We just got back from a quick trip to Biloxi; Linda (wife) and I went with our friends Glen and Jennifer. It was another of those non-winning trips (we’re down about $900), but a lot of fun. We get to Biloxi every couple of years, it used to be easier when a lot of the casinos had cheap air packages. Those are mostly gone now, and the last holdout, the Beau Rivage, has really gotten expensive. We had spent an afternoon out at Treasure Bay a few times and decided to give it a try. Treasure Bay is a bit off the beaten path, it’s about three miles west of town, on the beach, mostly a locals’ place.
THURSDAY
It’s not easy to get to Biloxi from Tampa Bay nowadays; Linda and I flew on Delta, through Atlanta, then took Uber to Treasure Bay. Glen and Jen have a ton of free Southwest miles so they flew direct to New Orleans and rented a car for the 100 mile drive. Anyway, we got settled in at Treasure Bay, it’s a cool place, right across the street from the beach. Nice, very comfortable room with a balcony overlooking the pool and the older motor court-style rooms; Glen and Jen got a Gulf view.
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Best VP there is 8/5 BP, I played a lot of that, also some Illinois Deuces and a few other things here and there. I was up and down for starters, decided to play some Mississippi Stud for a change, did well (couple of dealt high pairs that turned into trips) and wound up about $80 ahead. Dinner was at the buffet, it’s a pretty plain room (spruced up a bit since last trip; it used to look like a lunchroom in an East German factory) but the food is very good. Great Dungeness and snow crab legs, lots of good Southern and Gulf Coast food (surprisingly good gumbo, great catfish, good fried chicken).
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Back to the machines, up and down again between the BP and the deuces (Linda got a straight flush, that hit the spot).
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Decided to throw $10 into a slot machine, Li’l Red, got two big bonus rounds, turned it into $70, went to bed early.
FRIDAY
A rude awakening around 6am, the fire alarm went off and was it loud. False alarm, of course. Anyway, got up, took a walk on the beach. Not the best beach in the world, kind of muddy. Interestingly, the casino was across the street on a barge floating in the water pre-Katrina (the Mississippi legislature changed the rule after Katrina wiped out most of the casinos and about 30% of the state’s revenue), and I found a bunch of old blank players club cards down by the waterline. I’m surprised that they were still there, although maybe someone dumped them recently. Anyway, back to the casino, bad morning on BP. We drove about a mile east to The Reef, a touristy beach restaurant with really good local seafood. Had some very good gumbo and a catfish po’ boy.
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We stopped at Boomtown on the way back, nobody did well there. Took a $200 shot at full-pay Bonus Deluxe, but it wasn’t deluxe to me at all. Back to Treasure Bay, had a good deuces session with two wild royals (and one of those annoying natural quads), also took a shot on a 7/5 Super Aces triple-play machine, got a few quads and cashed out about $80 ahead. Then a long roller coaster session on BP (just as well, they give double points from 5pm to 7pm on Fridays), turned $200 into 30, then hit two quads and some FHs, cashed out $240. Dinner was at one of our favorites, Mary Mahoney’s. Place has been there forever, really nice place with great service (thanks, Miranda!) and classic Gulf Coast food. Had yet another bowl of gumbo, stuffed red snapper and a fantastic bread pudding with rum sauce (oooh, that rum sauce).
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SATURDAY
Up and down again, then just down. Bad on BP, bad on SA, took a shot on 9/7/5 DB and did even worse. Lunch was good, though, Desporte and Sons, a little seafood market that’s been there for over 100 years, has a lunch counter and a couple of tables. Had some idiosyncratic but tasty crawfish etouffee and a fried oyster platter, all great.
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Back to Treasure Bay, did better in the afternoon, got quad deuces on BP, hit pretty well on deuces as well (got dealt a SF with three deuces, you always want to go for it but I didn’t). Glen also got the quad aces on BP, and Jennifer hit on a Quick Hit machine for about $1100, good day for them. Nobody wanted to go out for dinner, so Linda and I ate at The Den, the coffee shop at TB. Absolute dog shit, never again.
SUNDAY
Last full day, and plenty cold this morning. First session was a monster, got three quads within about 10 minutes, turned $100 into $600.
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That was the last good thing that happened, did lousy for the rest of the day. Lunch was the brunch buffet at the Beau Rivage, maybe the last free thing that we’ll get from the MyVegas game on Facebook. Good selection and mostly good food, and the price was right. Back to TB, and nothing good all afternoon, lost on BP, DB, deuces. Dinner was good, though, Linda and I went over to Wentzel’s, a nice seafood place a couple of blocks east of TB. Had some good oysters (raw, grilled and Bienville), some gumbo (hell of a dark roux, it was nice) and eggplant orleans (an eggplant, shrimp and crab casserole).
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No room for dessert. Back home, up and down for the evening, finally hit a couple of wild royals on deuces, bedtime.
MONDAY
Cold again this morning. Got up, played our free play (TB doesn’t give cashback) and did lousy. Oh well. Took Uber to the airport, uneventful flight home (with some chili dogs from The Varsity at the airport in Atlanta).
It was a fun trip overall, I’m glad that we got to spend some time at Treasure Bay rather than just coming as walk-ins. It’s a friendly place, they have decent games and a generous players club, the Dungeness crabs are a plus, nice rooms, although the coffee shop is poison and some employees seemed a little demoralized. I’d do it again, although it really is a hassle to get there from Florida. And then, there’s always Vegas, next trip in February. Thanks for reading!
