Questions about Tunica (not poker specific)

[NicksDad1970]

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To amplify the response to CincyLady, there's a certain point at which the vigorish becomes so horrible that the tournament is theoretically unbeatable. Even if 33% isn't quite there, it's still far far worse than the 10% or so that's standard for online, so you'll win less when you win.

But to the point about ST: I asked the crowd at the Horseshoe if anyone knew the breakdown on the ST $50 tournaments, and of course no one did. But they did point out that they're usually "money added". Doesn't the $500 "promotional money" transferred from the BBJ to the prize pool somewhat make up for the outrageous vigorish?

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yes

I played in one at ST's where it was 38% juice I think. But after they added the money it was near 0%.


Oh - Whoever paid $55 during the week didn't get that good of a rate.

GS is about the highest I think and they're 35 during the week and 50 on weekends.

[pvn]

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I agree, the 'Shoe and Gold Strike appear to be the only rooms with any sort of game selection.

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This is not true when the Grand is hosting a WSOP-Circuit event though. They add extra tables and the game-selection there is pretty solid during this time.

The air-conditioning at those tables at the Grand can be REALLY wacky. It can be 95 degrees outside but you'll practically need a jacket in there. This is not an exaggeration. I like the A/C to be CRANKED up but my hands were trembling in there during the last 2 or 3 WSOP-C events I attended.

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I always bring a jacket. There are a couple of tables at the grand that are directly under AC vents and it's like a meat locker. The horseshoe is usually more consistent, but there are still cold spots.

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I highly recommend renting a car instead of trying to take some over-priced shuttle from the airport.
Couple of additional reasons besides the over-priced shuttleness involves the layout of Tunica.

If you are staying at a hotel at the Grand you will almost certainly be staying at one of the hotels which is NOT at the casino. They have two hotels that are WAY away from the casino and are not reasonable walking distance.

You can either deal with taking one of their shuttles from the hotel to the casino or you can have your own rental car and drive yourself which is probably prefferable.

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The connected hotel ("tower") is mostly reserved for RFB players. The shuttle between the other two hotels and the casino isn't that bad, it runs about every 10 minutes, and it's probably faster than driving over, considering time either looking for a spot to park or waiting on the valet guy.

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There are some shuttles which run from Grand down the Horseshoe but they are kind of inconvenient I believe and do not run 24 hours. Cabs are not a realistic option there.
You will likely want to check out the poker-rooms at the Horseshoe and Gold Strike.

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I do recommend driving to the horseshoe instead of the shuttle, since that shuttle is less frequent and I'm not sure about its 24/7 status.

If you drive over to the Horseshoe, go around the right side to the back and park in the garage. The door from the garage is right by the poker room, and your car stays relatively cool.

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The steak-house at the Horseshoe is definitely worth checking out. But the one at the Gold Strike is almost as good. If Horseshoe steakhouse is rated about a 9.1 then Gold Strike's is rated about an 8.9

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I've eaten at all of them (except Ballys, do they even have a steakhouse? (BTW, I recommend not eating *anything* at bally's)), though I haven't been to any other than the Grand's and the Horseshoe's in the last couple of years. They're all *roughly* interchangable, but the horseshoe's is just a notch better.

[MicroBob]

"(BTW, I recommend not eating *anything* at bally's)"

Ha-ha. I speak from experience when I say this is somewhat true...but also that it is surviveable.
I dealt blackjack at Bally's for a few months so pretty much was eating there several times a week. Definitely put on a few pounds.

Thankfully, I eventually got good enough at online-poker where I was making more at home so I didn't end up staying there too long.

Bally's has no poker-room btw. No idea why pvn would even bother walking in there unless the big corn-silo and farm/western theme attracted him for a few slot-pulls or something.


I believe Bally's used to have a steakhouse but am not sure whether they do anymore.

Steak-houses at Horseshoe and Gold Strike are pretty good. Better than any place we've been to in Memphis...that's for damn sure.


I agree that the shuttle from hotel to Grand could be faster than driving over yourself because of getting dropped off at the front-door. Especially if it's on a Saturday night or something and you know you won't be parking anywhere near the entrance.

However, it's still kind of close time-wise when you consider your timing might be not-so-great and you might end up just standing at the front-door for 5 minutes or so waiting for the shuttle to arrive.
But they seem to have 2 of them rotating around a lot of the time so the wait isn't too bad.

Overall, riding the shuttle definitely isn't horrible. I just hate stupid shuttles I guess.

But not having a car definitely impacts the ease of getting down to the Horseshoe/Gold Strike.


Also, very good tip on parking in the garage behind the HS.

For the longest time I was parking way at the end of the lot that's in front where pretty much everyone parks.
The garage in back is so much easier even when it's mostly full and you're parking at the very top because that garage entrance is so much closer to the poker-room.

[pacecar86]

Made Rite Hijack update - will exchange Chicago sourced fresh Sliders for Made Rites - FEDEX COD <<grin>>>

[Brad1970]

Bally's had a poker room years ago....

[DeuceHigh80]

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Whoever paid $55 during the week didn't get that good of a rate.

GS is about the highest I think and they're 35 during the week and 50 on weekends.

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That was me -- 55 is just the rate I got calling ahead the same day I was headed that way. Seemed to be pretty good to me but at the time I'd never stayed in any casino previously :-)

Is 35 / 50 the standard room rate or is that a poker rate?

[NicksDad1970]

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Whoever paid $55 during the week didn't get that good of a rate.

GS is about the highest I think and they're 35 during the week and 50 on weekends.

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That was me -- 55 is just the rate I got calling ahead the same day I was headed that way. Seemed to be pretty good to me but at the time I'd never stayed in any casino previously :-)

Is 35 / 50 the standard room rate or is that a poker rate?

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Sorry, That's the standard poker rate. 55 isn't bad for just calling up.

[pvn]

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Bally's has no poker-room btw. No idea why pvn would even bother walking in there unless the big corn-silo and farm/western theme attracted him for a few slot-pulls or something.

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I used to play a lot of blackjack, and bally's had a pretty nice green-chip and up room in the back for a while; I was also an occasional hanger-on with a semi-whale (by tunica standards, at least) uncle of mine who played dice exclusively. He liked to jump around casino to casino a lot, so we would hit everywhere in town when he came in for a long weekend (this is how I got the tour of every steakhouse in Tunica). When it was new, Bally's was a pretty decent place, despite the "barn" motif they've got going. The last time I was in there, new years 2002 IIRC, it had really turned into a total dump.

[pvn]

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Bally's had a poker room years ago....

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Wow, really? Where? I don't ever remember seeing it.

The boat that is currently Resorts had a very small poker room when it was Harrah's Mardi Gras; way back when it was the Southern Belle that room had been a full-table baccarat parlor. As far as I know it's the only place that has ever had a "real" baccarat table in tunica. By the time they closed the "little" harrah's I think they had given up on poker and put a bunch of slots in there.

The old Little Harrah's was my favorite boat for dice shooting. It actually looked like a boat, and it was so well-lit that it always seemed clean and cheerful and happy.

[NicksDad1970]

Bally's is still better than standing in line for 4 hours just to pay $10 to walk in the front door.

I still can't really believe I did that (more than once) to get in Splash.