Tunica in December-January
 

I plan on staying in Tunica for the tournaments in January. I'm considering arriving there a few weeks early just to ease myself into the scene since I've never been there. All I'll be doing is play poker and I would like to ask...

1) what kinda action can i expect at the main casinos? (game selection, demographics of players, or anything else relevant)

2) should i choose horseshoe or gold strike? i wanna see friendly staff that won't give me headache getting comps. also, since i'll be spending a long time in the hotel, i'd like to take amenities and other factors into consideration.

Thanks in advance

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

The Horseshoe and Gold Strike are, literally, next door to each other. Less than 100 yards from side entrance of one to the other. So it really doesn't matter which one you stay in you can play both easily. I'd probably go with whichever one had the lower poker rate when I made my reservation. They are the two best poker rooms in Tunica without question.

Comps in Tunica are ridiculously easy, at least for table games. My buddies and I go every January for a 4 day weekend and we've yet to pay for a meal in the 3 years we've went. I imagine the poker room is much more free with them than in other areas as well.

Good luck.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

[ QUOTE ]
I plan on staying in Tunica for the tournaments in January. I'm considering arriving there a few weeks early just to ease myself into the scene since I've never been there. All I'll be doing is play poker and I would like to ask...

1) what kinda action can i expect at the main casinos? (game selection, demographics of players, or anything else relevant)

2) should i choose horseshoe or gold strike? i wanna see friendly staff that won't give me headache getting comps. also, since i'll be spending a long time in the hotel, i'd like to take amenities and other factors into consideration.

Thanks in advance

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If you haven't made reservations, better hurry up cause they go fast. Try the search function too. We're had alot of general questions about Tunica's scene before. The action in January is a 24/7 madhouse. Seriously!!!! Everybody's got their gamble on.

As far as coming a few weeks early....I personally see no need unless you're some sort of traveling rounder or something. A day or two in advance of the tournament start should be plenty of time to feel the place out.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

We (my buddy and I) should be there in January, cash games only though. We'll be staying at the Goldstrike and eating at "Nawlens" as much as possible!

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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We (my buddy and I) should be there in January, cash games only though. We'll be staying at the Goldstrike and eating at "Nawlens" as much as possible!

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Great food!!! Try the H'Shoe snack bar. Best "poker food" this side of the Mississippi.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

The games will be good from the holidays on through Jan. Actually Feburary is a good month also due to the stragglers from the tourneys trying to get even and tax money coming in. The locals get their tax returns and seem to always step up in stakes. Your 4-8 players start playing 10-20 and so on. Makes for real good games.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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We (my buddy and I) should be there in January, cash games only though. We'll be staying at the Goldstrike and eating at "Nawlens" as much as possible!

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Great food!!! Try the H'Shoe snack bar. Best "poker food" this side of the Mississippi.

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Yeah Aces stack bar is pretty dang good. I personally like the scrambled egg sandwich and the bacon cheeseburger along with the fried chicken tenders.

Oh and to the OP stay at the GoldStrike, because you cant get a poker room rate at the Horseshoe. The Horseshoe puts their poker players up at the Grand and you have to drive back and forth which is a major PIA.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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eating at "Nawlens" as much as possible!

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Dont give away all the secrets!!!!!

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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Yeah Aces stack bar is pretty dang good. I personally like the scrambled egg sandwich and the bacon cheeseburger along with the fried chicken tenders.

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I think my chloresterol went up just from reading this post. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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i wanna see friendly staff

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The friendliest staff I have seen in Tunica has been at Fitzgeralds - but they don't have any poker games there - so I would put the Horeshoe WAY above Gold Strike as far as friendly staff goes. Some of the rudest casino staff I have ever seen have been at Goldstrike.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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i wanna see friendly staff

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The friendliest staff I have seen in Tunica has been at Fitzgeralds - but they don't have any poker games there - so I would put the Horeshoe WAY above Gold Strike as far as friendly staff goes. Some of the rudest casino staff I have ever seen have been at Goldstrike.

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At the Goldstrike?? Really?? Most of the time they are friendly & professional. I guess they might be a little cranky during January since they're working overtime & are dealing with the crowds.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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i wanna see friendly staff

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The friendliest staff I have seen in Tunica has been at Fitzgeralds - but they don't have any poker games there - so I would put the Horeshoe WAY above Gold Strike as far as friendly staff goes. Some of the rudest casino staff I have ever seen have been at Goldstrike.

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At the Goldstrike?? Really?? Most of the time they are friendly & professional. I guess they might be a little cranky during January since they're working overtime & are dealing with the crowds.

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I personally think that the 'Strike has very good staff. If i was having to work 80/hrs a week for like a month i would be pissed as well.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

"because you cant get a poker room rate at the Horseshoe. The Horseshoe puts their poker players up at the Grand and you have to drive back and forth which is a major PIA. "


exactly.
I know Horseshoe has been under construction for awhile but I just don't see you getting a room there for January and you really don't want to be making that drive back and forth from the Grand.
So staying at Gold Strike is easily the best choice.

That's IF you can get a room. Wait too much longer to book a room and you will end up staying 25 minutes away in Southaven.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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Wait too much longer to book a room and you will end up staying 25 minutes away in Southaven.

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There's a Holiday Inn or Hampton Inn or something that I stayed in once when all the casinos were booked. Even managed to avoid driving as there was a black guy with a minivan who ran an "unsanctioned" cab service for an opening offer of $25 each way. We got him to $15 and he said we could call for the pick-up 24/7. He was there within like 15 minutes at 5AM.

I've also (shudder) hitchhiked around Tunica. Blind optimism and creativity go a long way.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

In addition to the good information you've already received from others, let me also emphasize to you that if you are going to play in any of the events in the WPT World Poker Open at the Gold Strike, staying at the Gold Strike is definitely your best option. Call the poker room at the GS directly and ask to speak to Beth in the poker room office. Tell her you will be playing in the WPO and ask her ro book you a room. The rate is $55/night.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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I've also (shudder) hitchhiked around Tunica. Blind optimism and creativity go a long way.

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This could well be the worst idea I've read about on this board this year. Congratulations on your survival--and, I assume, your bankroll's as well.

Around the casinos Tunica is quite safe. However ...

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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That's IF you can get a room. Wait too much longer to book a room and you will end up staying 25 minutes away in Southaven.

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You don't have to stay in Southaven if you need to stay somewhere when the Casinos are sold out. There are quite a few little hotels around the casinos, less than 5 minutes away, like the Kings Inn and others.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

Yeah, maybe I was exaggerating.
No idea how much those things fill up in January though but I suspect there will be SOME room available.

still preferrable to get a room right there at the Gold Strike though.


Also - trying to hitch or bum rides around Tunica is a crappy idea. I mean, yeah, you probably aren't going to get robbed or anything but it can end up being a pain and/or inconvenient.
Just a rent a cheap car at the airport for crying out loud. You generally end up saving money compared with the cost of taking some shuttle or cab from the airport anyway.
Why bum shuttle rides for $15 when you can probably get a cheap car-rental for $30/day or so?

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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Also - trying to hitch or bum rides around Tunica is a crappy idea. I mean, yeah, you probably aren't going to get robbed or anything but it can end up being a pain and/or inconvenient.

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Just to be clear, I don't recommend it in any way. I didn't even get picked up for a while, and even then probably only because the guy had a good-natured buzz on... at 9AM.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

Exactly the reason why trying to count on shuttles or bumming rides is an inconvenient way to go.

I think a lot of people who have never been to Tunica believe that such a gambling mecca that is so well known is going to have all these cabs lined-up outside to take you wherever you want to go.

This is NOT the case.
Bring your own damn car or you can end up kind of stuck for a few hours or more.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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I think a lot of people who have never been to Tunica believe that such a gambling mecca that is so well known is going to have all these cabs lined-up outside to take you wherever you want to go.

This is NOT the case.

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Yeah, exactly. NO CABS IN TOON TOWN. I didn't decide to hitch just for [censored] and grins.

I'll just lobby again for something in the sticky - or a dedicated sticky - to Tunica. There are so many threads with so much info, but it's not endless like Vegas is. Just a few facts: how close Strike and Shoe are, whether there are cabs, where the closest movie theater is, where the closest ANYTHING is, etc. TT refuses, however.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

rundown - I think such info for a sticky would be helpful too.
Same stuff comes up over and over again.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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i wanna see friendly staff

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The friendliest staff I have seen in Tunica has been at Fitzgeralds - but they don't have any poker games there - so I would put the Horeshoe WAY above Gold Strike as far as friendly staff goes. Some of the rudest casino staff I have ever seen have been at Goldstrike.

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At the Goldstrike?? Really?? Most of the time they are friendly & professional. I guess they might be a little cranky during January since they're working overtime & are dealing with the crowds.

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Yes. But I am not talking about the Gold Strike poker room people, I don't think I made that clear. I am talking about the Gold Strike people at the front desk check in and eveywhere else.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

I'll be at the g.s. from jan 2-23.
It's the best place to be.
I think the grand (WSOP) will be down big time this yr. due to a few reasons.

1. The structure of the tourneys during the last circuit event sucked big time. I heard they fixed the prob. But it doesn't matter cause all the players went to the gulf coast last time and played the beau rivage. Poker players don't forget that easy when it comes to good and bad places to play!

2. No TV coverage for circuit events this yr.

3. They are running the main events at the same time this yr....so if I wanted to play both it wouldn't be an option.
How terrible is that???? Harrah's really dropped the ball on this one!
Who was the marketing genius that said lets compete with a bigger and better structured event?

4. The GS is guaranteed a million for first place. If I can afford 5K-7.5K buyin---I'm rolled properly for 10K with a shot at 1-mil. Plus I'll get my ugly mug on tv...that way all my friends can see just how horrible I really play.

5. Harrah's didn't market well at all! The only thing keeping this event from completely drowning is because the real event is down the street and players will hit both casino's.

As far as action in feb---For the last 3yrs it's been pretty much dead from the time the main event starts until a few weeks later.
If you play lower stakes 4-8/1-3nl/2-5nl it's not a problem to find a game.
I'd suggest looking at iowa in mid feb as a possible stop if you are gonna have the time to play.



Oh---who ever said something about nawlins...make it a point to try the blackened ribeye.
The best thing going.
Oh the Atrium at the Strike is a pretty good break from those crappy buffets.
Be sure to check these out.

Hope this helps.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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i wanna see friendly staff

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The friendliest staff I have seen in Tunica has been at Fitzgeralds - but they don't have any poker games there - so I would put the Horeshoe WAY above Gold Strike as far as friendly staff goes. Some of the rudest casino staff I have ever seen have been at Goldstrike.

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At the Goldstrike?? Really?? Most of the time they are friendly & professional. I guess they might be a little cranky during January since they're working overtime & are dealing with the crowds.

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I second the GS but the Shoe is nice as well.

Gerald Steyers at the GS is a really awesome floor fella.

They have some great dealers as well. They also have a few that bug me. But that's everywhere.

Re: Tunica in December-January
 

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Oh---who ever said something about nawlins...make it a point to try the blackened ribeye.

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Blackened Ribeye FTW, IMO