Comments on: This and That

By: Dean Nishijima

Dean Nishijima — Sun, 23 Jun 2019 01:47:20 +0000

FYI, although you can use points at all restaurant, you will not get the -40% off your bill at some. I believe this would apply to TGIF and Noodle Exchange.

By: Barbara Krull

Barbara Krull — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 15:53:20 +0000

Thanks Candy for the good advice. I just got my new Sapphire card so hopefully won’t have any more problems.

It’s certainly looking more positive as I am now getting free room offers at Gold Coast, Orleans, Main Street Station and Fremont since I made Sapphire.

By: Mo

Mo — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 18:50:50 +0000

Lynn,
thanks for passing that info along.

By: Mo

Mo — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 18:48:54 +0000

Curiosity will probably prevail at the second casino to open in Massachusetts.
Not all trips are for video positive expectation. ( Oh… Kevin both of them are NON smoking… MA law)

Springfield MGM has many other local attractions nearby and on the Interstate corridor and I’m sure Everett MA will also have great things to view near the casino (I believe opening 6-23-19)

By: William Wingo

William Wingo — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 17:24:25 +0000

We stayed at Gold Coast the weekend of June 1 and had a more positive experience than some. So far, I’ve managed to keep Sapphire status as described in previous posts. Room comped, almost all meals on points, played mostly NSU DW and hit quad deuces twice. Blackjack was playable, too.
Played one WSOP event at the Rio, which was incredibly crowded and disorganized: went there at 10:00 PM to register for the next day, and the line was up one side of the hall and down the other. Gave up and came back at 1:00 AM, and it still took an hour and a half to get registered for one event. The one meal we had there the next day was expensive and not very good.
After that we shifted our poker efforts to Orleans and South Point; and were no more seen nor heard of at the Rio. If they implode it and move WSOP some place where they can charge for parking, at least that might thin the crowd out some….
But Gold Coast itself was very nice, and we didn’t have the troubles others have described. Breakfast at TGI Friday’s, Dim Sum at Ping Pang Pong, appetizers and drinks at Cornerstone, all on points with no problems. Skipped the buffet this trip.
We had another visit set for this weekend for another WSOP event, but cancelled it because of bad WSOP vibes on the first trip and went to Laughlin instead.
To Kevin Lewis: I always enjoy your posts. I agree on Atlantic City and Shreveport. Same for Oklahoma; the Memphis/Tunica area; the Gulf Coast, including New Orleans; and the New Mexico I-40 and California I-10 corridors, although my information on some of these places is pretty old. Played some poker at Oceans Eleven casino in Oceanside, CA last year–nothing special–and we also like some of the Los Angeles card rooms, particularly the Bike and Hollywood Park. Just stick to poker and ignore any other games and/or machines.
Phoenix has several Native American casinos: some with good poker rooms, and most with playable Blackjack. Generally, Arizona Video Poker is subpar. The Desert Diamond West expansion, under construction now, is supposed to open with table games and a poker room early next year, less than ten miles from our front door. Time will tell.
Also I’ve visited casinos in Switzerland and Germany, and agree with you there, too. Enjoyed the sensory overload, but didn’t put a chip on a table. At least European roulette has only one zero.
In closing, I’ll just mention that the Winstar, ninety minutes North of Dallas in Thackerville, Oklahoma–once billed as “the largest casino in the world”–is the only casino I’ve seen that has fried chicken gizzards at the buffet. That’s got to count for something, right?
Good luck and good counting to all.

By: Candy F Wright

Candy F Wright — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 17:08:26 +0000

Hi Barbara. Players cards can become demagnetized, e.g. when stored next to room keys, credit cards, etc. Usually in that case the card reader won’t even accept the card (no green light and “hello” greeting). The only fix is to go and get a new card. If you suspect a certain machine’s card reader is acting up and your play isn’t being counted, stop playing, put your service light on, tell the attendant. They should put an “out of order” strip across the card slot if it can’t be fixed right away. I’m sure you know all this. I just hate for anyone to miss out on points due to a malfunctioning card reader. Highway robbery! Good luck.

P.S., If it has been a while since the last visit (any casino), it isn’t a bad idea to go straight to the players club and get new cards. Throw the old ones away.

By: Barbara Krull

Barbara Krull — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 03:36:51 +0000

I just made Sapphire and am going to the Gold Coast on July 1 for a few days. I will be very unhappy if I don’t get 11 times the points on that Wednesday. It was a lot of work to get to the Sapphire level as my player’s card didn’t work half the time in their machines.
Gold Coast is offering a lot of slot tournaments and shopping events this summer. More
than last year.
Thanks for the great articles on Boyd’s new tier system!

By: Kevin Lewis

Kevin Lewis — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 17:08:31 +0000

There are a lot of unusual casinos out there, but the vast majority of them are only suitable as mild curiosities, not gambling destinations. Positive expectation video poker does not exist outside of Nevada (not that there’s much of it in Nevada any more) and the rules of other games generally stink. In the US, casinos are either in Reno or Vegas, in the middle of nowhere on Indian reservations in states no sane person would want to visit, or in depressing gambling holes like Atlantic City or Shreveport. There are a few exceptions here and there, but I travel a lot, and I stop at every casino my path crosses (just to get a signup bonus, usually), and I haven’t seen a single casino worth revisiting. And of course–they’re usually filled with smoke. (And there are a fair number in California, but usually in isolated locations. Barona near San Diego, though, actually has good games and is relatively accessible.)

Exceptions to the rule IMHO are the casinos of continental Europe (NOT the UK). They’re glittering, swanky pleasure palaces that are at least worth a look. Austria and Germany have several casinos built in spa/resort towns that have really impressive architecture and art. Of course, you’d have to be rich and insane to gamble there. And they’re usually built around baccarat and roulette–two of the stupidest casino games ever invented, but wildly popular there.

By: Robert S Dena

Robert S Dena — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 16:59:29 +0000

Lynn Reid, something similar happened to me at a Boyd property in Biloxi, MS, after not getting credited with my food voucher, I was told I was supposed to hand it in at the buffet. In the past I had ALWAYS had the amount charged to my room and credited at checkout. On my last trip to the Imperial Palace in Biloxi, I had learned my lesson and took my credit directly to the 850 Grill so that I could enjoy a supposedly upscale meal. It was one of the worst meals I have ever had in any casino property. I had ordered an appetizer of oysters prepared three different ways and they were not served until after I received my Prime Rib main course. The prime rib was about the worst I have ever had anywhere. When I returned home, wrote a letter to the manager at the Imperial Palace explaining everything. They never even gave me the courtesy of an apology. Since I am a lowly Sapphire and my wife is a lower than dirt Ruby ( which qualifies her for absolutely NOTHING ) we have decided to take our business to other properties in both Las Vegas and Biloxi. This after being loyal Boyd customers for over 21 years!

By: Lynn Reid

Lynn Reid — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 15:59:46 +0000

We were at Orleans in May and I had $100 food credit and my husband had $50. They have changed how you use the credit. Now you must go to the slot club booth to collect a voucher. You then use the voucher at your restaurant of choice. We were told by the slot club booth that you could charge it to your room and use the voucher at checkout. However when we tried to do this we were told this is not correct and we were charged for our dinner at Prime Rib Loft.