Gaming Guru

Heard it on the River

The legendary poker room, a key core element of the casino, some would say it is the heart of Horseshoe here, has been moved and gentrified. Yup, it’s an upscale poker room and do players like it? “Absolutely,” says poker room supervisor BROOKS BRADLEY. “The feedback from players has been totally positive.”

I know one change that they like a lot. There is no band playing next to the room, which did not make players very happy in the former location. It is now adjacent to the new ACES HIGH SNACK BAR, which they like. The room now has 16 tables instead of 12, four large television sets, and a nice location in a sort of secluded corner near the high limit table game area

Horseshoe’s advertising featuring JACK BINION uses the line…”we make it right for the gambler” and the organization has done that according to GEORGE F. CORCHIS, Jr., GM. George is a tough guy to corner for a quote so we lifted this one from the media release. “We’ve made improvements throughout the property that will enhance our position in the Tunica market and continue to make Horseshoe the most popular destination for players throughout the Mid-South.” Thanks, George.

Another upgrade we liked a lot was the reconfiguration that took place in BLUESVILLE and which took this popular room from great to really great. It still seats about 1,300, more or less, but it is how those seats are now arranged that make it happen here. When you watched acts from the former mezzanine, you had to fight your way to the crowded rail overlooking the stage and stand up. Now you can sit in very comfortable seats that are tiered. More than 300 club-style seats have been added. ‘The main objective was to give our guests better seating and we accomplished that,’ said MARK FESKE, production manager. The room is booked with a bunch of headliners so check out the entertainment section of Jackpot for the lineup.

If you liked the Horseshoe before, you will love the improvements that make for a better experience. There have been a slew of other renovations but we will leave that for a feature on the subject by Jackpot editor DAVID GRISHAM who has more room to play with and photos to show you the changes.

Speaking of another important part of the casino fabric here, the not-so-legendary GOODTIMS RADIO SHOW is changing its start time on WMC, the Mighty 79, beginning with the show of August 6. On that date it will begin at 8:30 A.M., one hour earlier then the current time and end at 11 a.m. The new time will avoid the many pre-empts triggered when the U. of Memphis plays football and basketball games. It’s a positive change. Back as loyal sponsors of the show for another six months of gaming education, entertainment and interviews are Hollywood, Resorts Tunica, Fitzgeralds, Isle of Capri, Pearl River Resorts, Horseshoe, Sheraton, Grand, Bally’s and Sam’s Town.

Spent some time at FITZGERALDS recently and if there are a looser set of slots around than this casino’s one dollar LUCKY IRISH, set in the circle adjacent to the table games pit, I would love to play them. You had to mug a player to get on these machines and when I left late at night and returned the next morning, one guy was still sitting at the same machine with buckets of coins piled up around him. I had to pinch him to make sure he was still alive. The new high-limit room is also a nice addition with four blackjack tables surrounded by $5, $10 and $25 slots.

Boxing returns to the Isle of Capri July 19th in the Flamingo Bay Ballroom but before that happens one of my favorite groups, MORRIS DAY & THE TIME will turn it loose there with such great hits as “Jungle Love” and “Wild and Loose.” Call 1-800-789-5825. The Isle is serious about talent. It is holding its “ Isle Make You A Star” solo vocal performance competition on July 9 with $10,000 in cash up for prizes. How is this for a kicker…the finals at the Isle of Capri in Bossier City, LA will be for $50,000 for the winner with a $10,000 recording session as well. Call Wesley Toney to find out more at 1-800-789-5825. You must be 21 or older.

BALLY’S is holding a $10,000 slot tournament with just a $10 buy-in on Friday, July 8. For card members, the top 100 scores win cash prizes. Call 1-800-38BALLY.Beginning Sunday July 10, HOLLYWOOD is presenting $7,000 Sunday Cash Drawings. Slot players receive one electronic drawing entry for every seven points earned and table players earn one electronic entry for a $10 average bet for one hour of rated play. There’s more to it so stop by Club Hollywood for the complete rules and to make sure you have your Players Card.

Took some time recently to drive down the Gulf Coast and visited several casinos there including Isle of Capri, Grand Biloxi and Imperial Palace. The Isle is going to do something that boggles my mind. It has announced that it will have a whole new casino. Usually that means a renovation is in store but in this case the company is building a new casino on barges in the Back Bay and sometime later this year will float the unit over to the beach and plug it in after they yank out the old house. The logistics for this will be simply amazing and will make for some great media coverage when it takes place. Ran into JON LUCAS, who is now busy as GM at IMPERIAL PALACE after leaving Tunica. If you like great Chinese cuisine, stop in at MING’S there. I also used my amassed comp points from my GRAND CONNECTION CARD that I use in Tunica to have a wonderful comp dinner on the house at GRAND BILOXI’S LB’s STEAKHOUSE. And a few misguided people still say, “I don’t need a player’s card.” Saps.