Casino Reviews

Friday night is seafood night at the Beau Rivage casino hotel in Biloxi Mississippi. The Beau Rivage seafood buffet has a price of $30, you can have all of the seafood that you like plus several glasses of wine, dessert coffee etc. This is a really great deal for anyone who loves seafood, crab legs etc

As shown in the picture, the crab legs are included as part of this meal. You can have as many crab legs or other types of seafood as you like. The only complaint that we have about the crab legs is that they are not precut or pre-cracked. Other than that the crab legs are fantastic. Some casinos also provide crab legs that are precut and precracked. So you have to work a little harder to obtain your favorite meal, but it is all worth it to sample this mouth watering delicacy.

Beau Rivage Seafood Buffet – Even More

In addition to crab legs, they also provide oysters, tilapia, salmon, shrimp, and many other different types of seafood. This is seafood night at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi Mississippi.

If you are not into seafood, there are many other different types of foods available. They include the standard fare Mexican, roast beef, turkey, mashed potatoes and Chinese food. There certainly something for everyone at this buffet and the price, while more expensive than many other casinos for seafood is pretty reasonable.

We almost forgot to mention, that $30 price includes wine or beer. You can have as many glasses of wine and although maybe not the best wine is certainly very drinkable. There are four choices of wine available for wine drinkers, including both white and red wines along with several choices of beer. Where can you go for a meal like this one for this price?

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We are not staying at the Horseshoe Casino in Tunica Mississippi this time however we were able to enjoy their dinner buffet one evening in January, 2014. We are staying at the Goldstrike casino next-door to the Horseshoe. They are within easy walking distance of each other and patrons can walk from one to the other in less than 60 seconds.

We like to play several different casinos at this location. We approached the total rewards desk to find out what comps we might have available at the Horseshoe Casino. They informed us that we had a free buffet available which we quickly took advantage of, especially since they offered it to us as a comp.

Horseshoe Casino

The Horseshoe casino is located beside the Goldstrike Casino. Harrahs runs the Horseshoe and MGM runs the Goldstrike.

Always Check with the Rewards Desk

It never hurts to ask the total rewards desk what comp’s you have available. They will also always take advantage of the opportunity to build loyalty and keep you from leaving the casino. In some cases you may also be awarded free play to use at the slot machines

We dined at the buffet. You can see from the picture above that there are many food stations. They are well spread out offering great choices and well-managed crowd control. The food was excellent and there really is something available for everyone no matter what you like or dislike. Even people who are on diets can go to the buffet and stick to a variety of salads etc,. Although it is very tempting to try many of the other dishes that are available.

We are staying at the Goldstrike Casino owned by MGM resorts in Tunica Mississippi. We travel to this area at least once a year and stay at the Goldstrike for a couple of days. It is interesting for us to see the changes that the hotel has made each year. They did not disappoint us this time and have completed several new improvements that really add to the comfort and experience of staying at this hotel.

Goldstrike Casino Buffet

The picture on this page shows the brand-new buffet, called the American buffet, which they just opened in the last few months. It is new, it is modern, it has many different food stations and they offer high-quality food with gorgeous presentation. We really did not enjoy the previous establishment that much, however this one is a huge improvement.

It was truly a pleasure to dine in this restaurant. Many people will scoff at eating at a buffet however the newer modern buffet restaurants offer fantastic food, and lots of selection, with excellent crowd control.

We enjoyed what for us ended up being brunch. However we paid for breakfast around 1030 and were able to enjoy both breakfast and lunch as they transitioned between these two meals. Although we did not plan this it worked out very much in our favor. There was a huge selection of breakfast foods and the lunchtime menu. This is a tip for anyone who does not mind eating a bit late in the morning and wanting to enjoy a selection from both meals.

If you’re ever passing through the area, we can strongly recommend the Goldstrike Casino Hotel as an excellent location to stop over. The prices for hotel rooms are reasonable, and the meals are fantastic. There are also two other casinos within walking distance of the Goldstrike Casino. We have stayed at both of them and found them to be acceptable. However we prefer this casino to the others. If we can get a room, in other words it is not sold out this is where we will stay.

There are quite a few casinos along the Mississippi river south of Memphis. Memphis is actually in Tennessee and the border with Mississippi is just a few miles south of the city. The majority of casinos are located along the river just north of Tunica and there is a number south of the town as well. Casino patrons can visit any of these casinos coming south from Memphis, north from Jackson, or across the bridges from Indiana. As far as we are aware at this time there are no casinos in Indiana along the river, however, we must say that we have not had the time to visit this area.

At one time we had an objective to visit every casino in the country, however, over the past 10 years many states have approved new casinos, large and small and it is virtually impossible to visit all of these casinos. In one state alone along route I40, we counted 15 casinos just along this highway. Many were on Indian reservations and they were actually quite small. They are sometimes even attached to gas stations and convenience stores. One of these days we will build a post that lists all of the casinos that we can find in every state, so stay tuned for that post.

Tunica Casino Locations – Major Location

With so many casinos to choose from, we are focusing on casino properties that are in the top four locations such as Vegas, Atlantic City, Laughlin, and Tunica. Other properties will be included if we have visited them or if they are notable and interesting. For example, we included the Windsor Casino and hotel in our blog. It is part of the Total Rewards Harrah’s slot program and it is a very nice place to stay for a few days.

Head south on highway 61 towards Tunica and after about 30 miles you will see the signs for the various casinos. Alternately take Interstate 25 south from Memphis, then head west along interstate 69 towards Tunica. This same route can be taken from Jackson as well coming north on Interstate 25 and then exiting onto 69 as previously mentioned. Patrons can drive to any of these casinos, take a flight into Memphis and rent a car or utilize a limo to transfer to these locations. There is ample parking on surface parking lots as well as in parking garages located on the properties. They are also monitored by roving security guards on bicycles.

Topics we will be covering in this post include the following:

• Listing of Tunica Casino Locations
• A Mini Vacation in the Tunica Area
• On the Top 10 List of Casino Locations
• Use Your Slot Cards In Tunica and Across the Country
• Competition for Your Gambling Dollar
• Smoking is Still a Problem

Listing of Tunica Casino Locations

This is a partial list of the casinos located in the Tunica area. We have visited all of these casinos over the last couple of years.

• Gold Strike Casino & Hotel
• Horseshoe Casino & Hotel
• Roadhouse Casino & Hotel
• Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel
• Hollywood Casino & Hotel
• Harrahs Casino & Hotel

A Mini Vacation in the Tunica Area

Many people come to Tunica every month to visit one of the casinos in the area. Some will just come for the day and many others will stay at one of the casinos for several days. Most people use their slot cards when they are playing and will receive invitations, as a result, to stay for free at many of the casino hotels that they frequent.

There are lots to do while in Tunica in addition to gambling. If you looking for a few days of relaxation, some nice meals, maybe take in a show or two, and share a couple of drinks at the bar, all of the casinos and hotels in the area can meet this need.

Tunica is easy to get to by car, since it is less than half an hour from Memphis and several hours from Jackson, Mississippi. We have run into people who are making a road trip across the country or heading south on their way to their winter vacation home. Tunica becomes a great stop-over point on the way to Biloxi, Golf Port, and New Orleans as well as points east and west of these cities.

We have included another post on this website that outlines all of the activities that can be of interest to people visiting the area. These include museums, music, and even Elvis’s mansion. We have personally gone to visit this location and we can vouch that it is well worth the money to take the time and visit his home and grounds.

There are also golf courses in the area for those people who are so inclined.

On the Top 10 List of Casino Locations

Las Vegas is obviously at the top of the gambling locations in the country. Next, you have Atlantic City, which is now recovering from a devastating storm in the fall of 2012. Laughlin in Nevada and Tunica in Mississippi are the next two locations that can be considered among the top 10. Both are on opposite sides of the country and both have approximately the same number of casinos. Most other locations around the country are more isolated and do not have much competition from each other.

Windsor/ Detroit and Niagara Falls are two other locations with small numbers of co-located casinos. Tunica is obviously 3^rd or fourth on the top 10 list of locations to visit in the USA. It is easy to get to by highway as well as by air and is located in the central part of the US. There is also competition from the concentration of casinos in these top four locations.

Use Your Slot Cards In Tunica and Across the Country

One of the advantages of using slot cards from the main casino companies such as MGM and Harrahs is that their slot cards are good right across the country and in many of their properties. They do track your visits and your usage. From that, they develop offers of free room visits, free entertainment to shows, free meals and other comp’s that may be interesting to you from time to time. These offers are available online as well as they can be sent to you in regular mail.

Both Harrahs and MGM have casinos and hotels in all of the major centers and the most popular locations across the country. Tunica is no different with both companies having several casinos that they run in the Tunica area as well as in other areas of the state of Mississippi such as Biloxi on the coast. The Gold Strike Casino is part of the MGM group and accepts the MLife card. The Horseshoe, the Roadhouse, and another hotel in the area (Harrahs) are part of the Harrahs chain and accept the Total Rewards slot card.

Competition for Your Gambling Dollar

As we mentioned earlier in this post, Tunica is on the top 10 list of casino locations in the country. We feel that this is a good thing because it means that there is competition for your gambling dollar on many levels.

None of the casinos advertise their payback ratios, however, there are various ways that they compete for your dollars. These include free rooms while you are staying at their location, free meals in terms of write-offs, express comp’s, free play, and point play. Some days are better than others in terms of how many points you are allowed to collect each time you play.

These comp’s can be like mini jackpots for some people. For example, if your room is free or they write off all of your food and room costs, this is the same as winning a small jackpot and is really money that you save on your vacation. This is part of your overall compensation in terms of what you win or lose.

Payouts are Lower

Many people have mentioned to us in passing that they do not win like they used to. We have noticed this as well and even though there is lots of competition, the casinos appear to have tightened up their payouts. Large wins seem to be fewer and the cost of rooms and meals has gone up. The only way to deal with this is to make sure that you always collect all of your comp’s before you leave.

We always speak to the slot host and let her know that we are checking out. They do not always write off our expenses, but it happens often enough to make it worthwhile. The worst that can happen is that they decline and you just have to accept that decision. It is all calculated by computer anyway and they have very little discretion to go outside the guidelines that have been established by management.

Smoking is Still a Problem

In all of these casinos, smoking is still a problem. It continues to amaze the writer that they still allow smoking in the casino when there are so many issues associated with smoking from a personal level as well as a business level. They even allow people to smoke cigars inside the casino which annoys everyone including smokers since the atmosphere is polluted by some of the stronger cigars.

For the casinos, cleaning of the rugs, and the machines, and maintenance of the machines would be drastically reduced. No more ashes everywhere and no more nicotine getting on everything including the moving parts of the slot machines. The air would smell much better and more people who do not smoke would come to these casinos.

Banning Smoking

In other locations, they have banned smoking altogether inside the casinos. They have built smoking rooms for smokers to go to and take a break. Some of these rooms are actually outdoors when the weather permits. If they are inside, there is ample air circulation to accommodate the smoke. A key decision was made by the casino management which in our mind makes this work.

Patrons are allowed to place their slot machine on hold while they take a break and go for a smoke. They are allowed to do this for a short time, 5 or 10 minutes while they take a smoke break. The economics are much better in terms of less cleaning. Also less maintenance on the machines which makes up for the downtime of these slot machines during busier times in the casino. Placing a napkin or something similar over the screen is all that is generally needed. Speak to someone playing beside you to ask them to keep an eye on the machine for you. Never leave any more than two or three dollars in the machine. Patrons have lost large amounts by leaving too much in the machine while they went for a smoke break.

We have found that these casinos that do not allow smoking on the casino floor are busier than ever. People who traditionally stayed away because the smoke was too bad are now coming to these properties. They play the machines and enjoy an evening at the casino. The smokers seem to be happier and the nonsmokers are definitely happier.

This is the Hardrock hotel and casino in Biloxi Mississippi. It has been rebuilt since Katrina and totally fits the brand. It is a smaller hotel as far as casino hotels go. However, they have all of the decors of a typical Hardrock Hotel and Casino you would find anywhere in the country.  There is of course the memorabilia store. Also, many representative rock and roll items are displayed around the hotel and the casino. They have some great restaurants and there is a 50’s diner just off the casino floor which is kind of neat to dine in. We had breakfast there and enjoyed it very much.

Hardrock Casino & Hotel Biloxi

They also have the famous guitar out front! It stands maybe 100 feet high and dominates the street.  All of the Hardrock Hotels have this guitar symbol out front to make sure that you do not miss it as you drive by.

There is a nice pool at ground level. protected by barriers from the street and from the wind coming off the gulf. It is one of these pools where there is lots of cement and a few palm trees. Nothing really great to write about.

The casino is actually two floors above the ground to protect the casino from hurricane-driven waves crashing into the shore and the building. Katrina taught them this lesson and even then much of the hotel was damaged during that storm. The hotel and casino have been totally rebuilt and remodeled as a result.

This picture below is typical of the decor throughout the hotel and there are lots of things that may interest visitors and tourists spending time at the hotel. We have yet to stay at this particular hotel. However, we have visited it several times. We would like to spend a few nights there to experience the full services that they offer. One of these days we will get there. Biloxi itself is a nice place to spend some time with sunny weather and beautiful beaches to stroll along. The beaches run for many miles with wide sandy areas to spend time on and relax in the sun.