Friday, May 1, 2009
Tunica MS
Fond memories of travelling to Tunica in '07 guided us back North on 61 into the Casino strip in Tunica. This time we went to the pod of casinos including Sams, Resorts and Hollywood Casino.
Our first stop was Sams and while I had a moderate win, Mel took a beating losing almost his stake. Fortunately I was able to buy lunch so we could eat. Facing our five hour drive to St Louis we pondered leaving after lunch but Mel the optimist said he did not want to leave Tunica a loser. So we ventured off to Resorts. Hollywood Casino was avoided because they had a breakfast special on Thursday morning which we has missed and I sensed they would be vengeful.
Resorts is connected to Resorts in AC but they were unable to find any player card information. Either that or the casino just wanted to sign up new players. That proved unsuccessful in my case because the pit boss was unable to use the zip code on my driver's license because it was returned as invalid, sigh. I sat at one table and Mel at another. After a short time Mel returned and I was anxious that maybe his luck had continued but sure enough he showed me the bounty of a few minutes work. He had won back all his losings from the earlier sessions in a once in a long time hand combining a series of “3's which kept being split and doubled until there were four hands all maxed out followed by a dealer busting. Tada'. Having recently experienced his losing session and recognizing the luck for what it was he cashed in and came to my table. I was ahead too so I cashed and we packed up for St Louis.
Our first stop was Sams and while I had a moderate win, Mel took a beating losing almost his stake. Fortunately I was able to buy lunch so we could eat. Facing our five hour drive to St Louis we pondered leaving after lunch but Mel the optimist said he did not want to leave Tunica a loser. So we ventured off to Resorts. Hollywood Casino was avoided because they had a breakfast special on Thursday morning which we has missed and I sensed they would be vengeful.
Resorts is connected to Resorts in AC but they were unable to find any player card information. Either that or the casino just wanted to sign up new players. That proved unsuccessful in my case because the pit boss was unable to use the zip code on my driver's license because it was returned as invalid, sigh. I sat at one table and Mel at another. After a short time Mel returned and I was anxious that maybe his luck had continued but sure enough he showed me the bounty of a few minutes work. He had won back all his losings from the earlier sessions in a once in a long time hand combining a series of “3's which kept being split and doubled until there were four hands all maxed out followed by a dealer busting. Tada'. Having recently experienced his losing session and recognizing the luck for what it was he cashed in and came to my table. I was ahead too so I cashed and we packed up for St Louis.
Clarksdale MS
No trip up US 61 aka the Delta Blues Highwaycan be complete without a stop at the Crossroads. Hwy 49 and 61 crosss in Clarksdale and legend has it that is where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to be able to play guitar. The Delta Blues Museum was our destination on Thursday morning and we located it without trouble. The museum was provided biographies of well known blues artists, a collection of instruments and memorabilia from blues artists and some comments from well known rock musicians, Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, and Led Zeppelin acknowledging their contribution to rock and roll. We spent a while looking over the exhibits, listening to some blues in the background and bought a couple of souvenirs. While in the gift shop we met three other blues fans who came to the museum all the way from Sheffield England. Small world.
Natchez and Vicksburg
Natchez is only a short jaunt up 61 from Baton Rouge and has “river boat” gambling as well. We drove to the boat and parked. It turned out to be an Isle of Capri run casino and had ample open black jack seating. Mel and I played at separate tables and I left with a tie. Actually I had been down much of the session and when I climbed back to even decided this was just a bad day and colored in. Mel won a little and began to recover for the team. We left, got back in the car and drove north to Vicksburg.
Our fourth and final stop for the day was the Amistar casino in Vicksburg. A stylized river boat set up similar to the Quad cities casinos. Although tiring from the frantic drive, stop, play, scenario for the day we decided to give it a try. We had also decided to tour the battlefield at Vicksburg on Wednesday so playing out the final session was easier than leaving it for the morning.
Once again the casino failed to provide any support for our trip. Mel and I winning less than the cost of gas to get there. We did find a better priced Super 8 for the night. It was a pleasant ride through the bayou country of Louisiana and Mississippi though.
Our fourth and final stop for the day was the Amistar casino in Vicksburg. A stylized river boat set up similar to the Quad cities casinos. Although tiring from the frantic drive, stop, play, scenario for the day we decided to give it a try. We had also decided to tour the battlefield at Vicksburg on Wednesday so playing out the final session was easier than leaving it for the morning.
Once again the casino failed to provide any support for our trip. Mel and I winning less than the cost of gas to get there. We did find a better priced Super 8 for the night. It was a pleasant ride through the bayou country of Louisiana and Mississippi though.
Biloxi on Another Day
Our second day of working turned out to be our busiest. After checking our of the Super 8 we jumped on the causeway back to Biloxi to hit a casino recommended by the motel staff, called Boomtown. But Boomtown proved to be a misnomer and quickly erased any hope for a hat trick of wins. We left Biloxi and headed northwest to Baton Rouge and our rendezvous with US 61 our main route for the trip.
We stopped at a Baton Rouge casino, Hollywood Casino, which appeared to be an actual sternwheeler converted to a casino, as opposed to casinos made to look like river boats. Unfortunately my luck from the morning did not wear off and the score was now even with two wins and two losses. Mel did eke out a minor victory. The real payoff came though when the pit boss awarded us buffet lunches presumably because we were “new players” (as opposed to nomadic black jack players who happened to stop by) another reason could be that they took about half an hour making up player cards for us. In any case we did get to eat on Tuesday something not really guaranteed at that point based on our play. After lunch we hopped back into Hyundai 61 and headed north on 61 to the state of Mississippi.
We stopped at a Baton Rouge casino, Hollywood Casino, which appeared to be an actual sternwheeler converted to a casino, as opposed to casinos made to look like river boats. Unfortunately my luck from the morning did not wear off and the score was now even with two wins and two losses. Mel did eke out a minor victory. The real payoff came though when the pit boss awarded us buffet lunches presumably because we were “new players” (as opposed to nomadic black jack players who happened to stop by) another reason could be that they took about half an hour making up player cards for us. In any case we did get to eat on Tuesday something not really guaranteed at that point based on our play. After lunch we hopped back into Hyundai 61 and headed north on 61 to the state of Mississippi.
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work we go
We arrived at our first casino destination Biloxi after a six hour drive from Tucker, GA. The drive was uneventful. We were entering Biloxi with the intent on starting our work sessions at the Beau Rivage casino. Never having been to Biloxi and using a catalogue from an earlier road trip meant the brand new Imperial Palace casino was not on our to do list.
The BR parking provided an unexpected hurdle. My right foot developed a sore big toe while in Georgia and the six hour ride did not help it. I did manage to find the furthest parking space from the casino's elevator and struggled to hobble back to the casino floor.
The casino's gaming tables are not directly attached to the parking either. To get there you have to walk through a mall like string o f small shops, similar to the Bilagio set up. Upon entering the table game area we immediately found some empty low limit tables and began to play. It was a long time for me since I have played black jack so some practice rounds were good. Mel and I both managed to win our first round of play and celebrated at the casino's buffet. Saving money by making it in 20 minutes before the dinner rate took affect. The buffet advertised itself as the “next level” and was very good by our standards.
We left the BR casino found a room at an overpriced Super 8 just off the causeway to Biloxi and returned for another evening session at the Imperial Palace. We learned to park closer to the elevator, enjoyed a winning round at their plush casino and left winners for our first two work sessions.
The BR parking provided an unexpected hurdle. My right foot developed a sore big toe while in Georgia and the six hour ride did not help it. I did manage to find the furthest parking space from the casino's elevator and struggled to hobble back to the casino floor.
The casino's gaming tables are not directly attached to the parking either. To get there you have to walk through a mall like string o f small shops, similar to the Bilagio set up. Upon entering the table game area we immediately found some empty low limit tables and began to play. It was a long time for me since I have played black jack so some practice rounds were good. Mel and I both managed to win our first round of play and celebrated at the casino's buffet. Saving money by making it in 20 minutes before the dinner rate took affect. The buffet advertised itself as the “next level” and was very good by our standards.
We left the BR casino found a room at an overpriced Super 8 just off the causeway to Biloxi and returned for another evening session at the Imperial Palace. We learned to park closer to the elevator, enjoyed a winning round at their plush casino and left winners for our first two work sessions.
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