Rivers Casino - bad review (see my 11/3/11 change of heart)

Well, I went to rivers Casino on Tuesday afternoon, and here are my thoughts.
I was waiting for this casino to open, and give the Elgin casino a whipping. If youve been to Elgin, they have high stakes tables all the time, and they treat everyone like sh*t. They are making a bundle and dont care about anyone.
I was hoping that the new Rivers Casino would have a good mix of games and minimums that would allow you to get some play for your money. WRONG! Although the facility is beauiful (it has to be, its brand new), they are coming out of the blocks just like Elgin, and even worse with High stakes minimums, and a poor selection of choices for non high rollers. Of course its packed, but I wont be going back. I couldnt find a table under $15 at 4pm on a tuesday afternoon. Most were $25 and up.
They were very disorganized, which I can forgive because its new.What I cant forgive is their attitude that they think they are located on the strip in Vegas.
Food is priced the same way. They want $30 for the buffet on a weeknight. I know they wont, but I hope after the shine wears off, they fail miserably.

11/3/11 - see my further review comments at end of this thread

We were there this a.m. and will not be going back. I was not impressed at all. The tables that I could get close to were for blackjack and that was a $50.00 minimum. Could not see limits on the craps tables as everyone was just standing around. No single line $0.25 video poker, only starts at 3 play.

I just got this email from my daughter --

"I ended up going to the new casino last night. We had plans with Michael and Dina and they like to gamble so we ate at Gibson's in Rosemont and went after.

It was crazy trying to get into the valet and parking lot. Michael had to do some creative driving to even get in. They have turn lanes closed off and police directing traffic. It was nuts. I heard later that the valet was full and they weren't letting anyone in---even our friend who had a reservation at Hugo's!

The place was crowded and we ended up in a high limit blackjack room which is where they all like to play. It was way too small and had few tables but we managed to get seats. We had a couple of nice dealers so Dina and I sat there all night. We ended up losing though. When we left the place was packed.

There is a law against giving away drinks so they charged for drinks and the servers were slow and had no change so that was terrible. The best thing I can say is that it was nice and clean and very close to home! When we left it was storming so bad outside. There was terrible lightening and horrible rain with very little visibility and lots of standing water on River Road so it was a scary ride home. "

I had asked her if the smoking ban had been lifted (I thought I read that the state legislature passed this), but she said there was a separate smoking room. Does anyone know the status of this law?

Attempts to exempt casinos from the anti-smoking laws in Illinois failed in the spring session of the legislature. So casinos continue to be non-smoking as are all "public areas" in the state.

Thanks for the info, David. I was just curious -- makes no difference to me because the last thing I want to do when I visit Chicago is go to a casino, LOL.

I asked my daughter about the BJ game they played in the high limits room. She said it was minimum $100. Dealer stands on all 17's. BJ pays 3:2. It was a shoe game, and the dealer actually shuffled the cards by hand. I didn't think anybody did that anymore, lol.

Their dealer was very friendly and helpful, she said. He used to work at the Horseshoe in Indiana.

Most high-limit games ($100 up) are shuffled by hand. A lot of players (including myself) would refuse play if there was NOT a real 'public' shuffle. Asian players are particularly sensitive to the cards and shuffle, IMO. That's why, even the video baccarat games (Organic Baccarat video) use real cards.

I wasnt impressed by the pit's assertion they are a $25 minimum craps game when i had just walked past a craps pit at 15. I can not endorse the video poker at 8/5 for JOB. I didn't find it at single line, and I didnt play the STP. Others may have more experience in quarter action there. It is worth repeating: they close from 7-9 AM. Ho hum

Just in case someone gets confused---this is not about "The Rivers" casino in Pittsburgh. That one has its own problems.

I just got back from my first trip from the Rivers Casino and I was actually pretty impressed. It was very clean and new looking, Parking was plentiful (there was plenty out of outside parking too so I didn't even need to park in the garage). They were a few $10 BJ tables when I got there, and several $15 BJ tables, $10 Pai Gow, and $10 craps. I just realized that like Vegas that during the busy times the casino is crowded, the limits are high, and the tables are full. I have read a lot of people whining about how crowded and high the limits are but almost all of them went during the busy times. It shocks me that people expect to find $10 tables on a Friday or Saturday night. If you plan your trip right (take a day off from work and go early) you won't be disappointed.