Casino Reviews

Thousand Islands Casino Shuttle

The thousand Islands Casino shuttle brings customers from many different locations to the casino. If you cannot get there by car this is the way to travel to the casino. It is also something to consider if you would like to have a few drinks and do not want to drive your car. Perhaps you would be over the limit or close to it. Take the shuttle instead of driving. The best thing is that the shuttles are free for riders going to the casino. You do have to abide by their schedule. If you miss the bus, it could be a long expensive ride by taxi back home unless you call a buddy to obtain a pick up.

Thousand Islands Casino Shuttle Schedule

If you would like shuttle schedules and locations, click on the shuttle link. This PDF will give you all of the locations and times that the buses pick up passengers from. Most people who are regulars will already know the schedule, however they do change from time to time so check back often.

Note that there is no food or drink allowed on the Thousand Islands Casino Shuttle, however many people will quietly bring water and sandwiches on the bus. As long as the driver does not see it and you do not leave a mess, you will be fine.

Have you seen people gambling for hours at the same machine? Maybe you have even done this yourself.  Zombie gambling can be described as: losing track of time; body stiffness from sitting too long; missing out on family activities; not stopping after winning a jackpot and losing the entire amount;  etc. Most of us have found ourselves in this situation and regretted losing all of our money or wondering where the day or evening went. Perhaps our friends or family members have tried to divert us from the slot machines to no avail. If these things describe your situation, it is time to take stock of yourself and make changes.

Avoid Zombie Gambling

Take time to enjoy the other amenities, get up from your slot machine after a specific amount of time to stretch your legs, go for a drink , take a walk outside etc. Break the repetitive situation your in and enjoy all of the other things that casinos have to offer.

Spend time with family who would really like to spend time with you. See a show together, go for a drink, even just for a walk together. Quality time like this is worth it for your own health, your relationship and financial well being.

Go for dinner or a meal at least. Zombie Gambling leads to poor nutrition, too much drinking and smoking and tiredness. If you come back from a trip to the casino exhausted and all you did was sit at a slot machine, it is time to change your habits. Break up the routine and you will find that you not only enjoy the excursion much more, you will not be nearly as tired.

We recently stayed at the Grand Casino Shawnee Oklahoma. We highly recommend this location and will also be returning to this location in the future. Easy access from the highway, covered parking, very nice hotel, lots of restaurants to choose from, and a modern clean casino with entertainment.

Slot Machines

There are over 2000 slot machines and slot players can choose their favorites from state-of-the-art reels, video, keno, and video poker machines spread over two casino floors.

Table Games

There are Blackjack, Spinnette, Craps, and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, table games. There are monthly and annual poker tournaments.

Restaurants

There are eight restaurants to choose from high-end dining establishments to fast food dining such as Subway. The casino has free soft drinks and even free ice cream available on a self serve basis. There are multiple bars as well to choose from that compliment the restaurants, sports bar, and the entertainment area.

What We Liked

• Variety of slot machines well balanced with new and traditional machines
• Entertainment venue for concerts and shows
• Free soft drinks while gambling
• Free ice cream while gambling
• Buffet
• Hotel rates are very reasonable for the area
• Covered garage parking as well as a large surface parking area
• Easy access from all highways
• A safe environment in the casino, hotel and parking areas
• Pool area on the 3rd floor

What We Did Not Like

Considering that there are many casinos in the area, prices for food and beverages were average prices. We expected a little more competitive pricing. However, this is the only casino hotel combination in the immediate area with an entertainment venue as well.

This is actually a really nice place to stop at or spend a few days relaxing.

Slot Player Card

They have their own slot player’s card system. Slot members can take advantage of benefits at this casino and hotel only. Points can be used for meals, hotel expenses, and even gas at the local gas station.

If you have not taken advantage of slot player cards, there are a number of benefits that many slot players should consider. Free or discounted rooms, an email mailing list of promotions, free or discounted meals, access to entertainment, and a tax report outlining your losses and wins for tax claim purposes.

Parking

There is ample parking at the Grand hotel & casino in a large parking garage beside the hotel as well as surface parking. You can access the hotel from the garage via an elevator from all levels. The parking garage is also patrolled on a regular basis and it also protects your car from the weather.

Directions:

Getting to the hotel is pretty easy. Just east of Oklahoma City on I40. Watch for the signs and take the appropriate exit.

We would all like to win on one of the progressive video slot machines that populate many casinos. A win like this even after paying taxes would set us up for life. It would make a huge difference for ourselves and our families. But just how often are they won and is there really a chance to actually win a progressive video slot machines payout? The answer is yes of course.

We hear about people winning all of the time, however you must remember that the casinos love to advertise the payouts. they make a lot of money on these machines because they have all of the stats figured out and they will make far more money on these slots than some of the others. Still it can be exciting to just play and dream about these kinds of wins. This is part of the entertainment when you go to the casino. There are various types of progressive slot machines .

Progressive Video Slot Machines

Progressive slot machines come in three forms.

Stand Alone Progressive can have a fixed-top jackpot. On these machines, a specified percentage of the coins played is added to the award for the highest winning combination.

Proprietary Progressives. These are an in-house group of machines that are owned and operated by the casino. They are linked together.

Wide Area Progressives. These machines are linked together from multiple unrelated casinos. Think MegaBucks and Quartermania. With these progressives, the casino shares in a percentage of the winnings, but here, IGT owns the games. That sizable progressive jackpot is established by taking a certain percentage of all monies played on the machines from throughout the network, with the jackpot continually climbing as more players play the machines.

Using a $1 Megabucks machine as an example, these progressives return approximately 87 percent back to players compared to a standard $1 slot that returns roughly 94 percent. That 7 percent loss in your long-term return is tied up in a jackpot that you have little chance of hitting.

Our recommendation,  is to NOT make playing progressives the mainstay of your casino play. Your expectations when playing these machines is similar to hitting a lottery ticket.

Play a small percentage of your playing bankroll, and recognize that the true entertainment value is that of fantasizing about champagne wishes and caviar dreams, and not necessarily winning.

Players of video poker machines are always trying to figure out the best video poker strategy. We get questions from various readers on the best approach in various situations. Should they hold a winning hand like the one in the picture or to try for the royal flush. This player has a straight which is paying  hand in all of the various video poker games. It is also one card off of a royal flush. Should he take the straight or go for the royal flush? The answer is a lot more complex than one would first think. What is the best video poker strategy?

Video Poker Strategy

In this particular game of Jacks are Better, a straight pays 20 credits, where as a royal flush pays 4000 credits. A conservative player will always go for the paying hand knowing that a royal flush has a an average of just once per 178,365 hands.  Another player who is more interested in taking a chance and getting a big payoff will go with a shot at the royal flush.

There are many outs in this situation, which could mean it might not be a total loss, if he does not pull the 10 of hearts which would make a royal flush. Here is a list of the possible outs or other winning hands:

• There are 2 outs for another straight, non royal Flush
• There are 12 outs for a pair which would only pay 5 credits, but at least there is a possible win
• And there are 8 outs for a flush which pays 30 credits, not counting the royal flush

With 22 possible wins, going for the Royal Flush is not such a risky bet after all. Although you might not win anything there is still a chance of winning something if the royal flush is not completed. We always go for the royal flush in this situation.