American Casino Guide 2012

American Casino Guide 2012

For those of you not familiar with the American Casino Guide it comes out once a year, and is a directory of every casino in the country, and it usually has some nice articles on gambling or earning comps. It also has a large coupon section for every every region in the country. The 2012 guide contains 2 specific coupons you can use in Tunica MS: a 2 for 1 buffet at the Hollywood casino and a $59 room rate at the Hollywood casino. There are also a lot of national coupons that can be used anywhere in the country. Of particular note for Tunica bound visitors or day trippers is a coupon for buy one hour get one hour free at any Kids Quest as there is a Kids Quest on the Grounds of Harrah’s in Tunica. The complete list of coupons is below the fold. This book is available at Amazon for about $12.

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Terrace Tower Harrah's Tunica

Think of Harrah’s as three hotels in one as the property has three distinct hotel towers. Each tower has its own front desk and lobby. There is the casino tower which is adjacent to the casino and has the fewest number of rooms and then there is the Veranda and Terrace Towers located approximately a half a mile across the street from the main casino. These two towers contain approximately 85% of Harrah’s rooms. I have never seen rooms in the casino tower made available on the Harrah’s website. So if you stay at Harrah’s you’re more than likely going to be staying across the street from the casino. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if your preference is to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle of the casino. The Casino at Harrah’s Tunica itself is the largest in the Tunica Market. Harrah’s runs a shuttle 24 hours a day that shuttles guests at the Veranda and Terrace Towers across the street to the casino and restaurants. Collectively Harrah’s has the most number of rooms available in the Tunica market so you can usually find a room even when the other hotel/casinos are sold out. Of the three Harrah’s properties in Tunica, this is generally the least expensive one to stay in.

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Resorts Tunica

This hotel started out life as Harrah’s Mardi Gras, but Harrahs divested itself of this property when it acquired Park Place Entertainment. It is now simply known as Resorts Tunica. The hotel has approximately 200 rooms and a 35,000 square foot casino. While certainly not the biggest hotel/casino in the Tunica area, it is a good place to stay. When I last stayed here in January of 2008 I found the rooms to be comfortable, but a bit dated. The décor in both the rooms and hallways of the hotel were what I would describe as faded and probably in need of replacement. If a faded decor doesn’t upset your applecart the room was above average in cleanliness and the bathroom was above average as it had a nice black marble floor. Being a smaller property it is a shorter walk to the elevator and the casino than most Tunica properties. Their buffet while not the best in town is good, and I particularly liked their 24 hour café. This hotel has a good location as the Hollywood casino is next door and most of the walkway to the Hollywood is covered by a canopy to keep you dry when it rains. Sam’s Town is a longer walk across the street, and one I would not advise in adverse weather conditions or if you’re of poor health. The hotel is also directly next door to the River Bend Links golf course. I like the casino it has a nice selection of slots, video poker and table games and have given them a lot of play in the past. The main negative for me as far as this property goes is the lack of internet access which is a deal killer for me. If that isn’t important to you, I think you will find the Resorts to be a nice clean comfortable place to stay and play.

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Hollywood Casino Tunica Mississippi

The theme of this casino as you may have guessed is Hollywood movies. Placed strategically around the 54,000 square foot casino are props form various Hollywood movies including the De Lorean from Back to the future, a Batmobile from one of the Batman movies and various other large and small pieces of memorabilia. One thing you can say about this hotel is that it has a theme, and most Tunica hotels don’t. In my mind the Hollywood has always offered an outstanding value as room rates during the week are always affordable in this 494 room hotel. I have stayed here four times, and have always found the stay to be pleasant.

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Fitzgerald's Tunica Mississippi

I have never stayed here and only played here once so I don’t have a whole lot to say about this place. The main negative to report about this property is that it is not within walking distance to any other casino in the Tunica area. The thing that stands out in my mind about this place was how many employees were in engaged in cleaning something in and outside the casino the day I was there. The rates for the rooms are reasonable, and they have a lot of low limit slots. People that do stay here seem to like it even more so than frequent visitors other properties in the Tunica area. So I would say it is definitely a place worth checking out if you don’t mind driving from location to location.

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Bally's Tunica Casino Entrance

I have played at Bally’s Tunica and ate at their buffet on two separate occasions. The Hotel itself is nothing special in fact it was an old motor court hotel that was redone to make it a little more modern. The hotel isn’t directly next to or attached to the casino so even though the casino is within eyeball range of the hotel Bally’s runs a shuttle from the hotel to the casino for the hotel guests. The casino itself is certainly attractive and is unique looking on the outside. It was designed to resemble a big barn. The main appeal of this casino would be the low limit table games and low limit slots. I would rate the buffet as on the lower end of buffets in Tunica. The location of the hotel and casino is probably only a quarter of a mile or less to the Casino Center and the three hotel/casinos there as the crow flies, but actually taking a road is roughly a 2 mile trip. One person mentioned to me there is a “trail” from Bally’s Casino to Casino Center, but it isn’t easily visible and any trail in that area would have to cross the steep earthen river levees, and a thickly wooded area. Personally this is something I would try and avoid myself. Bally’s is owned by the same company that owns the Resorts so you use the same player’s card at both properties.
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Gold Strike Tunica MS

I have played at the Gold Strike Tunica on numerous occasions. It is worth mentioning that this property is owned by MGM, and is currently their only property in the Tunica Area. You can use MGM’s new M Life Players Card here as you would in any MGM casino in the country. The Gold Strike Tunica is 31 stories tall, and at the time of its completion in 1997 was the tallest structure in the state of Mississippi. The hotel has 1,200 rooms so it is a large property. The hotel has an excellent location in the Casino Center which makes for an easy walk to the Horseshoe or the Roadhouse. The Gold Strike has just about any type or coin in of casino game you might like to play. It also features one of the larger poker rooms in the Tunica area and hosts a WPT event. I think size is both a pro and con in this case because it all depends on your preference. I have found that some people like staying in a high rise type structure and other people don’t.

I’d say the Gold Strike is the most “Las Vegas” like casino in the Tunica, but not as Vegas like (upscale) as MGM’s Beau Rivage in Biloxi. If you want that experience I think you will like the Gold Strike. As far as the buffet goes I’d rate it behind Harrah’s, The Horseshoe’s and Sam’s Town, but still better than the buffets at: The Roadhouse, The Resorts, Bally’s and The Hollywood.

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Horseshoe Tunica Mississippi

This hotel was originally developed by Benny Binion’s son Jack. It is currently owned by Caesars (formerly known as Harrah’s). I have stayed here twice within the last year and played here on numerous occasions. The hotel is known for attracting high rollers so if you are a high roller this is place for you in Tunica. For the rest of us this hotel offers an excellent location, reasonable room rates, an excellent buffet and the nicest Diamond Lounge I have ever laid eyes on.
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Sams Town Tunica

I have stayed at Sam’s Town Tunica four to five times over the last couple of years. Of course one of the most noteworthy features of the property is that the exterior of the hotel emulates the looks of a town out of the old west. The interior mall of the property carries on that look near the hotel’s restaurants. When I think about it Sam’s Town doesn’t really excel at any one thing it just consistently offers an all around good value. At this point most of the rooms have been remodeled and are much more upscale than they use to be. On the last trip I noted they upgraded the bedding in their rooms which is now comparable to what you will find at the various Harrah’s properties. The hotel buffet is the 2nd or 3rd best in the area. During lunch and dinner they offer a huge selection of Corky’s BBQ items which sets this buffet apart from the other buffets in Tunica. Read the rest of this entry

No you don’t need a car to enjoy Tunica, but I think you need to keep reading to understand the limitations of visiting Tunica MS without an automobile. Tunica is unlike most gaming destinations with more than one casino you may have visited in the past. The distance between some of the casinos is a 15-20 minute drive in a car, and in between these casinos there is for the most part nothing but cotton fields. There are two main clusters of casinos. One cluster is what is known as Casino Center. That cluster contains The Horseshoe, The Roadhouse and The Gold Strike. All three casinos in this cluster are within very easy walking distance of each other. You literally walk out the door of one casino and then into another. The second cluster contains The Resorts, Hollywood and Sam’s Town. Within that cluster The Resorts and Hollywood are within easy walking distance of each other via a canopy covered walkway, but Sam’s Town is a much longer walk across the street. The walk is made more difficult by the lack of sidewalks and a crosswalk. There is also a fence that borders the Sam’s Town RV Park that you have to walk around. It is still a manageable walk as long as your health and weather conditions permit. Keep in mind in the summer Mississippi is very humid so you don’t necessarily want to be taking a walk of any distance during this time of year, or you will arrive at your destination drenched in sweat. If you aren’t going to have your own transportation in Tunica, I highly recommend staying at one of these six properties to maximize your enjoyment. If you stay at Bally’s or Fitzgerald’s, and you don’t have your own transportation your going to have a difficult time leaving to visit other properties.

There is no longer a low cost shuttle service that runs between all the Tunica Casinos like their has been in the past. However, Harrah’s runs a free shuttle to and from Harrah’s to their two properties located in casino center (The Roadhouse and the Horseshoe) and the proximity to the Gold Strike to those two casino hotels also give you access to it via the Harrah’s shuttle. Make sure you know the how late the shuttle runs between the properties before you depart as there is no late night cab service in the Tunica area. So if you miss the last shuttle pickup you’re stranded.

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