PGP tables. I walked by and somebody had just hit Five Aces, for a $2000 payout, while everybody else won $250. Another time I walked by on the other table the dealer just had a straight flush. I guess this is the time to be playing that bonus!

If you have a Total Rewards card, bring it. The lines to get cards are generally very long, and your old TR card will work here. You CAN use your comps at the buffet, though I'm not sure about the restaurants. Speaking of which, apparently all the restaurants are closed by midnight, so be sure to get your food before then. As of now, there's no cafe anywhere on the property.

The VP selection isn't terrible, at least for a Horseshoe. I played some 8/6 JoB at .25, next to me there was a couple switching between various Deuces Wild games. The conversation between them was almost too funny. I had to restrain myself from commenting a couple times. Anyways, I actually did pretty well on VP, earning about 100 credits and winning $50. I had to get some play in, both to validate my parking and to justify my stay at the Ritz-Carlton.

Before going to the Poker Room, I decided to find the Ritz. It's in the Town City Center, which is kind of a mall and mixed development area. It's really offsetting to have a mall attached to a casino (and not be in Vegas). Furthermore, you're very near the stadiums, so you get the sports traffic coming through. The Ritz is on the third floor, which is actually street level. I checked at noon, and my room was not available, so they took my number and would call me when my room was ready. There is a deposit required, $100 credit card per day, FYI. This wasn't on the website, but is to be expected in a nice hotel.

I went back to the casino, and went up to the poker room. They use the Bravo check-in system, and can page you when your seat is ready. I decided to play 3-6 limit, since my bankroll for this trip was somewhat limited. The room is pretty well laid out and very big, though not big enough. The cashier line took FOREVER, but they were trying their best. The crew is new (6 days on the job) so it's expected to be a bit slow.

Games are raked 10% to $6 max + $1 Bad Beat Jackpot. This makes it one of the highest rakes around, mirroring Detroit's rakes. I think this is highway robbery. As much as I respect Horseshoe as a brand and generally like their poker rooms, having such a high rake just fleeces the lower limit games faster. I'm pretty sure after 5 hours of play, nobody left up a lot.

The Diamond Lounge is next door to the Poker Room. It is very pretty, all white and nice furnishings. Unfortunately, there is no food service yet, though eventually there will be some. VIP services is near this area as well. The bathrooms here (and throughout the casino) are well-appointed.

After playing poker, I went to the Ritz-Carlton, but had to get my bag from my car. As I left the casino, there was a line to get in... and it was LONG. I imagine people at the end probably have to wait at least an hour to get in. As a Diamond player, I should be able to come and go as I please, but man, this is RIDICULOUS! I checked in to my room about an hour or two ago and that's where I'm typing this. The room is VERY well appointed, though no jacuzzi tub. Still, it's a very nice room, and if you can get here, I highly recommend it.

OVERALL

Give this casino some time. Right now, it's just too chaotic for the area. I foresee it becoming more like the Detroit casinos; higher minimums, but some good games. There NEEDS to be more restaurant choices, and more 24-hour options. The poker rake needs to go down to $5. I will probably not come back for a long time, but I'm sure I won't be able to stay away for too long.

Quote: Tiltpoul

It seems as though JohnnyQ and I were at Horseshoe around the same time.

First, I got up to Cleveland around 9am, and my GPS said I was only a minute away from the casino when I got off the interstate. That MIGHT have been true, except there was a fantastic marathon for some worthy cause (I'm sure) that diverted the traffic every which way. This made a 1 minute journey into a 40 minute trek to the parking lot.

Yup, pretty close, I think we got there around 8:30 am and left
around 10:00 am. I didn't see a line to get in when we left.

I had studied the map on their website, so when we found the
road to the parking garage closed due to the Marathon (there
should have been some way to keep the main streets open to
a brand new casino, I would have thought), we were able to
go around the block and find (barely) the entrance to the
parking garage.

Word to the Wise: If anyone drives up, there were a number
of Hwy Patrol and Locals out with Radar on I-77.

Quote: Tiltpoul

The casino at 10am was buzzing more than any casino I've EVER been to on a Sunday morning. I would argue the traffic was similar to Friday night traffic, but it MIGHT have been busier. Luckily, ROC Gaming accounted for this and nearly every table was open.

I think the Indians had a game at 1:00, so that could explain a lot of it.

Quote: Tiltpoul

If you have a Total Rewards card, bring it. The lines to get cards are generally very long, and your old TR card will work here. You CAN use your comps at the buffet, though I'm not sure about the restaurants.

Good point, I forgot to mention that. There were about 50 people in line at the Player's Club when
we got there, but I had brought my regular card. There were 6 people working at the booth, I think,
and a couple of staff with handheld devices. I'm not sure if those were to print out cards.

Quote: Tiltpoul

I played some 8/6 JoB at .25, next to me there was a couple switching between various Deuces Wild games. The conversation between them was almost too funny. I had to restrain myself from commenting a couple times.

Hey so you did see us ! Just kidding.

Quote: Tiltpoul

I actually did pretty well on VP, earning about 100 credits and winning $50. I had to get some play in, both to validate my parking and to justify my stay at the Ritz-Carlton.

I ended up down $ 20 on my machine. As far as the RITZ is concerned, what a great offer !
I'm afraid I'm too low of a roller to ever see a decent offer for the RITZ.

GOOD LUCK TOMORROW !

Maybe I'll need to change my sign-off line to:

Now you swear and kick and beg us That you're not a gamblin' man Then you find you're back in CLEVELAND With a handle in your hand

Okay, I just got back from Horseshoe and a second and much less profitable session. I'm happy to report that all the table mins basically stayed the same or may have even gone down a bit. I commend them for offering relatively lower minimums, regardless of the traffic or time.

I also got to see the property outside at night. It's pretty, well, it's amazing to think there is a casino where it is. It's relatively safe, as there are cops outside and a lot of nice businesses in the area. I think there's a lot here that will be great.

HOWEVER, when I went in to play, I decided to go up to .50 VP. Big mistake! Had a bad run... then when I ordered a Ginger Ale, it took over 40 minutes to get to me. I was going to tip a dollar, but I'm sorry, that's inexcusable, especially when two or three waitresses walked by a few times. It really left a bad taste in my mouth, despite the fact that the Ginger Ale tasted pretty good.

Stopped in briefly yesterday and my original total rewards card worked this time so I geuss you do not need to register or get a new one if you already have one. As previously stated on my first trip it did not work.

I forgot in my initial review of the place that I did make a trip down to the buffet on the lowest level. I find it interesting that they aren't going with "Horseshoe brand" restaurants (a la Paula Deen, or Village Square Buffet). It's simply title "The Spread." Prices are typical Las Vegas amounts. You do get a discount for having a TR card. It was relatively empty on Sunday evening at 5pm, and my waitress was more than wanting to help me.

The Spread is decent; better than some, worse than others. The best part is the Mac and Cheese Bar. A good selection and its well done. I highly recommend this, even though I'm not a big buffet station guy. The desserts were also good, though limited. Everything else was mediocre. I don't think it's worth the cost, but once they get going, they are likely to write comps for it, and for a "free" meal it would be good. I did use my TR credits accumulated at other properties there.

Anyone seen (witnessed or even second hand information) any big wins(table games) at this new casino? It is strange we always talk about small wins and low limits. Here in Asia the money is big as I'm sure you have read.( Macao and Singapore and even Cambodia)

Ohio gaming agents starting out strong with felony charges against past posters who distract the dealer while adding to their bet. Seven indictments.

Decided to make the short trip up to Cleveland today to check out the Horseshoe. I arrived at around 9:45 or so and the place was already going strong...busiest I've ever seen a casino at that relatively early hour. Table minimums were accordingly quite high...$15 for BJ and craps, $10 for most carnival games. Only Mississippi Stud was at $5.

Three main things I liked about the place...they have UTH, which none of the casinos near me have. Unfortunately, it's at a rather high $10 minimum, and the Trips paytable is the bad 8-7-4 one, but the higher expected loss makes up for the shortened travel time compared to where I would otherwise have to go to play (Detroit or AC). I also liked that the casino is 100% non-smoking. While I respect other people's right to ruin their health if they want, it was nice to breathe fresh air while gambling for once. (How many other casinos in North America are non-smoking? Delaware and most properties in Canada are the only ones I can think of.) The staff was also amazingly friendly as a whole, save for one surly buffet waitress. The dealers, as to be expected, are still learning their games and are sometimes slow and make mistakes. I liked their enthusiasm, though I'm sure that will wear off in about a year. One annoying thing I encountered was floor supervisors who seemed afraid to say "no." I asked one supe if I could get a lunch buffet after playing for about an hour...he said he'd look into it and then disappeared. OK, I thought, he's probably at the end of his shift and had a lot of other things to take care of, no big deal. So I ask the new supe the same thing...says she'd look into it...1/2 hour later I colored up and she told me I have $2 in credits. Um, thanks, but that wasn't what really I was asking for. I just wanted a completely comped buffet. If the answer is "no," fine, but don't beat around the bush. Oh well...it's Caesars, what're ya gonna do, right?

The buffet ends up being OK, at best. Most items tasted pretty warmed over, although there is a pretty wide selection. A fellow UTH player said the food court upstairs is better, so I got a reuben sandwich there for dinner, and I agreed with his assessment, although it was expensive ($16 including a drink). Overall, I thought the Horseshoe was a good effort, but could use lower table mins and food prices. Given that it's Caesars and they basically have a monopoly, though, I doubt that will change.

By the way, caveat emptor to those who decide to travel via Megabus. I paid $20 round-trip from Pittsburgh to Cleveland...much cheaper than driving, but you get what you pay for. Getting there was no problem, but the return bus was over 2 hours late! By the time we finally arrived all the city buses had stopped running and I had to take a taxi back to where I'd left my car, the price of which wound up being *more* expensive than the Megabus. Ugh...

If the buffet at a new casino sucks, go back in a year and
it will be even worse. Most new casinos start off with great
buffets and every one of them declines in quality as time
goes on. 4 Winds had an almost gourmet buffet when they
opened in 2007. Now its 35 ways to prepare beans. I'm
not joking.

35 ways to prepare beans? Sounds more like something you'd find at a Louisiana casino...:-D

Illinois is all non-smoking, as is most of A.C. (Revel, where I am right now, is entirely n.s.)

Quote: FleaStiff

Ohio gaming agents starting out strong with felony charges against past posters who distract the dealer while adding to their bet. Seven indictments.

Any information on which game this occurred? Thanks.

according to the paper, bj and mini bac

As I understand it, from the bj side, one of the issues is how horseshoe pays out blackjacks. They make the blackjack wait until it is his turn to be paid. So if he is on third base, the dealer has to offer cards to up to 4 other players before he gets paid his 3 to 2. This allowed some of the evildoers to past post their original wagers since the dealers can't see everything at once, unfortunately for the evildoers, the eye in the sky can!

According to the Richard Marcus cheating blog, past
posting teams have descended on the OH casinos
and won't be going away for at least a year. Its a
tradition.

I doubt Caesars/Rock Gaming (or whoever really owns the place...still not really clear on the ownership arrangement) is taken by surprise by this, though. They had to have anticipated it, and revised their numbers accordingly. Just a cost of doing business.

Quote: OneAngryDwarf

I doubt Caesars/Rock Gaming (or whoever really owns the place...still not really clear on the ownership arrangement) is taken by surprise by this, though. They had to have anticipated it, and revised their numbers accordingly. Just a cost of doing business.

There is no doubt that Dan Gilbert owns the place, and my understanding he has 67% ownership, while Caesars has 33%. To be honest, the ONLY reason he brought Caesars on is because he didn't know anything about running a casino. As soon the terms of that arrangement are up (which I think was a 7-year option, but I may be mistaken on that), he'll most likely buy out the remaining shares and intellectual property (i.e. staff that transferred, players club information).

As for your buffet comp, I'm surprised they couldn't accommodate you. About a month ago I went up there, and I got one without any questions, not even playing for an hour. Of course, it's all in who you get, but Horseshoe's are typically good about writing the comps.

Played at the horseshoe this weekend and made one of my best attempts to bring down the house!

Walked away with $18,000 more than I started with and a $400 comp slip to Morton's across the street.

Sad thing is I was up just over $20k and made a bet where even if I lost, I would still be up over $20k, but had to split it, then double a hand, and lose both hands. Then I lost a little more trying to get it back.

They have turned up the security in High Limit a little bit as well. I don't look like much of a high roller when I go anywhere, much less a casino, and the security guard at the front of the BJ tables was quick to point out that I could not stand and watch. I told him I was looking for the "lucky" table in a very conversational way, and he replied that I need to find it quick or move along.

Not to turn this into another "do you tip" thread, but unfortunately for the dealers, they bore the brunt for this security guards actions.....

It also takes FOREVERRRRRR to deal a shoe in this entire casino. I don't like super fast dealers, but it seemed to take 5 minutes a hand and there was just me and another guy at the table most of the night. About put me to sleep even with winning big.

Quote: JohnnyQ

I ended up down $ 20 on my machine. As far as the RITZ is concerned, what a great offer !
I'm afraid I'm too low of a roller to ever see a decent offer for the RITZ.

Well as it turns out, Au contraire ! The Mrs and I
got a free night at the Ritz on a Sunday about a month
ago.

It made for a nice get-away.

I stopped by Horseshoe Cleveland last Tuesday night (8/28-8/29). I was on the floor from about 3am-5am. I was utterly shocked by how busy it was. Not so much the machines, but the tables. 80% open, and of the open tables, they were about 80% filled. The Total Rewards desk was even still open, which was awesome since I needed to check in for the Great Race promo. Everything went great for me until I left the table. Nobody could show/tell me how to get to the Ritz. One girl told me to go out into the mall and take a left at the fountain. I guess that was correct, except for the part about also needing to go up two floors. Finally after 30 minutes of walking in circles and cursing, one of the mall's employees pointed me in the right direction. Once I was about 80% of the way to the hotel, there was a sign for it (awesome...). I do agree that the room was very nice. Probably the best free accommodations I've ever had (slightly better than Caesar's LV, view notwithstanding) - I just wish I'd had more than 5 hours in which to enjoy it.

I used to work in the tower across that fountain from the Ritz, and I STILL couldn't tell you how to get to the hotel. I just never had a reason to go in there. They used to have a pretty decent restaurant, Century, and people I knew used to go there for afternoon tea. Will definitely try it out sometime if the free offers keep coming...

I have been up to the Horseshoe a number of times in the last month. Most of the newness has died down, so I thought I would update some of this information. The comps seem great to me. I am not even a Platinum member and I have been offered several free nights at the Ritz or Marriot. The Ritz is very nice but I was informed by staff at the hotel that I am unable to pay extra for 'Club Level' access on a comped room. This was disappointing since you would think they would like the comped customers to pay for something. But that is fine. You can stay a maximum of 3 comped nights in a row at the Ritz.

The hotel generally has $15 BJ and Craps tables on the main floor, although the BJ tables upstairs are often $25 minimum. The craps tables can be as low as $5 (8am on a Tuesday morning), but mostly during the morning it will be $10. The few days I have been down there early, I have seen them go up to a $15 minimum at noon. It is worth mentioning that you can take 100x odds at the craps tables. The field pays double on 12 and 2, and you can lay against numbers. The fire bets can be bet for as little as $1, (and I have won on them twice in the 7 times I've played craps there!) they pay $250:1 on 5 points and $1000:1 on 6 different points. I'm not sure what the pay out is for 4 points, but there is one. The dealers are still a little new and will be slow to make payouts and make occasional mistakes. But they are very friendly.

I saw a woman win $10k on a $1 slot machine near the craps tables one night and another person win several hundred the next day on the same machine. I don't know if that means the slot machines are 'loose' or not, but it was great to see. :)

My biggest complaint is the inability to get a drink in this casino. It's illegal to give away free alcohol in Ohio, so waiting 25 minutes for a $5 drink at a casino is especially frustrating. The waitresses will not usually approach the craps tables, and I have often had to leave my chips to get their attention. The pit bosses are also unable to get fast service. Even giving the servers a $3 tip when ORDERING has not gotten me a drink in a reasonable time frame. In fact, I saw a guy tip a waitress $50 for a $5 drink and she did not return to check on him. As someone who has serving experience I would be on him like white on rice after that, but no. I have heard a number of other people complain about this. It is slightly better upstairs at the Blackjack tables, but if you enjoy a few drinks while playing I would order 2 at a time.

It's free parking for 30 minutes of play and a free buffet for 30 minutes of play with a tier credit minimum. I'm sure there are better buffets out there but this one is fine. If the buffet is not your thing the ticket can be used for $15 free slot play instead.

One more thing, one of the nights I stayed over, there was a mugging right outside the casino. As mentioned the parking deck, Marriot and Renaissance hotel is across the street from the casino and you have to walk through Tower City to get to the Ritz Carlton. So, be careful. The next day I won about $4000 and the cashier offered me a police escort to my car/hotel. I am a young petite female and I'm sure that had something to do with it, but I thought it was very nice of them. :)

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'm pretty happy with this casino but I'm not a high roller by anyones standards. I will be returning in a few days so if anyone has any specific questions, let me know!

EDIT: Found this article that states that the dealers make a measly $4.25/hr. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/07/horseshoe_employees_count_on_c.html

It's illegal to give away alcohol but would they if they could? If so couldn't they charge a token price of say 25 cents?

Quote: 1BB

It's illegal to give away alcohol but would they if they could? If so couldn't they charge a token price of say 25 cents?

Very true, they certainly don't discount the drinks enough. $5 for a well drink is cheap but not untypical in Ohio.

Quote: drussell0208

Very true, they certainly don't discount the drinks enough. $5 for a well drink is cheap but not untypical in Ohio.

the casino slogan is evidently " They are sheep, born to be sheared " Glad to see that attitude is now biting AC in the ASS !