The Ultimate Casino Guide

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THE MOST COMPLETE LISTINGS INCLUDING: All the addresses, phone numbers & websites you need! Poker, slots and other games available Where to eat and sleep Admission charge and dress code

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Michael Wiesenberg

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ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-0380-0 ISBN-10: 1-4022-0380-2

1000

• Top 10 poker rooms across the globe • The best online casinos • Includes cruise ships and riverboats • From Paris to Australia & Vegas to the Caribbean • All the best casinos in AMERICA

The

Ultimate

CASINO GUIDE 1000 Great Casinos from America, Canada and Around the World

Michael Wiesenberg Contributing Researcher: Emilie Breeze Nangle

Copyright © 2005 by Michael Wiesenberg Cover and internal design © 2005 by Sourcebooks, Inc. Cover photo: Corbis Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published by Sourcebooks, Inc. P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567–4410 (630) 961–3900 FAX: (630) 961–2168 www.sourcebooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wiesenberg, Michael. Ultimate casino guide / Michael Wiesenberg ; contributing researcher, Emilie Breeze Nangle. p. cm. ISBN E978-1-4022-0380-0 1. Casinos--Directories. 2. Gambling--Directories. I. Title: Ultimate casino guide. II. Nangle, Emilie Breeze. III. Title. HV6711.W55 2005 795'.025--dc22 2005019869 Printed and bound in the United States of America VG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedication To my mother, Eva Wiesenberg

Acknowledgments Thanks to Chloe Mead for writing and editing assistance; Paul Gennaro for online casino and cardroom research; Asya Kamsky for help with Russian; Rafe Furst for reviewing the online cardroom section; the members of the BARGE mailing list for input on online cardrooms; Bethany Brown, my editor at Sourcebooks; Ewurama Ewusi-Mensah at Sourcebooks; and Jessica Faust, my agent, for keeping things sane. Thanks also to Michael Shackleford, “The Wizard of Odds,” for input on some of the definitions of games. Go to his site, www.wizardofodds.com, for good strategies on how best to play many casino games and for mathematical analyses of the house edge.

Contents Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vi Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi Top Ten Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 South America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327 Caribbean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .343 Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .369 Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .527 Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .557 Oceania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .583 Cruise Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .605 Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .635 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .653 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .703 About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .737

How to Use This Book This book takes you on an international tour of some of the best casinos in the world in North America, Europe, South America, Central America, Africa, and Oceania (which includes Australia and New Zealand). Each of these six continental regions is divided by country, then by city. There are also sections on cruise ships and online casinos. Each country section begins with a brief introduction that fills you in about the country and its gambling scene. Where relevant, currency information appears as well. All conversion rates listed were correct at the time of writing; they may have changed, so be sure to verify them. Yahoo!’s currency converter at finance.yahoo.com/currency is a good resource. Country sections are further categorized by city, followed by descriptions of some of the best casinos in that city. The listings are meant to give you a good idea of the major features each of the casinos has to offer. Use the book to determine which casinos you’ll hit on the trip you’re planning or just thumb through it and daydream about the places you might visit on your fantasy vacation! The glossary defines gambling-related terms and games that appear in these pages.

The Listings Each casino listing includes the following fields: Name: The name of the casino or the resort complex of which it is a part. In the cruise ship chapter, it is the name of the ship. Address: Usually this is the physical location of the casino. In the cruise ship chapter, it might be the docking location or, for a small line, the address of the company. Phone: This lists the local number for every casino. When the casino has a toll-free number, that appears also. If the casino is part of a hotel, the hotel number often appears as well. In some cases, different casino departments, such as the cardroom, have their own phone numbers; these are also listed when available. Website: Where possible, this provides an English language website for the casino. Many, but not all, websites with main pages that are not in English do have an English language option that you can click on. If you don’t speak the language, you can get automatic free translation through various websites (for example, AltaVista Babel Fish at world.altavista.com or www.freetranslation.com); however, do consider that if a casino does not offer an English option on its website, many casino employees may also not speak English.

Email: If a casino has an email address, that appears here. In many cases, you can receive an email response to your question by filling out a contact form on the website; this is indicated when appropriate. Description: This provides physical information about the casino, often including its appearance, the square footage of the gaming area, its precise location, and sometimes a bit of history or other local color. Slot Machines: This provides, when available, a figure for the number of slot machines, the betting ranges, information about the kinds of machines, and of course, the kinds and sizes of jackpots available. An entry of “Yes” is included for casinos with slot machines for which the exact number has not been provided. Table Games: This provides a figure for the number of table games and their types. In many cases, this includes the individual numbers for each game and their limits (minimum and maximum, or range of betting). If you see a game listed that you’re not familiar with, look in the glossary, where hundreds of games are defined along with many other casino terms. Hours: “24 hours/day; 365 days/year” means “open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” that is, “always open.” (Yes, sticklers, 366 days in leap years.) Some casino hours appear as “until closing.” Usually this means that the casino stays open as long as some reasonable number of patrons want to continue gambling. Generally a casino doesn’t kick people out at least until the sun comes up. Entertainment: Many casinos offer great entertainment. This field lists as much information as possible, often including the names of international stars that have recently appeared or are slated to appear soon so you can get an idea of what to expect on your next visit. Restaurants: Minimally, this field provides the number of restaurants the casino has. In many cases it also provides the names of the restaurants, the types of food they serve, the hours they’re open, and, where specified, the dress code. Accommodations: This lists the number of rooms and suites if the casino is part of a resort or a hotel; it may also indicate where nearby accommodations are for those casinos that are not affiliated with hotels or resorts. Family Amenities: Where this field appears, it describes facilities available for families with children. Some casinos or their associated hotels have video arcades, bowling alleys, Kids Quest childcare centers, even amusement parks and educational facilities. Some offer babysitting. Most casinos offer what they refer to as strictly adult entertainment and do not cater specifically to families. In such cases, the field does not appear. Poker: Poker aficionados will want to know all the details of a casino’s poker games. For casinos that offer poker, this field details the numbers of tables, what games are played, and their limits. Since tournaments are of such great interest, they are listed here too,

including all those of international stature. Where a cardroom offers satellites and supersatellites to world-class events like the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker, that is indicated. If the buy-in to a poker tournament is listed as two numbers separated by a plus sign, those numbers represent the actual buy-in and the entry fee. For example, “buy-in $100 + $10” means that $100 goes into the actual prize pool, while the house charges (and keeps) a $10 entry fee. Admission Charge: Many casinos don’t charge admission. Where they do, it appears in this field and is listed in the currency the casino uses in its gaming activities. At some casinos you can buy a pass for a week, a month, or more, and that is indicated. If the casino does charge admission, sometimes the “Bonus” field explains how to get a free coupon. Some casinos that charge admission give rebates in the form of tokens for gaming tables or slot machines, match play coupons, or meal discounts. Sometimes a casino has age requirements that differ from what is listed for the entire country. For example, you might see at the start of a country section, “The minimum age for gambling in this country is 18.” If a specific casino restricts entry to those 21 and older, that information appears in this field. Many casinos outside the United States require positive identification, sometimes in the form of a picture ID but more often a passport, on your first visit. Be sure to bring the passport, because they generally won’t let you in without it. Some casinos may take a photograph of you and keep it on file. Dress Code: In this field, “proper” usually means no bathing suits, T-shirts, sports shoes, jogging suits. Sometimes jeans are not permitted. “Elegant” means jacket and tie for men, nice dresses for women. “Smart” means jacket (but not necessarily tie) for men, nice dresses for women. “Smart casual” means no jeans, tracksuits, or sneakers (or any kind of sports shoes). “Casual” is less formal than “proper,” but, despite that specification, most casinos outside the United States are not as informal as, say, those of Las Vegas. You might get away with jeans, but they probably won’t let you in wearing shorts. That is, “casual” is essentially equivalent to no dress code, but it is not quite as permissive as the “anything goes” attitude of many Nevada casinos. The “maintained leisure” of German casinos means unrumpled smart casual. Where one of these terms is not sufficient, this field indicates how the casino expects you to dress. Bonus: Here you’ll find all those special things that the casino offers to attract you, like rewards cards, tournaments (other than poker), cash and merchandise giveaways, special nights for women and men, birthday giveaways, free transportation, onsite museums and art galleries, convention facilities, Internet connections in the hotel rooms, nearby attractions, and much more. Some casinos offer match play coupons or free plays on their websites. If relevant, a little history or other interesting tidbits are included. The online casinos section has different fields, relevant to the medium.

Club Cards Where a club card name is listed under “Bonus” and no further details are given or where just the term “reward card” is used, it refers to the standard club card that casinos issue. Players sign up and receive points, often electronically verified, varying depending on length of play and size of bets. These points are then redeemable for merchandise, cash, tournament entry, parking, dining, hotel nights, and many other amenities. Some clubs and their cards are valid in only the issuing casino, such as the Cache Club of the Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks, California. Others are valid in any of the individual properties of a casino chain, such as Harrah’s Total Rewards Card. Many rewards cards offer multiple levels, depending on points earned. Since casinos provide cards to encourage play, the more points, the greater the rewards.

Rules of the Game The glossary explains the rules of most games found in casinos. Be aware that some casinos offer variants of games with rules that are not quite the same as those seen in other casinos (and probably not the same as those described in the glossary). Games like roulette and 21 (blackjack) usually have universal rules, but this is not always the case, and you should always ascertain whether there are local variations before you risk your money. Some games like no-bust blackjack, Caribbean Stud, Caribbean Draw, and others have enough local variations that you can almost guarantee the rules in a given casino will be different from those you might have encountered elsewhere. Before playing an unfamiliar game, always ask to see the printed rules for the game. Sometimes those rules are posted right at the table. Other times, the casino has brochures available. If the casino is unable or unwilling to provide printed rules, consider playing elsewhere.

Accuracy The information in this book was accurate at the time of writing, but casinos and their websites often change. Before you visit a casino, check its website, send the casino an email, or use the toll-free number if there is one—make sure that the casino offers what you want and expect. Be sure to check with the casino about any special offers described in this book. They were correct at the time of writing but may have been discontinued or replaced with other offers. As we went to press, we learned that Hurricane Katrina, among its general devastation, had destroyed all the barge casinos of the Gulf Coast. This affects some 15 to 25 listings in the book. These casinos will undoubtedly be rebuilt, but perhaps take some other form. For example, movements are afoot to officially permit land-based casinos in Mississippi, rather than restrict them to locations on water. The bottom line here is to be sure to phone a casino before visiting.

Introduction The popularity of casinos and gaming has increased exponentially in the last few years, in large part fueled by all the recent television coverage of multimillion-dollar poker, blackjack, and slot tournaments. It seems another billion-dollar casino is being built in Las Vegas every time you open a newspaper, while new casinos are being built all over the world, many costing in the hundreds of millions dollars. The owner of the Venetian in Las Vegas recently opened a glittering world-class casino in Macau, and the most exotic gambling destination in the world, Monte Carlo, will open a fifth casino in late 2005. Poker has grown especially popular and is fast becoming the number one sport in the world. At least once a week a new millionaire is made in one of the world-class events, turning poker stars into instant international celebrities. This book provides the most upto-date poker information for those casinos that offer poker: what their poker room hours are (if different from the main hours), how many tables the casino has, what games they play, what their table limits are, and what tournaments they host (including those of worldclass standing), along with all the buy-in and associated cost information. As casinos become a more and more popular destination for vacationers, traveling the world to visit exotic locations has also become a part of many people’s vacation plans. Those who want to combine their travels with gambling should bring this book along. If you think casinos want your business, you’re right. International casinos are competing to attract your business, making most of them even better travel destinations. Casino customers are demanding more—and getting more. Casinos seem to have something for everyone. They’ll give you rewards cards, with which you can earn while you play. Many offer free entertainment. You’ll find world-class acts in casinos all over the world, too, not just in Vegas. Las Vegas may have Wayne Newton, Elton John, and the latest Cirque du Soleil extravaganza, but you can catch the Styx tour in several casinos in California and the East Coast, you can see Deep Purple at Casino de Crans-Montana in Switzerland, listen to the Vienna Boys Choir at Casino de Genting in Malaysia, while the Gold Reef City Casino in Johannesburg offers Shakespearean plays in a replica of the Globe Theatre. Which one should you visit? It’s all in this book.

Top Ten Lists Here are the best of the best in several categories. In each list that is a matter of opinion, the casinos appear alphabetically. That is, ten appear, but they are not ranked.

Most Elegant Many others could have appeared here. This is a subjective list, and you’re sure to have your own favorites. • 50 St. James, London, England • Atlantis at Paradise Island Resort and Casino, Nassau, Bahamas • Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada • Casino Baden-Baden, Germany • Casino Bellevue Marienbad, Czech Republic • Casino de Montréal, Montréal, Québec • Le Casino, Monte Carlo • St. James Club, Antigua • Taleon Club, Saint Petersburg, Russia • Venetian, Las Vegas, Nevada

Best Restaurants Many casinos have world-class restaurants with internationally known chefs. • 50 St. James, London, England • Aviation Club de France, Paris, France • Barceló Gran Hotel Lina & Casino, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic • Casino Barrière de Biarritz, Biarritz, France (Baccara) • Casino de Montréal, Montréal, Québec (Nuances) • Casino du Lac-Leamy, Gatineau, Québec (Le Baccara) • Conrad Jupiters Casino Hotel, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia (Zen) • Golden Key Casino, Mombasa, Kenya (Tamarind Restaurant) • Les Ambassadeurs Club, London, England • Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

Most Slot Machines These are not subjective, involving confirmable figures. 1. Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut (6,400+) 2. Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut (6,300) 3. Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey (5,000+) 4. Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, Mount Pleasant, Michigan (4,700+) 5. Tropicana Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey (4,400+) 6. Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Prior Lake, Minnesota (4,026) 7. Trump Marina Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey (4,000+) 8. Showboat Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey (3,976) 9. Harrah’s Atlantic City Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey (3,712) 10. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey (3,575)

Most Table Games These are not subjective, involving confirmable figures. 1. Casino de Genting, Genting Highlands, Malaysia (400+) 2. Sands Macao, Macau (360) 3. Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut (354) 4. Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut (250+) 5. Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey (210) 6. Star City, Sydney, Australia (200) 7. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey (169) 8. MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada (164) 9. Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada (148) 10. Bicycle Casino, Bell Gardens, California (135)

Best Poker These poker rooms are famed for their excellence throughout the world. Not only do they have the best games, but they also have the best-known tournaments. • Aviation Club de France, Paris, France • Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada • Bicycle Casino, Bell Gardens, California • Borgata, Atlantic City, New Jersey • Commerce Casino, Commerce, California • Crown Casino, Melbourne, Australia • Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut • Merrion Casino Club, Dublin, Ireland • Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey • Victoria Casino, London, England

Best for Families with Kids • Aruba Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino • Atlantis at Paradise Island Resort and Casino, Nassau, Bahamas • Boomtown Casino, Harvey, Louisiana • Carnival City Casino and Entertainment World, Brakpan, South Africa • Circus Circus, Las Vegas, Nevada • Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut • Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut • Reno Hilton, Reno, Nevada • Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines • Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida

Biggest Gaming Area Some argument exists on what the biggest casino is in the world. Several casinos claim the title, and it’s hard to tell which is right. Is it the one in the biggest resort? Is it on the largest area? Does it have the most buildings? The most floors? The most reliable measure of “biggest” would seem to be gaming area, but even that is arguable. These figures were all confirmed by phone calls and visits to the casinos’ own websites. 1. Star City, Sydney, Australia (1,500,000+ square feet) 2. Casino de Montréal, Montréal, Québec (500,000+ square feet) 3. Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut (344,000 square feet) 4. Jackpot Junction Casino, Morton, Minnesota (325,000 square feet) 5. Hotel Lisboa, Macau, Macau (323,000 square feet) 6. Sycuan Casino & Resort, El Cajon, California (305,000 square feet) 7. Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino, San Diego, California (300,000 square feet) 8. Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut (300,000 square feet) 9. Casino du Lac-Leamy, Gatineau, Québec (277,000 square feet) 10. Potawatomi Bingo Casino, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (256,000 square feet)

North America North America comprises Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America. Canada has many casinos and the United States has an even larger number. Mexico has only racetracks. Several of the countries of Central America have casinos. In general, North American casinos do not require visitors to show identification.

Canada Canada’s population is about 30 million. While it is a much larger country in terms of area than the United States, the population is only about one-tenth that of the U.S. Even with its wide-open spaces, Canada has many first-class casinos. Dollar amounts shown are in Canadian currency, which varies. At the time of this writing, the Canadian dollar was worth about USD $0.63. Four provinces (Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia) host First Nations casinos; approval is pending in Alberta. First Nations tribes negotiate compacts with provinces similar to those between Native American tribes in the United States and the states in which they are located. Canada can be phoned directly from the United States without an international code. Just insert a 1 before any area code plus phone number. A “fully licensed” casino is one that serves alcoholic beverages. Provinces not listed either have no major casinos or none at all. New Brunswick, for example, has two main racetracks, and they provide the only betting opportunities in the province.

ALBERTA

Alberta (population 3.1 million) is one of the “prairie provinces,” but a good portion of it also includes the Rocky Mountains. Alberta grows wheat and pumps oil, and has a number of first-class casinos. The minimum age for casino play in Alberta is 18.

Calgary Calgary, affectionately known as “Cow Town,” is the largest city in Alberta (population over 1 million), and is considered one of the friendliest in Canada. Home to the Calgary Stampede, held for ten days each year in July, the world’s largest outdoor exposition and probably the best-known rodeo, the city is also the gateway to the Canadian Rockies, being 80 miles from Banff National Park. Calgary was the site of the 1988 Winter Olympics. Some of the best skiing in the world is less than two hours away. If you plan to visit Calgary in mid-July, be sure to book accommodations well in advance because the population of the city more than doubles for the Stampede. Calgary is also home to the Calgary Flames hockey team and the site of the world’s largest dinosaur park (with life-size models).

1. Casino Calgary

6

Address: 1420 Meridian Road, Northeast, Calgary, Alberta T2A 2N9 Phone: 403–248–WINS (9467); fax: 403–235–5050 Website: www.casinoabs.com

NORTH AMERICA

Description: 31,000-square-foot casino Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. Slot Machines: 600; 10 VLTs; electronic horse racing (22 seats) Table Games: 12 blackjack, 4 baccarat, 2 Caribbean Stud, 2 tile pai gow, three-card poker, Let It Ride, craps, sic bo Poker: No Entertainment: Live country bands and stars Fri. and Sat. nights Restaurants: 1 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Cash, car, and merchandise giveaways

2. Elbow River Inn & Casino Address: 1919 Macleod Trail, Calgary, Alberta T2G 4S1 Phone: 403–269–6771; casino: 403–266–4355; poker: 403–206–0252; tollfree: 1–800–661–1463; fax: 403–237–5181 Website: www.elbowrivercasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: 14,000-square-foot casino, just across from Stampede Park in the heart of downtown Calgary. Beautiful view of the Elbow River through floor-to-ceiling windows in the cardroom. Only casino in Calgary with a hotel. Hours: Open every day except Christmas. Casino, 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.; poker room, open 24 hours Slot Machines: “Hundreds”; 5¢–$1, including progressive machines Table Games: Caribbean Stud, craps, pai gow poker, baccarat, blackjack, roulette, electronic horse racing Poker: $4-$8 hold’em, $5-$10 dealer’s choice (includes Omaha and high-low games), $15-$30 hold’em, pot limit of various sizes, monthly tournaments. Hold’em games have a full kill. Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2: Casino restaurant serves players. Players can also dine in or order from the dining room. Accommodations: 64 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: “Neat, clean attire and appropriate footwear.” Bonus: Fully licensed bar with gaming table service. Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages and complimentary food service at 3:30 a.m. in poker room. Poker room is nonsmoking. Twenty percent hotel room discount to casino patrons.

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE

3. Stampede Casino

Edmonton Edmonton (population 700,000, metropolitan area 1 million), in the center of Alberta, about 350 miles north of the U.S. border, is the provincial capital and the center of the oil industry. Edmonton contains the world’s largest mall, the West Edmonton Mall, featuring over 800 stores and services, over 110 eating establishments, and spanning the equivalent of 48 city blocks.

4. Casino Edmonton Address: 7055 Argyll Road, Edmonton, Alberta T6C 4A5 Phone: 780–463–WINS (9467) Website: www.casinoabs.com Description: 63,000-square-foot casino Hours: Open 9:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. Slots, 10 a.m.–3 a.m.; tables, noon–2 a.m.; poker room, 24 hours Slot Machines: 606; 10 VLTs; electronic horse racing (22 seats) Table Games: 23: 2 American roulette ($0.25–$200), 17 blackjack ($2–$500), 1 Caribbean Stud ($10–$100), 3 mini-baccarat ($5–$500), 2 multiaction blackjack ($2–$20), 1 pai gow poker ($5–$100), 1 sic bo ($1–$100), 1 super pan 9 ($10–$200), three-card poker Poker: 8 tables: Hold’em (mostly $3-$6-$12) and stud ($1-$5). Weekly hold’em poker tourna-

NORTH AMERICA

Email: [email protected] Description: 30,000-square-foot casino in one of the main exhibition halls of Stampede Park. During Stampede Week, the casino doubles in size. Hours: Open every day except Christmas. Slots, 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.; tables from noon to 2 a.m. Slot Machines: 200, ranging from penny to dollar machines, including progressive jackpots. Also Sega Horse Racing. During Stampede Week, 400 slots added. Table Games: Blackjack, roulette, craps, Caribbean poker, sic bo, tile pai gow, pai gow poker Poker: No Entertainment: During Stampede Week, the grounds are filled with entertainment, including the hall that houses the casino. Restaurants: 2: Wildcards Cafe & Saloon (on the casino floor; inexpensive meals), Big Four Dining Lounge (a quieter, nonsmoking area upstairs with a view of the casino below; includes Alberta Beef specials plus a full menu) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: Free. Admission to the Stampede Grounds varies. Parking is $7, which is refunded to patrons of the casino. Dress Code: Casual (No bare feet) Bonus: Pre-Flames home games buffet, $14.95, reservations highly recommended (403–261–0108). Casino holds four blackjack schools every year and successful graduates are offered employment. Free coffee and sodas for players. $2 players’ breakfast, 7 days a week 9:45 a.m.–11 a.m.

7

Address: Stampede Park Big Four Building 1801 Big Four Trail SE, Calgary, Alberta T2G 2W1 Mailing Address: Box 1060, Station M, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2P 2K8 Attention: CASINO Phone: 403–261–0422; fax: 403–262–9409 Website: www.stampedecasino.com

ments every Tue. at 7 p.m. Also, tournaments every other Sun., and other tournaments. Entertainment: Live country bands and stars Fri. and Sat. nights; piano bar Restaurants: 3 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Blackjack tournaments.

5. Casino Yellowhead Address: 12464–153 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5V 1S5 Phone: 780–424–WINS (9467); fax: 780–429–3282 Website: www.casinoabs.com

8 NORTH AMERICA

Description: 73,500-square-foot casino Hours: Open 9:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. Slots, 10 a.m.–3 a.m.; tables, noon–2 a.m.; poker room, 24 hours Slot Machines: 740; 10 VLTs; electronic horse racing (22 seats) Table Games: 3 roulette, 5 baccarat, Let It Ride, 2 tile pai gow, 1 craps, three-card poker, 1 Caribbean Draw, 1 Caribbean Stud, stook, sic bo Poker: 12 tables: Hold’em and stud. Weeknights, $3-$6 hold’em, $4-$8 half-and-half, plus a higher-limit game ($15-$30 or $20-$40). Weekends have more games. Often a regular $1-$5-$10-$20 stud game. Western Canadian Poker Championship in October, featuring limit 7-stud ($50+$10), limit Omaha high-low ($100+$15), limit hold’em ($300+$30), no-limit hold’em ($200+$20). Entertainment: No Restaurants: 3: Spurs, Stagecoach Grill, Wagon Wheel Deli Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Free gaming lessons for table games. Monthly blackjack tournaments, with a large freeroll for monthly winners.

6. Palace Casino Address: West Edmonton Mall 2710, 8882 170 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5T 4J2 Phone: 780–444–2112; fax 780–444–1155 Website: www.palacecasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: 64,000-square-foot casino located in West Edmonton Mall Hours: Slots 10 a.m.–3 a.m.; tables, 12 p.m.–2 a.m.; poker, Fri.–Sat., 24 hours, Sun.–Thu., 12 p.m.–6 a.m. Slot Machines: 704 Table Games: 35: 4 baccarat ($1–$100), 15 blackjack ($2–$25, $5–$100, $10–$100), 1 Caribbean Stud, 1 craps, 1 Let It Ride, 1 pai gow poker, 2 roulette Poker: 5 tables: Mostly hold’em ($3-$6, sometimes $5-$10, often a high-limit game) Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2: Booker’s Steak & Prime Rib, Martuni’s Lounge and Deli Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Free gaming lessons 11 a.m.–noon daily

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE

St. Albert St. Albert (population 53,000) is a suburb of Edmonton to the northwest of the city

7. Gold Dust Casino

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Much of British Columbia’s population (4.2 million) is concentrated in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (the metropolitan area). This includes Vancouver itself, Burnaby, Coquitlam, New Westminster, and Richmond. British Columbia also includes Vancouver Island, with its charming Victoria. The British Columbia Lottery Commission licenses all the casinos in the province and establishes rules for them. Three main companies own the important casinos: Gateway Casinos, Lake City Casinos, and Great Canadian Casinos. The minimum age for casino entrance in British Columbia is 19.

Burnaby Burnaby (population 197,000), east of Vancouver, is within the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

8. Gateway Casino-Burnaby Address: 4320 Dominion Street, Burnaby, British Columbia V5G 1B2 Phone: 604–436–2211; fax: 604–436–2130 Website: www.gatewaycasinos.com/burnaby.html Email: [email protected] Description: The Burnaby Casino is the largest, at 20,000 square feet, of the three British Columbia Gateway Casinos. It features a Roaring ’20s art deco theme. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 300, all accepting coins and bills. The casino claims over 90 percent payback. Machines range from nickels to $2, with single payline and multi-payline bets. There are also multi-denominational interactive slot machines. Table Games: Blackjack

NORTH AMERICA

Email: [email protected] Description: 10,000-square-foot casino Hours: Slots and VLTs, 10 a.m.–3 a.m.; tables, 12 p.m.–2 a.m. Slot Machines: 240. Many linked with progressive jackpots throughout Alberta, also inhouse progressives. Also VLTs. Table Games: 13 blackjack ($2 minimum), 2 mini-baccarat, 1 roulette, Caribbean Stud, three-card poker, Extreme 21, three-card 21, bingo (570 seats) Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Bingo next door at Campbell Park Bingo. Part of the casino’s revenue goes toward charitable organizations. Bus charters available.

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Address: 24 Boudreau Road St. Albert, Alberta T8N 6K3 Phone: 780–460–8092; fax: 780–460–1962 Website: www.golddustcasino.ca

($5–$500), pai gow poker ($5–$500), mini-baccarat ($5–$500), three-card poker, roulette and touch bet roulette ($50 maximum inside bets, $500 maximum outside bets), Let It Ride ($5–$500), Caribbean Stud ($5–$500), craps ($5–$500). There is also a high-stakes area allowing maximum bets of $1,000 on blackjack and mini-baccarat. Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1 Accommodations: The Radisson Hotel Burnaby directly across the street has over 275 rooms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and offers discounts to casino patrons (1–800–333–3333). Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: 225 of the slots are in a nonsmoking area.

Coquitlam Coquitlam (population 113,000) is within the Greater Vancouver Regional District. The Coquitlam Centre, a large shopping mall, has over 200 shops.

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9. Great Canadian Casino-Coquitlam

NORTH AMERICA

Address: 2080 United Boulevard, Coquitlam, British Columbia V3K 6W3 Phone: 604–523–6888; fax: 604–523–6806 Website: www.greatcanadiancasino.com/coquitlam.asp Description: 35,000-square-foot casino. United Boulevard parallels the Trans Canada Highway (Canada’s Highway 1, the main cross-country route). Take the Highway 7 or Mallardville exit. Hours: 9 a.m.–6 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 450: 1¢–$5; 350 are coin in/out machines and 100 are ticket in/out machines; 77 are multidenominational games from 5¢–25¢ Table Games: 30: 1 threecard poker ($5–$500), 13 blackjack ($5–$1,000), 1 Caribbean Stud ($5–$100), 3 pai gow ($25–$500), 1 Let It Ride ($5–$200), 5 mini-baccarat ($15–$1,000), 4 roulette (50¢–$50 inside bets, $10–$500 outside bets) Poker: 4 tables: $6-$12 hold’em Entertainment: Special shows such as “Elvis/Nearly Neil Diamond,” and other impersonators Restaurants: Weinlager and Amici Caffe: “West Coast cuisine with European flare”; snack bar Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No beachwear Bonus: Shuttle service to nearby hotels and motels

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Cranbrook Cranbrook (population 20,000) is in the British Columbia Rockies, 20 miles southeast of Kimberley, 35 miles north of the U.S. border, and 125 miles southeast of Calgary, Alberta, near the junction of Highway 95A and Highway 3.

10. Casino of the Rockies

Kamloops Kamloops (population 82,000), in British Columbia’s Southern Interior, calls itself the Tournament Capital of Canada, hosting championships in sports such as curling, ice skating, women’s hockey, men’s basketball, and many others the year round. See www.city.kamloops.bc.ca/tournamentcapital/index.html for more information.

11. Lake City Casinos-Kamloops Address: 540 Victoria Street, Kamloops, British Columbia V1Y 1P6 Phone: 250–372–3336; fax: 250–860–4407; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–800–663–2837 Website: www.lakecitycasinos.com/kamloops.php Email: [email protected] Description: 14,000-square-foot Mardi Gras-themed casino, plus hotel Hours: 10 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 300: reel machines and video poker Table Games: 8: Baccarat, threecard poker, blackjack, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, roulette Poker: Low limit hold’em Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2 Accommodations: Hotel with 150 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Group specials, including gaming lessons, cash incentives, transportation, match play. River rafting and skiing nearby.

NORTH AMERICA

Email: [email protected] Description: 15,000-square-foot casino, plus hotel Hours: Sun.–Thu., 10 a.m.–12 a.m.; Fri.–Sat., 10 a.m.–2 a.m. Slot Machines: 225 Table Games: 10: Three-card poker, blackjack, Let It Ride, roulette Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 4 Accommodations: Delta St. Eugene Mission Resort Hotel has 125 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Adjacent 18-hole championship golf course—St. Eugene Mission Golf Course, with driving range, full service pro shop, dining, and lounge area

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Address: 7777 Mission Road, Cranbrook, British Columbia V1C 7E5 Phone: 250–417–2772; fax: 250–417–3749; toll-free hotel reservations: 888–244–8666; hotel fax: 250–426–6072; hotel reservations: 250–420–2000 Website: www.casinooftherockies.com

Kelowna Kelowna (population 96,000) is in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, an area of orchards and vineyards at the base of the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the eastern shore of Okanagan Lake, 29 miles south of Vernon and 43 miles north of Penticton. It is serviced by Kelowna International Airport, third busiest in British Columbia and eleventh largest in Canada, with nonstop flights from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, and Victoria.

12. Lake City Casinos-Kelowna Address: 1300 Water Street, Kelowna, British Columbia V1Y 9P3 Phone: 250–860–9467; fax: 250–860–4407; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–800–465–4651 Website: www.lakecitycasinos.com/kelowna.php

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Email: [email protected] Description: 21,000-square-foot casino, within the hotel, with Caribbean cruise ship theme, including dramatic rockscapes and waterfall entrance Hours: 10 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 300 Table Games: 20: Three-card poker, blackjack, Caribbean Stud, mini-baccarat, pai gow poker, roulette Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2 Accommodations: The Grand Okanagan Lakefront Resort, 260 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Group specials, including gaming lessons, cash incentives, transportation, match play. Championship 18-hole golf course nearby.

Nanaimo Nanaimo (population 80,000) is on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, 70 miles north of Victoria, just across the Strait of Georgia from Vancouver, and reachable by ferry or plane.

13. Great Canadian Casino-Nanaimo Address: 620 Terminal Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia V9R 5E2 Phone: 250–753–3033; toll-free: 877–473–2818; fax: 250–753–9433 Website: www.greatcanadiancasino.com/nanaimo.asp Description: 15,000-square-foot casino, downtown, beside the Port Place shopping center Hours: 10 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 380: 1¢–$2; both reel and interactive game types, accepting both coins and bills Table Games: 12: 1 three-card poker ($5–$500), 3 American roulette ($0.50–$10 inside bets, $10–$100 outside bets), 5 blackjack ($5–$500, $10–$500, $25–$500), 2 Fortune Pai Gow ($25–$500), 1 Let It Ride ($5–$500) Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1: Amici & Co. Café, a 56-seat restaurant inside the casino offering a full menu and coffee cart service on the gaming floor (no alcohol) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Shuttle from area hotels. Incentives for bus travelers. Online practice blackjack game available at website.

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New Westminster The city of New Westminster (population 54,000), 12 miles southeast of Vancouver, is on the Fraser River about 40 minutes driving time from downtown Vancouver. New Westminster, western Canada’s oldest city, is also accessible by a 30-minute skytrain ride from Vancouver. Interesting fact: The Fraser once had more riverboats than the Mississippi.

14. Gateway Casino-New Westminster

15. Royal City Star Riverboat Casino Address: 788 Quayside Drive, Westminster Quay Market, New Westminster, British Columbia V3M 1J4 Phone: 604–878–9999; fax: 604–540–0448 Website: www.royalcitystar.bc.ca Email: [email protected] Description: Permanently docked riverboat casino on the Fraser River Hours: 10 a.m.–4 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 345 Table Games: 18: Blackjack, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, minibaccarat, pai gow poker, roulette Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 3: Cafe Royale Bar and Deli, Fraser’s Restaurant (fully licensed), Sand Bar and Lounge (snacks) Accommodations: Royal Towers Hotel & Casino: 102 deluxe rooms, 12 executive suites, 16 suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Racebook. Fraser’s Restaurant offers a seniors’ (55+) 2-for-1 menu.

NORTH AMERICA

Email: [email protected] Description: 7,000-square-foot casino in the Royal Towers Hotel Hours: 10 a.m.–4 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 170, all accepting coins and bills. The casino claims over 90 percent payback. Machines range from quarters to $1, with single payline and multi-payline bets. There are also multi-denominational interactive slot machines. Table Games: Blackjack ($5–$500), pai gow poker ($5–$500), mini-baccarat ($5–$500), three card poker, roulette and touch bet roulette ($50 maximum inside bets, $500 maximum outside bets), Let It Ride ($5–$500), Caribbean Stud ($5–$500) Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 3: Blackjack’s Snack Bar, Clancy’s Sports Bar and Fresh Market Kitchen, Garden Café Accommodations: 99 rooms and suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Smoke-free. Free parking after 6 p.m.

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Address: 140 Sixth Street, New Westminster, British Columbia V3M 1J4 Phone: 604–521–3262; fax: 604–412–0117; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–800–663–0202 Website: www.gatewaycasinos.com/newwest.html

Richmond Richmond (population 168,000) is an island city located on the Pacific Coast within the Greater Vancouver Regional District, just south of downtown Vancouver, and comprises a number of islands in the mouth of the Fraser River, including Sea Island, most of Lulu Island, and 15 smaller islands.

16. River Rock Casino Resort Address: 8811 River Road, Richmond, BC V6X 3P8 Phone: 604–273–1895; fax: 604–270–8620; toll-free: 1–877–473–2818 Website: www.riverrockcasinoresort.com

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Description: 70,000-square-foot state-of-the-art casino (opened 2004) Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,000 Table Games: 58: Blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps Poker: 20 tables: Hold’em ($2-$4 and up), 7-stud, Omaha high-low Entertainment: Intimate show lounge with live entertainment. Scheduled to open in mid-2005, a 21,000-square-foot theater will feature live shows and entertainment. Its state-of-the-art seating system will permit quick transformation of the theater into a convention and meeting room. Restaurants: International food court. A sports bar and 400-seat buffet restaurant should be open in 2005. Several more restaurants are planned. Accommodations: Scheduled for completion in early 2005, the five-star hotel will have 222 suites ranging in size from 525 to 2,200 square feet, plus a 2,800-square-foot Presidential Suite. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: The hotel complex will feature convention and meeting facilities, retail shops, spa, gym, swimming pool, and a 144-slip marina.

Vancouver Vancouver (population 582,000; metropolitan area 2.2 million), located on the Pacific Ocean, is Canada’s third-largest city and has a climate similar to that of San Francisco. It is one of the few locations in the world where you can swim in the ocean in the morning and ski right after lunch. You can get to Whistler Mountain, where the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held, in two hours by bus.

17. Gateway Casino-Vancouver/Chinatown Address: 611 Main Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6A 2V5 Phone: 604–688–9412; fax: 604–688–9417; poker room: 604–801–5080 Website: www.gatewaycasinos.com/vancouver.html Email: [email protected] Description: 12,000-square-foot casino at the corner of Main and Keefer, located on the third floor of the Mandarin Centre Hours: 9 a.m.–6 a.m. daily; poker room opens at noon Slot Machines: No Table Games: 30: Blackjack ($5–$500), pai gow poker ($5–$500), minibaccarat ($5–$500), roulette, sic bo ($50 maximum inside bets, $500 maximum outside bets) Poker: Hold’em and Omaha high Entertainment: No Restaurants: Mandarin Restaurant (Asian cuisine) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Free parking after 6 p.m. Onsite ATMs. Casino is in the middle of Vancouver’s Chinatown.

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18. Great Canadian Casino-Holiday Inn

Vernon Vernon (population 45,000) is in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, an area of orchards and vineyards at the base of the Canadian Rockies. It is located 29 miles north of Kelowna and 73 miles southeast of Kamloops. It is serviced by Kelowna International Airport, the third busiest in British Columbia and eleventh largest in Canada, with nonstop flights from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, and Victoria.

19. Lake City Casinos-Vernon Address: 4801 27th Street, Vernon, British Columbia V1T 5S9 Phone: 250–545–3505; fax: 250–860–4407; hotel reservations: 250–542–3321; toll-free: 1–800–663–4433 Website: www.lakecitycasinos.com/vernon.php Email: [email protected] Description: 12,000-square-foot casino located within the hotel. Santa Fe theme featuring beautiful murals and dramatic rockwork. Hours: 10 a.m.–2 a.m. Slot Machines: 207: 5¢, 25¢, $1 Table Games: 10: Blackjack, roulette, Let It Ride, three-card poker Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2: Piccolo’s Lounge, Village Green Restaurant Accommodations: 134 rooms and suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Free parking. Nearby golf course. Sponsor of Vernon’s Funtastic Festival, featuring slo pitch, soccer, lawn bowling, and other sports competitions, and a music festival.

NORTH AMERICA

Description: 16,500-square-foot casino in the Vancouver Holiday Inn Hours: 9 a.m.–6 a.m. (poker room, noon to 4 a.m.); 365 days/year Slot Machines: No Table Games: 32: 1 three-card poker ($5–$200), 2 American roulette ($0.50–$500), 11 blackjack ($5–$1000, all with Lucky Ladies bonus), 4 Fortune Pai Gow ($15–$1000), 1 Let It Ride ($5–$200), 9 mini-baccarat ($15–$1000), 1 Caribbean Stud, 1 rapid roulette, 1 Texas Shootout, 1 craps Poker: 5 tables: $10-$20 hold’em with and without a kill Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2: Stages Bistro, Stages Lounge Accommodations: Vancouver Holiday Inn. Indoor sunlit swimming pool, dry sauna, and exercise room. High-speed Internet access. Reduced rate for casino players. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual. Shirt and shoes required. Bonus: Near the Granville Island Public Market and an Imax Theater. Online blackjack available at website.

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Address: 709 West Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1J5 Phone: 604–872–5543; toll-free: 1–877–473–2818; fax: 604–279–8505; hotel reservations: 604–689–9211 Website: www.greatcanadiancasino.com/holidayinn.asp

Victoria Victoria (population 350,0000), the capital of British Columbia, is on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. A lovely two-hour ferry ride from Vancouver, it’s a beautiful town that reminds one of Britain. Nearby are the picturesque Butchart Gardens, a flower sanctuary that was formerly the site of an old quarry.

20. Great Canadian Casino-View Royal Address: 1708 Island Highway, Victoria, British Columbia V9B 1H8 Phone: 250–391–0311; toll-free: 1–877–473–2818; fax: 250–391–0310 Website: www.greatcanadiancasino.com/viewroyal.asp

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Email: [email protected] Description: 35,000-square-foot casino in the township of View Royal in the Westshore Communities, 25 minutes from downtown Victoria Hours: 10 a.m.–4 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 436: Penny, nickel, quarter, $1, $2. All are coin machines. Table Games: 1 three-card poker, 2 American roulette, 12 blackjack, 3 Fortune Pai Gow, 1 Let It Ride, 3 mini-baccarat, 1 Caribbean Stud, 1 sic bo, 2 progressive blackjack, 1 Texas Shootout. Limits range from $5 to $500. Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: Weinlager and Amici Caffe: “West Coast cuisine with European flare.” Fully licensed. Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Free shuttle from downtown Victoria. Online blackjack available at website.

MANITOBA

Manitoba (population 1.2 million) was the first Canadian province to get into the casino business. All the province’s casinos are regulated by the Manitoba Lotteries Foundation. Manitoba has one First Nations casino. The government of Manitoba owns Casinos of Winnipeg, an organization that runs a number of small casinos throughout the province, in addition to two large casinos in Winnipeg.

The Pas The Pas area (district population 15,000), in northern Manitoba, 375 miles northwest of Winnipeg, is home to the Opaskwayak Cree Nation community and five other small towns. It is surrounded by beautiful wilderness lands filled with wildlife, including bear, moose, woodland caribou, deer, and 200 species of birds, plus some of the best fishing in North America, for lake trout, northern pike, and walleye. The long white beaches and crystal depths of Clearwater Lake are within 15 minutes, as are a wealth of outdoor adventure opportunities for hikers, cross-country skiers, snowmobilers, photographers, bird-watchers, hunters, and anglers. The town of The Pas is reachable by road (Highway 10), rail, and air; there is a small airport a few miles north.

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21. Aseneskak Casino

Winnipeg Winnipeg (population 650,000), the capital of Manitoba and western Canada’s oldest city, is just north of the U.S.–Canadian border in central Canada. It is a transportation, manufacturing, and financial center, and midwestern Canada’s cultural center, with a symphony orchestra, ballet, opera company, and theater and arts complex. The intersection of Portage and Main Streets is the focal point of this city that lies at the junction of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers.

22. Club Regent Casino Address: 1425 Regent Avenue West, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2C 3B2 Phone: 204–957–2700 Website: www.casinosofwinnipeg.com Description: 182,000-square-foot Caribbean-themed casino, with a colorful beach atmosphere Hours: Mon.–Sat., 10 a.m.–3 a.m.; Sun., noon–3 a.m. Casino closed on major holidays. Slot Machines: 1,216: 5¢, 25¢, $1, $2, $5, and $100 machines, plus progressive slot banks ranging from 5¢ to $2. Touch-screen gaming includes video poker (joker poker, deuces wild, and jacks or better), video keno, and electronic bingo. Table Games: 32: Blackjack, pai gow poker, Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud, baccarat, roulette, keno. Also “paper” bingo: 10:15 a.m. Mon.–Sat.; 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. daily; 10 p.m. daily (except on Fri. and Sat. when entertainment is scheduled for 10 p.m.); 12:30 a.m. (every Fri. and Sat. following entertainment or 10 p.m. when there is no entertainment). Poker: Hold’em, 7-stud. In smaller games, rake is 10 percent with a $4 cap; for higherlimit games, hourly rates are collected. Tournaments: The Summer Series of Poker takes place in alternate weeks July–September. All events are no-limit hold’em. Early events: $50+$5; rebuys, $20; add-on, $30. Maximum entries: 55 people per tournament. Firstplace winners receive prepaid, nontransferable entry to championship. Championship

NORTH AMERICA

Email: [email protected] Description: First and only First Nations-owned and -operated casino in Manitoba. The 20,000-square-foot casino is owned by a consortium of six First Nations. Hours: Mon.–Wed., 10 a.m.–2 a.m.; Thur.–Sat., 10 a.m.–3 a.m.; Sun., 12 p.m.–2 a.m. Closed New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Remembrance Day (Nov. 11), Christmas Eve, Christmas Day Slot Machines: 187: Multidenominational, 5¢–$2 Table Games: 8: Three-card poker, roulette, Let It Ride Poker: No Entertainment: Country music Restaurants: 1: The Eagle’s Nest Restaurant and Lounge Accommodations: No. Nearby local accommodations are modern and plentiful, with hotels, motels, cottage facilities, and campgrounds. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Let It Ride tournaments with no entry fee. Annual golf tournament with dinner and entertainment following.

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Address: Highway #10 North, The Pas/Opaskwayak, Manitoba Phone: 1–877–627–2267 Website: www.aseneskak.ca

event in late September: $100+$10; rebuys, $40; add-on, $60. During these times, cash games run from 4 p.m.–3 a.m. Entertainment: Top acts in rock, country, and tribute shows (such as to Roy Orbison, from the Las Vegas Legends of Concert series) Restaurants: 2: Royal Palms Restaurant, McDonald’s Accommodations: 146-room hotel on site, including 4 deluxe Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Casino has a walk-through salt-water aquarium, the largest of its kind in the midwest of Canada, with 40,000 gallons of salt water, a coral reef, tropical fish from around the world (including sharks and eels), and the wreck of a Spanish galleon. Visitors can observe divers feeding the fish or even snorkel in the tank. Open noon–10 p.m. daily.

23. McPhillips Street Station Casino

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Address: 484 McPhillips Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 2G8 Phone: 204–957–3900 Website: www.casinosofwinnipeg.com

NORTH AMERICA

Description: 174,000-square-foot casino with a historic railway village theme Hours: Mon.–Sat., 10 a.m.–3 a.m.; Sun., noon–3 a.m. Casino closed on major holidays. Slot Machines: 1,961: 2¢, 5¢, 25¢, $1, $2, $5, and $100 machines, plus progressive slot banks ranging from 5¢ to $1. Touch-screen gaming includes video poker (joker poker, deuces wild, and jacks or better), video keno, and electronic bingo. Table Games: 28: Blackjack, Fortune Pai Gow, Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud, baccarat, roulette, keno. Also paper bingo: Mon.–Sat., 10:20 a.m.; 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. daily; Sun.–Thur., 10 p.m.; Fri.–Sat., 12:30 a.m. Poker: No Entertainment: Top acts in rock and country Restaurants: 1: Michelle’s, open daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m., with daily brunch 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: McPhillips Street Station Casino’s historic railway village includes a grand hotel from the early 1900s. The Manitoba Millennium Express, a multi-sensory 3D trip through time, recreates the history of Manitoba.

NOVA SCOTIA

Nova Scotia (population under 1 million), the southernmost of Canada’s maritime provinces, is east of Maine and south of New Brunswick. The highest tides in the world occur at the Bay of Fundy. The Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation (NSGC) is responsible for the business of gaming in Nova Scotia. The province has two main casinos. Smaller operations have only video lottery terminals (VLTs). You must be 19 to enter a casino in Nova Scotia.

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Halifax Halifax (metro population 268,000), the capital and major port city of Nova Scotia, has many fine restaurants, exciting nightlife, museums, historic sites, art galleries, and universities. The city is served by an international airport.

24. Casino Nova Scotia

Sydney Sydney (population 27,755) is on Sydney Harbor on Cape Breton Island. There are fine hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and convention and meeting facilities.

25. Casino Nova Scotia Address: 525 George Street, Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 1K5 Phone: 902–563–7777; toll-free: 1–866–334–1114; information line: 902–563–7744 Website: www.casinonovascotia.com Email: Executive offices: [email protected] Description: 14,950-square-foot casino Hours: Mon.–Wed., 11 a.m.–3 a.m. Thur. 11 a.m.–Mon. 3 a.m. Table games: Closed Mon.–Tue; Wed.–Sun. 5 p.m.–2 p.m. Slot Machines: 378: 25¢–$25 Table Games: 34: Blackjack, three-card poker, Let It Ride, European roulette Poker: No Entertainment: Free shows of pop favorites and

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Email: Executive offices: [email protected] Description: 34,900-square-foot casino located within the hotel Hours: Slots: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year. Table games: Sun.–Thu., noon–4 a.m.; Fri.–Sat., noon–8 a.m. At this writing, July 1–September 6: Table games: open continuously Thu. noon–Mon. 8 a.m., and noon–4 a.m. on Tue. and Wed. Poker room: Wed., 8 p.m.–4 a.m.; Thu., 2 p.m.–4 a.m.; Fri., 2 p.m.–8 a.m.; Sat., 2 p.m–6 a.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.–4 a.m. Slot Machines: More than 1,000: 5¢–$100 Table Games: 44: Blackjack, progressive blackjack, Caribbean Stud, craps, Let It Ride, mini-baccarat, red dog, American roulette, European roulette, sic bo, three-card poker, big six wheel, Spanish 21 Poker: 3 tables usually, but 6–7 are available to accommodate players. Hold’em: $5-$10, $15-$30; Omaha high: $10-$20, $20-$30. All games have bad beat jackpots. Entertainment: 500seat Schooner Showroom features acts like Dionne Warwick, the Amazing KRESKIN, HELP!: A Tribute to the Beatles, Abbamania, Michelle Wright, Terry Clark, Randy Bachman, Jeff Healey Restaurants: 4: 44 North, Governor’s Grill (deli), TGI Friday’s, The Galley Buffet Accommodations: Hotel with 352 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Proper Bonus: Player’s Club: Get points for playing, redeemable for prizes, food, and cash. “Java Express” coffee cart is available 24/7 in the casino lobby, with coffee, muffins, and many other snack items.

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Address: 1983 Upper Water Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3Y5 Phone: 902–425–7777; toll-free: 1–888–6GAMES6; information line: 902–496–6699 Website: www.casinonovascotia.com

lounge acts in Millionaire’s Lounge Restaurants: 2 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Proper Bonus: Player’s Club: Get points for playing, redeemable for prizes, food, and cash. Cash drawings the second Wed. of each month for Player’s Club members 50+ years of age from 1 p.m.–3 p.m. every half hour and prizes that carry over if not won.

ONTARIO

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Ontario (population 12.4 million) has two kinds of casinos, both regulated by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC); charity and “regular” (commercial) casinos. Ontario has five charity casinos and four commercial casinos, of which one is a First Nations casino. Charity casinos are smaller and their gaming activities more restricted than commercial casinos. The total number of gaming positions in a charity casino is limited to 870, while the betting limit for table games is $100, as compared to $10,000 at commercial casinos. Ontario also has a number of “racinos,” which are basically race tracks that also have up to a few hundred slot machines. The minimum age for casino play is 19.

Brantford The Brantford area is comprised of the communities of Brantford, Brant County, Six Nations, and New Credit. Brantford (population 90,000) is 55 miles southwest of Toronto on the Grand River.

26. Brantford Charity Casino Address: 40 Icomm Drive, Brantford, Ontario N3S 7S9 Phone: 519–752–5004; toll-free: 1–888–694–6946; fax: 519–753–0353; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–888–694–6946 Website: corporate.olgc.ca/charity/brantford.jsp Description: 30,000-square-foot casino Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 452: 5¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, and $5 denominations Table Games: 58: Caribbean Stud, blackjack, Let It Ride, pai gow poker, mini-baccarat, midi-baccarat, roulette, sic bo, three-card poker, Spanish 21. Betting limits range from $5 to $100. Poker: Up to 12 hold’em tables; $5-$10, $10-$20, $15-$30, $20-$40, $30-$60, $50-$100 Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1: Galileo’s Buffet & Grille seats 136 and has an allyou-can-eat buffet plus a full menu. Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Winner’s Circle club earns cash back and complimentary meals. Membership is free. Free parking, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, bank machines (ATMs), currency exchange, gift shop, and complimentary coat check. Offtrack betting. Separate smoking lounge for up to 205 smokers, which keeps the gaming floor, restaurant, and other public spaces smoke-free in compliance with municipal law. Players can put a hold on slot machines while they take a break in the smoking lounge.

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Gananoque Gananoque (population 5,200) is known as “The Canadian Gateway to the 1,000 Islands.” Centrally located on the St. Lawrence River, the town is midway between Toronto and Montreal and minutes from Kingston, Brockville, and northern New York, the latter via the 1,000 Island International Bridge.

27. Thousand Islands Charity Casino

Niagara Falls Many say that the Canadian side of Niagara Falls has the most beautiful views. This resort area (population 79,000), offering spectacular vistas of perhaps the two most famous waterfalls in the world (Horseshoe Falls and American Falls), is less than two hours from Toronto and just a drive across a bridge from New York on the American side.

28. Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort Address: 6380 Fallsview Blvd. Niagara Falls, Ontario L2G 7X5 Phone: 1–888-FALLSVUE; 1–888–325–5784 Website: www.discoverniagara.com Email: [email protected] Description: The 200,000-square-foot Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort is on a 23-acre site on Murray Hill, at the corner of Fallsview Boulevard and Murray Street. The casino overlooks Niagara Falls. Hours: 24hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: More than 3,000 Table Games: More than 150. Table limits vary, based on the time of day and demand. 67 blackjack, 4 baccarat, 8 mini-baccarat, 2 midi-baccarat, 8 craps, 10 Caribbean Stud, 7 three-card poker, 7 Let It Ride, 8 pai gow poker, 2 tile pai gow, 2 sic bo, 6 Spanish 21, 2 casino war, 2 French roulette, 14 American roulette Poker: No Entertainment: Showroom with headliners like the Smothers Brothers, Carrot Top, Rick Springfield, Damon Wayans, Hootie and the Blowfish, Tony Bennett, Cheap Trick. The 365 Club and the Splash Bar host contemporary, jazz, and blues entertainers. The Avalon Ballroom, with 1,500 seats, accommodates multiple uses, from cabarets and star

NORTH AMERICA

Description: 57,000-square-foot casino, of which 15,000 square feet is gaming space Hours: Mon.–Wed., 9 a.m.–4 a.m., and continuously from 11 a.m. Thu.–4 a.m. Sun. Slot Machines: 453 slot machines in 5¢, 25¢, $1 and $5 denominations Table Games: 18 (all with $100 maximum bet): Blackjack, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, roulette, Spanish 21 Poker: No Entertainment: Live shows on weekends Restaurants: 1: Oscars Marina Grill features an upscale gourmet menu. Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Handicap-accessible facility; wheelchairs are available. Free parking, complimentary nonalcoholic beverages, ATMs, currency exchange, complimentary coat check, gift shop, and lottery.

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Address: 380 Highway 2 Gananoque, Ontario K7G 2V4 Phone: toll-free: 1–866–266–8422; fax: 613–382–8001 Website: corporate.olgc.ca/charity/thousand.jsp or www.gananoque.com/casino

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performers to fashion shows, dinner theater, and sporting events, such as boxing. Since opening, the Avalon Ballroom has hosted some of the music industry’s biggest stars, from Paul Anka to Alanis Morisette and Wynonna Judd. Restaurants: 3 main, plus a food court. 750-seat Grand Buffet. 17 Noir has a unique atmosphere. Built on 2 levels, its lower level is a casual lounge featuring cocktail, sushi, and noodle bars, all of which are designed in the open-concept style so guests can watch as their dishes are prepared. The upper level is the dining room, complete with an outdoor terrace, a 360-degree open-concept grilling station, and a display of the restaurant’s finest wines. The wine cellar is among the finest in North America, with hundreds of vintages in every price range from around the globe. The Famous is an art deco, 24-hour restaurant with a full menu. Accommodations: 30-story, 368-room luxury hotel, including 85 suites, 9 of which are VIP suites. All rooms overlook Horseshoe Falls and American Falls. Family Amenities: Children are permitted in the Galleria, hotel, pool, and all restaurants (excluding the Grand Buffet). Children are not allowed on the gaming floor. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Slot, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and craps tournaments. Spa. Swimming pool. Weight training and fitness center, saunas, steam rooms, massage therapy and other treatment rooms. Gallery with 47 shops. The Promenade, located at the back of the property, has a great view of Niagara Falls.

29. Casino Niagara Address: 5705 Falls Avenue, Niagara Falls, Ontario L2E 6T3 Phone: 1–888–946–3255 Website: www.casinoniagara.com Email: [email protected] Description: 90,000-square foot casino on Bender Hill Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,471 Table Games: 79. Table limits are variable based on the time of day and demand. 36 blackjack, 2 baccarat, 6 mini-baccarat, 2 midi-baccarat, 5 craps, 4 Caribbean Stud, 4 three-card poker, 3 Let It Ride, 3 pai gow poker, 1 sic bo, 3 Spanish 21, 1 casino war, 1 French roulette, 8 American roulette Poker: No Entertainment: Loungestyle live entertainment in The Grand Café Restaurants: 4, plus 8 bars. Twenty One, known as one of the finest restaurants in Canada since its debut in 2000, has a lounge and piano bar. The Market offers casual comfort, a buffet, and à la carte dining in a charming open-market setting. Perks Café offers quick convenience. And the Grand Café overlooks the gaming area and is open daily from noon to 2 a.m. Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: The Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort is a 3-minute drive from Casino Niagara, and patron shuttles run between the 2 properties. Casino Niagara is in the heart of the tourism and entertainment district and just steps from the Falls themselves.

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Orillia Orillia (population 30,000) is a city in south-central Ontario on Lake Couchiching about 75 miles north of Toronto.

30. Casino Rama Resort

Sault Ste. Marie

Sault Ste. Marie (population 80,000; it’s pronounced SOO) is on the St. Mary’s River between Lakes Superior and Huron. Across the river is the United States and the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, site of the Sault locks, which allow ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. Chippewa Falls, the geographic center of North America is located just north of Sault Ste. Marie, marked by a plaque at that point.

31. Casino Sault Ste. Marie Address: 30 Bay Street West, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 7A6 Phone: 705–759–0100; toll-free: 1–800–826–8946; fax: 705–759–9367 Website: corporate.olgc.ca/charity/marie.jsp Description: Small charity-type casino Hours: Slots: Mon.–Wed., 9 a.m.–4 a.m., Thur.–Sun., 24 hours; tables: Mon.–Sun., 12 p.m.–4 a.m. Slot Machines: 452: 5¢, 25¢, $1, and $5, Megabucks, a province-wide progressive game with a top jackpot starting at $1 million Table Games: 16: Caribbean Stud, three-card

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Email: [email protected] Description: 192,000-square-foot casino located within a hotel Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,300 Table Games: 120+: 3 baccarat (42 playing positions), 1 big six wheel, 51 blackjack (344 playing positions), 12 Caribbean Stud (84 playing positions), 4 craps (64 playing positions), 6 Let It Ride (42 playing positions), 1 midi-baccarat (1 playing position), 9 mini-baccarat (63 playing positions), 7 pai gow poker (42 playing positions), 3 pai gow tiles (18 playing positions), American roulette, 2 sic bo, Spanish 21 Poker: 10 tables of hold’em and Omaha high-low split; $4-$8, $10-$20, $15-$30, $20$40, $50-$100 Entertainment: International stars like Cyndi Lauper, Dolly Parton, Neil Sedaka, Martin Short, The Four Tops, Styx, David Lee Roth, Olivia Newton-John, and the Oak Ridge Boys Restaurants: 9, three in the hotel: Couchiching Court Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner), Dream Catcher Sports Lounge (pub foods), Firestarter Lounge (appetizers), Legends Food Court (snacks), Noodle Bar (Cantonese; 1 p.m.–7 a.m.), Rinaldo’s (Italian), St. Germain’s Steakhouse, The Weirs Restaurant (homestyle favorites; 24 hours), The Willow (Cantonese; lunch, dinner) Accommodations: 300-room first-class all-suite luxury hotel with three restaurants Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Casino Rama was the first commercial casino in Canada to offer poker. Entertainment center and shops. Sportsbook.

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Address: 5897 Rama Road, Orillia, Ontario L0K 1T0 Phone: 705–329–DEAL (3325); fax: 705–329–3329; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–800–832–7529 Website: www.casinorama.com

poker, blackjack, Let It Ride, roulette, sic bo, big six wheel Poker: Hold’em Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Winner’s Circle club offers cash back plus comps and gifts. Slot tournaments on Wed. offer a prize pool of over $10,000. Members aged 50+ receive coupon packages and are eligible for cash drawings. Free parking, complimentary nonalcoholic beverages, gift shop, complimentary coat check, complimentary hotel shuttle service

Windsor

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Windsor (population 208,000; metropolitan area 308,000) is the closest Canadian city to Detroit. Interestingly, to get from Detroit to Windsor, you drive due south on the connecting bridge, for Windsor is actually south of Detroit. Windsor is a large industrial city that is home to Canada’s automobile industry. The casino is the largest in the area and attracts many Americans.

NORTH AMERICA

32. Casino Windsor Address: 377 Riverside Drive East, Windsor, Ontario N9A 7H7 Phone: 519–258–7878; toll-free: 1–800–991–7777; fax: 519–985–5870; toll-free hotel reservations/Showtime Lounge tickets: 1–800–991–8888 Website: www.casinowindsor.com Email: [email protected] Description: Mediterranean-themed 100,000-square-foot casino located within a hotel; 5 minutes across the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 3,300+: 1¢–$100; both cashless and coin machines, including progressive jackpots. Megabucks, a province-wide progressive game with a top jackpot starting at $1 million. Also video poker and progressive video poker from $1 to $5. Table Games: 83: 2 baccarat ($25–$10,000), 43 blackjack ($5–$25), 6 Caribbean Stud ($5–$25), 6 craps ($5–$25), 4 Let It Ride ($5–$25), 4 pai gow poker ($5–$100), 12 roulette ($5–$25), Spanish 21 ($10–$25), three-card poker ($5–$100 on “pair plus,” which can pay up to 40:1 for a straight flush, and $5–$500 for “ante/play,” which can pay up to 4:1), four-card poker ($5–$100) Poker: No Entertainment: Showtime Lounge features Vegas-style revues and popular performers. Fri. and Sat. shows are at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Shows from Tue. to Thu. are at 8 p.m. Sun. and Mon. are dark. Tickets for any of the performances are $15. Riverside Grille has live jazz. Restaurants: 4: Atrium Courtyard Food Court (food court with five restaurants; Sun.–Thu., 11 a.m.–1 a.m.; Fri.–Sat., 11 a.m.–2 a.m.), Garden Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner 11 a.m.–11 p.m. daily), Riverside Grille (breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus Sun. brunch), Terrace Café (24 hours), Caché (membersonly gourmet dining) Accommodations: AAA Four Diamond-rated hotel with 389 rooms, including many suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Table games lessons are held on the main floor every weekday from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Casino features an indoor 60-foot waterfall with a shooting geyser that erupts hourly choreographed to music. Slot tournaments. New players can get a free meal by signing up for Players Prestige Card. Members are also eligible for daily drawings for cash and prizes.

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE

Gatineau Gatineau (population 100,000) is just across the Ottawa River from Ottawa, Ontario.

33. Casino du Lac-Leamy Address: 1 Casino Boulevard, Gatineau, Québec J8Y 6W3 Phone: 819–772–2100; toll-free: 1–800–665–2274; fax: 819–772–3704; hotel fax: 819–790–6408; hotel reservations: 819–790–6444; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–866–488–7888 Website: French: www.casino-du-lac-leamy.com; English: www.casinodu-lac-leamy.com/accueil_ch.jsp?Params=Y.US.1.0 Email: service_clientele@loto-Québec.com Description: 277,000-square-foot casino located within a hotel Hours: 9 a.m.–4 a.m. (Doors open at 8:30 a.m.) Slot Machines: 1,870, including progressive machines, in denominations starting at 25¢. In addition to reel and electronic machines, 10 progressive video poker, 22 video bingo, 2 video blackjack, and 136 video poker Table Games: 64: 1 American roulette ($1–$25), 1 baccarat ($50–$2,000), 27 blackjack ($5–$2,000), electronic horse racing, 3 Let It Ride ($5–$50), 2 mini-baccarat ($10–$500), 3 pai gow poker ($10–$500), 1 tile pai gow ($20–$1,000), 7 French roulette ($1–$100), keno Poker: No Entertainment: Théâtre du Casino, with 834 of the 1,100 seats on ground level, presents Broadway at the Casino du Lac-Leamy, which features shows that recreate Manhattan at the beginning of the 1900s, with classics like Annie Get Your Gun, Victor Victoria, Chicago, Evita, Les Misérables, Singin’ in the Rain, The Phantom of the Opera, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and many others. Pop stars like Melissa Etheridge and comics like Howie Mandel. Restaurants offer live entertainment by local performers, including singing groups, harp, saxophone, etc. Restaurants: 7, including 2 in hotel: Le Baccara (CAA/AAA Five-Diamond gourmet restaurant; business dress code: tie optional, suit required, jeans not permitted; seats 70, open daily 5:30 p.m.–11 p.m.; reservations recommended), Banco (à la carte and buffet dining; lunch, dinner), Le Café (snack bar; 11 a.m.–4 a.m.), La Fondue Royale Accommodations: Hilton Lac-Leamy: 349 rooms Family Amenities: Children’s day

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All gaming in Québec (population 7.6 million) is licensed and overseen by Loto-Québec. This includes lotteries, casinos, video lotteries, and network bingo. Québec has three casinos, all run by the Société des casinos du Québec. Game winnings are paid out in full and are nontaxable. All casinos are nonsmoking. For the convenience of smokers, each casino has smoking lounges with high-performance ventilation systems. The main language of Québec is French, a dialect somewhat different from that of France. French Canadian is as close to “French French” as American English is to British English. Canada has two official languages, and almost everyone in Québec speaks both. Do not be surprised to see face cards marked somewhat differently in the casinos. Instead of the K, Q, J you are familiar with, you may see R (roi), D (dame), V (valet, the French translation of “knave”). The minimum age for casino play is 18.

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QUÉBEC

activity center in hotel Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Casino Privilèges Club slot and gaming club is open to all and membership is free. The membership card is valid at all 3 Québec casinos.

La Malbaie La Malbaie (population 10,000) is on the St. Lawrence River, some 95 miles northeast of Québec City in Québec’s Charlevoix County, with peaks that rise to 2,500 hundred feet. It is near great skiing including Le Massif ski resort, which has the highest vertical drop east of the Canadian Rockies.

34. Casino de Charlevoix

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Address: 183 Rue Richelieu, La Malbaie, Québec G5A 1X8 Phone: 418–665–5300, 418–665–5353; toll-free: 1–800–665–2274; fax: 418–665–5322; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–800–463–2613 Website: French: www.casino-de-charlevoix.com; English: www.casinode-charlevoix.com/web/jsp/MainPage.jsp?Params=Y.US.30101.0 Email: [email protected] Description: Atop the cliffs of Pointe-au-Pic, the Casino de Charlevoix–Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu Resort Complex overlooks the Saint Lawrence River, with a 69,940square-foot casino located within a hotel. Hours: Open year-round. July–Labor Day: Sun.–Thu., 10 a.m.–2 a.m., Fri.–Sat., 10 a.m.–3 a.m.; mid-May–June and September–October: Sun.–Thu., 11 a.m.–1 a.m., Fri.–Sat., 11 a.m.–3 a.m.; November–mid-May: Sun.–Thu., 11 a.m.–12 a.m., Fri.–Sat., 11 a.m.–3 a.m. Special longer hours around Christmas and New Year’s. Slot Machines: 800+: 25¢–$100, of which 117 are progressive slots (25¢–$200), also 12 video poker (25¢–$1) Table Games: 20: Baccarat, 8 blackjack ($5–$5,000), 2 Caribbean Stud ($5–$100), craps, 1 Let It Ride ($5–$50), 1 mini-baccarat ($10–$500), pai gow poker, 2 American roulette ($1–$500), keno, casino war Poker: No Entertainment: “Ambience music” in La Timonerie bar Restaurants: 5: Le Bellerive Bistro (lunch, dinner; 11 a.m.–1 a.m.), Le Charlevoix (gourmet dinners; 6 p.m.–10 p.m.), Le Créneau (bar and snacks; noon to casino closing), Le Saint-Laurent (breakfast, lunch, dinner; 7 a.m.–10 p.m.), Tearoom (pastries and teas; open as needed) Accommodations: 405 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Rental dog sleds, snowmobile parking, 18-hole golf course, skiing, snowmobile trails nearby, swimming pool, horseback riding, tennis court. Hotel has a health spa.

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Montréal Montréal (population 3.5 million) is Québec’s largest city. The main language is French, spoken by about two-thirds of the residents. Montréal has cold winters, warm summers, and old-world charm year-round. It’s a great city for walking, known for its safety, and also has good public transportation, including an excellent metro.

35. Casino de Montréal

SASKATCHEWAN

Saskatchewan (population 979,000) is one of the prairie provinces. It’s big, flat, and known mainly for agriculture. It is in the Central Time zone, but does not move to Daylight Savings Time in the summer. All gaming in Saskatchewan is administered by the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation (SGC), and run in partnership with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) under an agreement that provides for joint management and revenue sharing. A portion of the profits of SGC goes to FSIN. All but two casinos in Saskatchewan are First Nation establishments. Most are small. Of the remaining two, in Moose Jaw and Regina, both run by the same organization, only Casino Regina is large enough to be called world class. Gaming at the two is licensed by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA). Provincial regulations require all slot machines in Saskatchewan to pay out a minimum of 85 percent. The minimum age for casino play is 19.

NORTH AMERICA

Email: service_clientele@loto-Québec.com Description: Casino of over half a million square feet on 5 floors Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 3,080 Table Games: 124: 1 baccarat ($100–$5,000), 60 blackjack ($5–$2,000), 10 Caribbean Stud ($5–$100), craps, 3 Let It Ride ($5–$50), 7 mini-baccarat ($20–$500), 3 pai gow poker ($5–$500), 27 American roulette ($1–$1,000), sic bo, 2 super pan 9 ($25–$200), 2 keno lounges, three-card poker, casino war, touch bet roulette Poker: No Entertainment: Cabaret du Casino hosts world-class variety shows and musical revues. Le Carré lounge has live singing and music. Restaurants: 4: La Bonne Carte (buffet; Sun.–Thu. 11 a.m.–midnight, Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.–1 a.m.), L’entre-mise (snack bar; always open), Nuances (CAA/AAA Five-Diamond gourmet restaurant; business dress code: tie optional, suit required, jeans not permitted; Sun.–Thu. 5:30 p.m.–11 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 5:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m.; reservations recommended), Via Fortuna (Italian; lunch, dinner) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Perhaps one of the most elegant casinos in Canada. Nuances is one of the finest restaurants in Canada. Gaming instruction. Periodic blackjack tournaments, entry $275, plus mini-tournaments every Wed., entry $25. Also, slot tournaments.

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Address: 1 Avenue Du Casino, Montréal, Québec H3C 4W7 Phone: 514–392–2746; toll-free: 1–800–665–2274; fax: 514–864–4950 Website: French: www.casino-de-montreal.com; English: www.casinode-montreal.com/accueil_cm.jsp?Params=Y.US.1.0

Prince Albert Prince Albert (population 34,200), the third-largest city (after Saskatoon and Regina) in Saskatchewan, lies approximately in the center of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, 90 miles north of Saskatoon. Known as the “Gateway to the North,” being the most northerly major center as well as being situated where the agricultural prairie of the south meets the forested and lakeland areas of the north, Prince Albert’s main industries are mining, forestry, and agriculture. Founded in 1886 and incorporated as the city of Prince Albert in 1904, it was named after Prince Albert Victor, son of the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII).

36. Northern Lights Casino

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Address: 44 Marquis Road West, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan S6V 7L7 Phone: 306–764–4777; fax: 306–922–1000; hotel reservations: 306–922–5000 Website: www.siga.sk.ca/NorthernLights

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Description: First Nation 36,200-square-foot casino Hours: Sun.12 p.m.–3 a.m.; Mon.–Wed., 10 a.m.–a.m.; Thu.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4 a.m. Slot Machines: 294, plus 183 VLTs Table Games: 15: 10 blackjack, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, red dog, 2 roulette Poker: 2 tables: 7-stud ($1-$5); hold’em on request. Occasional money-added tournaments Entertainment: Live lounge entertainment Restaurants: 1: Northstar (buffet; lunch, dinner) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Gift shop, meeting facility

Regina Regina (population 180,000) is the capital of Saskatchewan. It is the Canadian city closest to the geographical center of North America. It lies on the flat, treeless prairie about 100 miles north of the U. S. border. Its original name was Pile O’ Bones, a translation of Wascana, the native name for a nearby creek. Since this was considered unsuitable for a capital, the city was renamed Regina (“queen” in Latin) in honor of Queen Victoria. Many visitors mispronounce the name of the city; it’s R’JIE-nuh.

37. Casino Regina Address: 1880 Saskatchewan Drive, Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 0B2 Phone: 306–565–3000; toll-free: 1–800–555–3189; fax: 306–787–5880; show reservations: 306–565–3000 Website: www.casinoregina.com Description: 10,000-square-foot casino Hours: Daily 9 a.m.–4 a.m., closed Dec. 24–25. Poker room: 5 p.m–4 a.m. weekdays, 12 p.m–4 a.m. weekends and holidays. Slot Machines: Over 750 slot machines, including specialty games and multiline games, in 1¢, 5¢, 25¢, and $1 credits. Includes progressive slots, with jackpot guaranteed to be over $250,000. Also keno machines, video poker machines, and a Royal Ascot horse racing machine. Table Games: 35+: Baccarat ($10–$500), progressive blackjack, blackjack,

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE Caribbean Stud ($5–$100), Let It Ride ($5–$10), red dog ($5–$100), three-card poker, casino war, French roulette ($1–$500), keno Poker: Annual Harvest Poker Classic, two weeks of the largest tournaments in Canada. No-limit hold’em tournaments every Sat. at 1 p.m., $20+$5 buy-in, with $20 rebuys and a $20 add-on. Regular Omaha high-low and hold’em tournaments. Entertainment: Show lounge, featuring pop and country favorites Restaurants: 1 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Casino Regina slots return an average of over 92 percent. Slot tournaments. Players Club slot card for cash back and prizes.

38. Emerald Casino Address: 2606 Lorne Avenue, Saskatoon Praireland Exhibition Center Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 4E4 Phone: 306–683–8845; toll-fee: 1–888–931–9333; fax: 306–683–8848 Website: www.saskatoonex.com/emerald Email: [email protected] Description: 16,000-square-foot casino Hours: Sun.–Thu, 9:30 a.m.–2 a.m.; Fri.–Sat., 9:30 a.m.–4 a.m. VLTs: Open Mon.–Sat. 10:30 a.m., noon Sun. Slot Machines: 100 VLTs Table Games: 27: Craps ($5–$200), blackjack, progressive blackjack, Canadian stook, roulette, mini-baccarat, Let It Ride Bonus, Triple Thot Bonus, Tre’ Card Stud, Extreme 21, baccarat Poker: 7-stud: ($1-$5 spread limit); 7-stud high-low ($2-$10 spread limit); hold’em ($3-$6, $4-$8, $3-$6-$12, $5-$10, $10-$20), Omaha high-low ($3-$6, $4-$8, $3-$6-$12, $5-$10, $10-$20). Tournaments every Wed. at 7:30 p.m. 10 percent rake to a maximum of $3. Jackpot drop of $1 per pot. Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1: Open 10:30 a.m. Mon.–Sat., noon Sun. Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Next to the Western Development Museum. Casino has simulcast racing and a racebook. Lottery tickets. Spectators permitted in poker room, so if a friend is playing or you just want to learn, this is a good place for that. Tournaments in blackjack, roulette, and poker. Free gaming lessons in blackjack, mini-baccarat, and roulette.

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Saskatoon (population 230,000), Saskatchewan’s largest city, on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, is in the central part of the province, about 190 miles from the U.S. border and 160 miles northwest of Regina. The name “Saskatoon” comes from the Cree Indian name, mis-sask-quah-toomina, of a local indigenous berry. Saskatoon berries make great pies and are well known in Canada.

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Saskatoon

YUKON TERRITORY

The Yukon (population 31,000) is one of Canada’s northern territories, above British Columbia between Alaska and the Northwest Territories. Whitehorse is the capital.

Dawson City Some 40,000 visitors come to Dawson City every summer, though the population itself has dwindled to 2,000 from 40,000 at the height of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1896.

39. Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall

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Address: 4th Avenue and Queen Street, Dawson City, Yukon Territory Y0B 1G0 Phone: 867–993–5525, 867–993–5575; fax: 867–993–5513 Website: www.dawsoncity.ca/attr_dtg.php

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Email: [email protected] Description: This 8,000-square-foot casino was Canada’s first legalized gambling hall. The building was built in 1910, and transformed in 1971 into a casino named after a famous dance-hall queen, Gertie Lovejoy, who received her nickname from having a diamond inserted between her two front teeth. Hours: May–Sep.: Mon.–Fri., 7 p.m.–2 a.m., Sat.–Sun., 2 p.m.–2 a.m.; Feb.–Apr.: Thu.–Sat., 7 p.m.–2 a.m. Slot Machines: 64, including video poker Table Games: Blackjack, red dog, multiaction blackjack, American roulette Poker: Hold’em, pineapple high-low, Omaha high-low Entertainment: Live can-can show Restaurants: 1 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: $6 nightly, $20 season pass Dress Code: No Bonus: Revenue from Gerties is reinvested in the community to preserve history, produce local events and tourist attractions, and promote the Klondike area.

The United States A BIT OF HISTORY

The history of gambling in the United States is not always clear and verifiable. You’ll find in many history books that the earliest settlements in America were partly funded by lotteries. George Washington is reported to have run a lottery to fund construction of a road to his Appalachia property. Many say that New Orleans was the first major gambling center in the United States. By the early 1700s, many taverns had special areas and tables dedicated to gambling. In 1823, gambling was officially legalized there; it cost $5,000, a lot of money for the time, for a license to operate a casino, and the money was allocated to schools and hospitals. By 1850, there were more than 5,000 casinos along the Mississippi River; they offered mainly craps and card games. Many of these establishments were open 24 hours a day. Riverboat gambling gained a lot of notoriety in the 1800s, with many professional

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE gamblers plying their trade up and down the Mississippi River. Many of these so-called professionals were nothing more than cheats and thieves, and riverboat gambling died out in the 1860s. But even during their heyday of 1840–60, riverboats were not the floating casinos seen today on many riverways; instead, the gambling was among passengers, and often surreptitious.

RIVERBOAT GAMBLING

Casino gambling in the Midwest began on April 1, 1991, when the Diamond Jo made its maiden voyage down the Mississippi River in Iowa. Riverboat casinos once were forced to have regular sailing trips to maintain the fiction of not being land-based, even if such trips merely meant traveling a few miles or less away from where they normally docked. Those subject to extreme weather conditions were later not required to sail in the winter. Eventually laws were modified to allow riverboats to be permanently docked. Some were essentially barges and could not really sail if forced to. Some still maintained sailing schedules—even if they never actually sailed—and patrons could enter only during specified hours and were forced to leave at the end of each time period. Such casinos now have taken the form of dockside riverboat casinos and are permanently moored. Their only difference from land-based casinos is that they are physically located on the water, usually a state’s major river, although different states have different definitions of which tributaries legally constitute elements of the specific waterway.

STATES NOT LISTED

Some states have no major casinos and thus are not listed here. For example, at the time of this writing, Wyoming has no poker or casino gambling at all. Idaho has only a few casinos. None has table games, and all are too small to be considered among the world’s best.

NORTH AMERICA

The face of gambling in the United States underwent a great change in 1987, when the Supreme Court ruled in a California case that Native American tribes could establish casinos in states that already offered other forms of gambling. On the heels of this decision, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed in 1988. This set in motion procedures under which tribes would negotiate with states to establish casinos. The first such successful negotiation was a compact between the Cabazon Indians of Southern California with the state of California. Tribes campaigned to be recognized by the federal government. Some tribes didn’t even have land of their own, but together with outside consultants they established their claims. Now some tribes consisting of as few as a couple of dozen members earn over $100 million a year on casinos that have been constructed on their reservations and rival the best of Las Vegas.

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NATIVE AMERICAN CASINOS

ARIZONA

Casino gaming in Arizona is conducted by Native American tribes. At the time of this writing, there were 17 such casinos. Just as in other states, the tribes negotiated state compacts pursuant to the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. This act permits tribes to operate for-profit games of chance not otherwise outlawed by the state. The minimum age for gambling in Arizona is 21.

Camp Verde Camp Verde (population 9,500) is on the Verde River in central Arizona, 45 miles south of Flagstaff and 120 miles north of Phoenix.

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40. Cliff Castle Casino

NORTH AMERICA

Address: 555 Middle Verde Road, Camp Verde, Arizona 86322 Phone: 928–567–7900; toll-free: 1–800–381–SLOT (1–800–381–7568); fax: 928–567–7901; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–800–524–6343 Website: www.cliffcastle.com Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Description: 140,000-square-foot Native American (Yavapai-Apache Nation) casino Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 570 Table Games: 14: Blackjack, with liberal Nevada rules Poker: 10 tables: Hold’em, Omaha high and high-low, 7-stud high and high-low. Bad beat jackpots. Regular tournaments: No-limit hold’em shootout ($15 buy-in, no rebuys): Mon. 11 a.m., 6 p.m.; Wed. 11 a.m.; Fri. 11 a.m. Limit hold’em shootout ($15 buy-in, no rebuys): Tue., Thu. 11 a.m., 6 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m. No-limit hold’em ($25 buy-in, $10 rebuys, $5 entry fee): Wed. 7 p.m., Sat. 12:30 p.m. All first-place tournament winners are entered into a free-roll shootout the last Sun. of each month. World Poker Tour qualifier satellites run regularly, with online registration available. Entertainment: Stargazer Pavilion has outdoor headliner shows. Free lounge shows. Restaurants: 4: Storytellers (dinner, Thu.–Sun.), Gallery (all meals, always open), Gathering (café), Johnny Rockets (burgers) Accommodations: No. Lodge at Cliff Castle nearby. Family Amenities: Kids’ menus at Gallery Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Castle Club rewards card. Line dancing, with lessons, Thu. in the Dragonfly Lounge 7 p.m.–9 p.m. Cash and prize giveaways. Blackjack tournaments, with cash added by the casino. Game show night to Castle Club members on Wed. nights, with cash prizes. Stay-and-play $67 packages for accommodations Sun.–Thu. at Lodge at Cliff Castle, and reductions in golf fees; package includes a $30 meal, drink tickets, and $10 in quarters. Cliff Castle Casino is close to major tourist attractions, including Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, and Montezuma Castle cliff dwellings.

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE

Chandler Chandler (population 202,000) is about 15 miles southeast of Phoenix.

41. Gila River Casino-Wild Horse Pass

Laveen Laveen (population 6,000), is a suburb of Phoenix located approximately 4 miles southwest of the city.

42. Gila River Casino-Vee Quiva Address: 6443 North Komatke Lane, Laveen, Arizona 85339 Phone: 520–796–7777; toll-free: 1–800–WINGILA (1–800–946–4452); fax: 520–796–7835 Website: www.wingilariver.com/veequiva.php Description: 116,700-square-foot Native American (Pima and Maricopa) casino, 15 miles south of the I-10 freeway on 51st Avenue Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 500: 5¢–$2; reel and video, video keno, poker, blackjack Table Games: 8: Blackjack ($5–$500) Poker: 7-stud, hold’em, Omaha daily, with limits of $1-$3 up to $100-$300 Entertainment: Karaoke every Wed. 7–11 p.m. Live local entertainment every Thu., Fri., Sat. Restaurants: 2: restaurant, deli Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Players Club rewards card, usable at any Gila River Casino. High-stakes bingo twice daily (12:30, 6:30 p.m.) in 500-seat hall. Nonsmoking

NORTH AMERICA

Description: 167,000-square-foot Native American (Pima and Maricopa) casino, off I-10 freeway on Wild Horse Pass Boulevard (exit 162) Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 750: 5¢–$2; reel and video; video keno, poker, blackjack Table Games: 18 blackjack ($5–$500), keno (live, multirace, with payouts up to $100,000) Poker: 7stud, hold’em, Omaha daily, with limits of $1-$3 up to $100-$300 Entertainment: Karaoke every Wed. 7–11 p.m. Live local entertainment every Thu., Fri., Sat. Restaurants: 3: Restaurant with buffet, 2 delis; 4 in hotel Accommodations: Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa next door has 500 rooms Family Amenities: Koyote Kid’s Club provides entertaining and educational activities for children, ages 5–12 years, of resort guests. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Players Club rewards card, usable at any Gila River Casino. High-stakes bingo twice daily (12:30, 6:30 p.m.) in 1,500-seat hall. Nonsmoking areas. Global Cash Access permits casino patrons to redeem slot tickets, vouchers, and coupons, perform ATM, debit, and credit card cash advance transactions, redeem players’ club points for complimentary services and cash, and break bills to exchange currency on one machine. Over 100,000 square feet of meeting space at resort. Spa. Free and valet parking.

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Address: 5550 West Wildhorse Pass, Chandler, Arizona 85226 Phone: 520–796–7777; toll-free: 1–800–WINGILA (1–800–946–4452); fax: 520–796–7835 Website: www.wingilariver.com/wildhorsepass.php

areas. Global Cash Access permits casino patrons to redeem slot tickets, vouchers, and coupons, perform ATM, debit, and credit card cash advance transactions, redeem players’ club points for complimentary services and cash, and break bills to exchange currency on one machine. Cash giveaways. Free and valet parking.

Fountain Hills Fountain Hills (population 22,475) is a suburb of Phoenix located 20 miles east of the city and right next to Scottsdale. It is the site of what is billed as one of the world’s highest fountains, which sends a stream of water 560 feet into the sky from the center of a manmade lake.

43. Fort McDowell Casino

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Address: 10424 North Fort McDowell Road, Fountain Hills, Arizona 85269 Phone: 480–837–1424; toll-free: 1–800–THEFORT (1–800–843–3678) Website: www.fortmcdowellcasino.com

NORTH AMERICA

Description: 150,000-square-foot Native American (Yavapai) casino, on the northwest corner of Fort McDowell Road and State Route 87 (Beeline Highway). From the Phoenix area: Take Shea Boulevard east to State Route 87 (Beeline Highway), turn left (northeast), after 2 miles turn left on Fort McDowell Road; or, take State Route 87 (Beeline Highway) north, and 2 miles past Shea Boulevard turn left on Fort McDowell Road. From northeast Arizona: Take State Route 87 (Beeline Highway) south 60 miles past Payson, and turn right on Fort McDowell Road. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 775: reel, video, and progressive Table Games: Live million-dollar keno, blackjack with Las Vegas rules Poker: Hold’em, Omaha high-low, 7-stud high and high-low. Bad beat jackpots. No-limit hold’em tournaments every day at noon and 7 p.m., with buy-ins of $13, $17, $27 (your choice, depending on how many chips you would like to start the tournament with), plus $10 rebuys for the first hour. You can earn up to 2,000 extra tournament chips by playing in a live poker game before the tournament. $1,000 is added to the prize pool and the top 10 finishers are paid. Entertainment: Showroom, with lounge and tribute shows, live music Restaurants: 5: Silver Platter (’50s food; in bingo hall, open from 7:30 am), Café 87 (American and Asian), Beeline Deli (24 hours), Lucky 7 Saloon (11 a.m.–12:45 am), Verde River Buffet, The Peaks (steaks, seafood) Accommodations: No. Several hotels nearby. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Rewards card. High-stakes bingo 2 or 3 times daily. Karaoke contest with cash prizes Tue. 7:30 p.m. Fort McDowell Adventures offers a Wild West experience on the 25,000-acre Yavapai Indian Reservation, just minutes from Fort McDowell Casino. Free poker lessons for beginners. Free shuttles from area locations. Daily benefits for seniors (55+). Valet parking.

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE

Maricopa Maricopa (population 5,000), is 20 miles south of Phoenix, west of Interstate Highway 10.

44. Harrah’s Phoenix Ak-Chin Casino Resort

Parker Parker (population 3,140) is on the California–Arizona border, where highway 62 from Twenty-Nine Palms crosses the Colorado River and meets Arizona’s highway 95.

45. BlueWater Resort and Casino Address: 11300 Resort Drive, Parker, Arizona 85344 Phone: 928–669–7777; toll-free: 1–888–243–3360; entertainment information: 928–669–7035 Website: www.bluewaterfun.com Description: 30,000-square-foot Native American casino in a resort on the Colorado River Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year. Keno hours Mon.–Thu.,11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Fri.–Sun., 7 a.m.–11 p.m. Poker room opens Mon.–Sun. at 7 p.m. Slot Machines: 460: 5¢–$1 Table Games: Blackjack, keno Poker: Hold’em, Omaha high-low, 7-stud. Hold’em tournaments Tue., Thu. 7 p.m. Entertainment: Summer Concerts. Concerts in the resort’s outdoor amphitheater have featured John Michael Montgomery, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, America, Dick Dale, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, and the Commodores. Dig Lounge (Tue.–Sun. 8 p.m.–1 a.m.) has live entertainment,

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Email: None available outside of customer service requests, which can be done through the website. Description: 40,000-square-foot casino in a resort near Phoenix Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year (keno opens at 10 a.m.). Poker room open Wed.–Sun. at 10:00 a.m. (closed Mon., Tue.) Slot Machines: 950: 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $2, and $5 reel and video machines. Progressive and linked machines, video keno, 21, poker, all with bill acceptors. Table Games: 21: Blackjack ($5–$500), $100,000 keno Poker: Hold’em, 7-stud. Tournaments and progressive bad-beat jackpots. Entertainment: Free lounge and local acts most nights in Oasis Lounge Restaurants: 4: Harvest Buffet (open nightly 5 p.m.), Range Steakhouse (6p.m.–11 p.m.), Agave’s Southwest Restaurant (breakfast, lunch, dinner), Munchies (deli, 24 hours) Accommodations: 146 rooms, including 4 suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: 10,000-square-foot “Bingotainment Center,” with sessions Wed.–Sun. 12:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Total Rewards card, with cash and merchandise giveaways, specials for seniors (50+). Three ballrooms, one 5,000 square feet, for group dining and for business meetings. Wedding facilities. Jacuzzi, outdoor pool with swim-up bar. Dance floor.

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Address: 15406 North Maricopa Road, Maricopa, Arizona 85239 Phone: 480–802–5000; toll-free: 1–800–HARRAHS (1–800–427–7247) and ask for Harrah’s Phoenix Ak-Chin Casino Resort Website: www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/akc

karaoke. Restaurants: 4: River Willow (steak, etc., open 5p.m.–11 p.m.), The Feast (buffet, open Sun.–Thu. 6 a.m.–12 a.m., Fri.–Sat. 6 a.m.–2 a.m.), River’s Edge Cantina (open Wed.–Sun. 10 a.m. to dusk, on the water, serving burgers, hot dogs, French fries, snacks), Bluewater Bakery (6 a.m.–1 p.m., serving pastries, sandwiches, soup, coffee specialties, etc.), plus snack bar Accommodations: 200 rooms, including suites Family Amenities: Indoor water park (9 a.m.–10 p.m.), video arcade, 18-hole miniature golf Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Slot club rewards card. Bingo twice daily. Conference center for meetings accommodates up to 450; weddings, reunions, graduations, etc., hosted. Four-plex theater next door.

Pinetop 36

Pinetop (population 3,600) is within the largest stand of Ponderosa pines in the U.S. Pinetop is located near the junction of State Routes 73 and 260, 130 miles northeast of Phoenix. The area attracts tourists year round, and on busy holiday weekends the population rises to 20,000 to 30,000.

NORTH AMERICA

46. Hon-Dah Casino Address: 777 Highway 260, Pinetop, Arizona 85935 Phone: 928–369–0299; toll-free: 1–800–929–8744 Website: www.hon-dah.com/casino.html Description: 19,000-square-foot Native American (White Mountain Apache) casino located in the White Mountains 3 miles south of Pinetop, at the junction of State Routes 73 and 260. “Hon-Dah” means “welcome” in Apache. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year. Poker room: Mon.–Fri. 4 p.m. until closing, Sat., Sun. 2 p.m. until closing. Slot Machines: 596: 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5; reel, video poker, progressives, multidenomination machines, state-wide network for megajackpots. About half the machines are ticket in-ticket out and also take cash, the rest are coin pay machines Table Games: 6: Blackjack (limits Thu. 10 a.m.–5 p.m.: $3–$25, $5–$50, $10–$100; limits can be raised after 5 p.m. and on weekends) Poker: 3 tables: Hold’em ($6-$12), Omaha, 7-stud ($1-$5 spread limit), or any game on request. Regular tournaments: Mon. 6 p.m. mixed hold’emOmaha-crazy pineapple ($10 buy-in, $5 rebuys), Tue. 6 p.m. mixed hold’em-Omaha ($20 buy-in, 1 $20 rebuy), Wed. 6 p.m. no-limit hold’em (1 $30 buy-in), Thu. 6 p.m. Omaha (1 $30 buy-in), Sat. 3 p.m. no-limit hold’em ($10 buy-in, $10 rebuys), Sun. 3 p.m. crazy pineapple ($15 buy-in, $5 rebuys) Entertainment: Live bands (Tue.–Sat. 8 p.m.–midnight), concerts, comedy club (Mon. 7 p.m.–8:30 p.m.) Restaurants: 1: Indian Pines (breakfast, lunch, dinner, buffets; Sun.–Thu. 6 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 6 a.m.–11 p.m.); plus 1 lounge, 2 bars Accommodations: 128 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Player’s Club rewards card for slots. Gift shop. RV park has 258 sites with full hookups. Daily shuttle to Sunrise Ski Resort (19 miles away). Summer tours of reservation and White Mountain Area. Only casino within 120 miles. Onsite convenience store. Ski and outdoor sports shop where ski equipment can be rented during the season, and fishing licenses can be purchased during fishing season. Pow-Wow in the Pines in June highlights native culture and the White Mountain Apache Crown Dancers. Conference center with the area’s largest (8,482 square feet) meeting room, accommodat-

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE ing over 700 in theater-style seating and 450 for banquet-style seating; 6 independent conference rooms, also configurable as 1 large room.

Prescott Prescott (population 34,000), 75 miles northwest of Phoenix, was the original capital of the Arizona Territory from 1863 until the territorial capital moved to Tucson in 1867. It was again the capital from 1877–1889, until Phoenix became the final state capital. Nonlocals incorrectly call the city press-KOT; locals say PRESS-k’t.

Description: Two Native American (Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe) casinos with 24,000 square feet of gaming, about half a mile apart. Bucky’s is in Prescott Resort, where the hotel is; Yavapai is at the entrance. From Phoenix (90 minutes): Go north on I-17 to Cordes Junction exit (Exit 262), take Highway 69 west into Prescott; Bucky’s Casino adjoins the Prescott Resort and Yavapai Casino is just across the street. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 475 Table Games: 8: Blackjack (including $2 tables 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Fri.) Poker: 6 tables (at Yavapai): Hold’em ($3-$6, sometimes $6-$12), 7-stud ($1$4 spread-limit, not frequent), 7-stud high-low ($1-$3-$6-$6), Omaha high-low ($3-$6). Bad beat jackpots. Regular tournaments: Tue., Sat. noon–2:15 p.m., limit/no-limit hold’em ($20+$5, unlimited $10 rebuys first hour, $30 add-on, $125 added per table, 10 rounds of 10 minutes each, final table no-limit, extra starting chips for live hold’em play 9 a.m. on). Sun. 10 a.m.–12:15 p.m., no-limit hold’em shootout ($15 buy-in, no rebuys, no house fee, winner takes all, 10 10-minute rounds, winner at each table qualifies for the last Sun. freeroll). Last Sun. of each month 6 p.m.–8:15 p.m. no-limit hold’em freeroll (only qualified players, $600 added, 10 rounds of 10 minutes each). Thu. 6 p.m.–8:15 p.m. 7-stud ($20+$5, 1 $25 rebuy any time during first hour, $125 added per table, 10 10-minute rounds, final table no-limit, extra starting chips for live 7-stud play prior-tournament). All added money in tournaments comes from the jackpot fund. Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2: canteen at Yavapai, restaurant at hotel Accommodations: Prescott Resort has 161 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Gold Rush Club rewards card for slots, bingo, poker. Cash giveaways. Bingo daily, except Mon., Fri., with nonsmoking sections. Free shuttle from area communities, including Phoenix.

NORTH AMERICA

Address: 1505 E. State Route 69, Prescott, Arizona 86301 Phone: poker room: 928–541–9482; toll-free: 1–800–SLOTS–44 (1–800–756–8744) Website: www.buckyscasino.com

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47. Bucky’s & Yavapai Casinos

San Carlos San Carlos (population 3,700) is 90 miles east of Tucson on Highway 70. At an elevation of 3,400 feet, the summer temperatures here run 15 percent cooler than Phoenix and Tucson.

48. Apache Gold Hotel Casino Address: Highway 70, San Carlos, Arizona 85501 Phone: 928–475–7800; toll-free: 1–800–APACHE–8 (1–800–272–2438); fax: 928–475–7692 Website: www.apachegoldcasinoresort.com

38 NORTH AMERICA

Email: [email protected] Description: 60,000-square-foot Native American (San Carlos Apache) casino in a resort complex, 5 miles east of Globe Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 500+: 5¢, 25¢, $1; video and reel slot machines and wide-area progressives. Video roulette and craps. Table Games: 6 blackjack, $50,000 live keno Poker: 5 tables: Hold’em ($3-$6, with a kill for winning 2 in a row). Daily high hand awards, free logo satin jacket for royal flush. Regular tournaments: No-limit hold’em Wed., Thu. 6 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Entertainment: Cabaret Showroom features shows from Las Vegas and around the country, including country music, rock and roll, funk and hip-hop, and Broadway shows. Restaurants: 2: Apache Grill, Wickiup Buffet Accommodations: 146room Best Western Hotel, offering stay-and-play packages ($39 for two), and special rates for Fun Bus customers. Also, golf rates. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Player’s Club rewards card. Keno runners. Bingo. Bingo tournaments. Poker room menu. Free poker lessons. Golf-and-hotel specials. RV park with over 60 spaces. Apache Stronghold 18-hole championship golf course. Hotel has Jacuzzi, pool.

Scottsdale Scottsdale (population 221,200), a suburb, is 5 miles east of Phoenix.

49. Casino Arizona at Salt River Address: 524 North 92nd Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85256 Phone: 480–850–7777; toll-free: 1–877–724–4687 Website: www.casinoaz.com Email: Contact form on website. Description: 100,000-square-foot Native American (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community) casino. Directions: From Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, take the 202 freeway eastbound to the 101 freeway northbound, exit at McKellips, turn right (east), then take a left at 92nd Street. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 998, all ticket-pay (no coins); multi-denominational; includes 80 highlimit slots. The Casino Arizona slot floor features BJ Blitz, a multistation video blackjack game, video roulette, video poker, and progressives. Table Games: 50 blackjack, $250,000 keno Poker: No Entertainment: The Showroom at Casino Arizona is a 250-

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE seat cabaret-style venue featuring entertainers six nights a week from the worlds of jazz, country, rock, and popular music, as well as comedy, production reviews, dance, and magic shows. It also features Showstoppers Live, a popular musical tribute to America’s greatest superstars. Performances Sun. and Tue. 7 p.m., Wed.–Sat. 7 and 9 p.m. Has an outdoor mesquite fireplace and indoor living room atmosphere. Restaurants: 4 (2 open 24 hours) plus 6 lounges Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Complimentary first-class limousine service available throughout the valley; call 480–850–7790 for details. Cashback Players’ Club rewards card. Cashback Players’ Club members get reductions at certain area hotels. Native art featured in casino. Blackjack classes Sat., Sun. 4 p.m.–7 p.m.

Email: Contact form on website Description: 30,000-square-foot Native American (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community) casino, located next to Scottsdale’s Pavilions Shopping Center and Talking Stick Golf Course. Directions: From Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, take 202 east to the 101 freeway north, exit going east at Indian Bend Road. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year; keno 10 a.m.–2 a.m. Slot Machines: 532, all ticket-pay (no coins); multi-denominational; includes 80 highlimit slots. The Casino Arizona slot floor features BJ Blitz, a multistation video blackjack game, video roulette, video poker, and progressives. Table Games: 36 blackjack, $250,000 keno. Poker: 45 tables: Hold’em, Omaha high-low, 7-stud. Tournaments 5 days a week and 1 Sat. a month: Mon. 11 a.m., Tue. 7 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 11 a.m., Fri. 11 a.m. Players earn points every time they place in a tournament. Qualifying players compete in a shootout challenge, the top semifinalists then compete the next day, with the top two finishers receiving a $10,000 entry to a major event in Las Vegas, plus round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, and a cash prize. Bad-beat jackpots. An “Aces Cracked Wins a Rack” hold’em promotion on graveyard from 3 a.m–9 a.m. Mon.–Fri. pays out an average of $1,000 per day. Graveyard bonus jackpots: $25,000 added to the posted jackpot amount 3 a.m–8 a.m. Mon.–Fri. for stud and hold’em. Entertainment: Lounge entertainment Restaurants: 2 plus 3 lounges Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Poker room completely nonsmoking. Blackjack classes Sat., Sun. 4 p.m.–7 p.m. Poker classes Sat., Sun. 7 p.m.–9 p.m. Off-track betting (dog races only). Complimentary first class limousine service available throughout the valley; call 480–850–7790 for details. Cashback Players’ Club rewards card. Cashback Players’ Club members get reductions at certain area hotels. Native art featured in casino.

NORTH AMERICA

Address: 9700 East Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale, Arizona 85256 Phone: 480–850–7777; toll-free: 1–877–724–4687 Website: www.casinoaz.com

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50. Casino Arizona at Talking Stick

Sahuarita Sahuarita (population 3,300) is 10 miles south of Tucson on the Santa Cruz River.

51. Desert Diamond Casino-I-19 Address 1100 W Pima Mine Road, Sahuarita, Arizona 85629 Phone: 520–294–7777; toll-free jackpot line: 1–866–DDC–WINS (1–866–332–9467) Website: www.desertdiamondcasino.com

40 NORTH AMERICA

Email: [email protected] Description: Native American (Tohono O’odham Nation) casino, just south of Tucson. From Tucson, take Interstate 19 south, casino is next to the highway at Exit 80, Pima Mine Road (just south of Valencia Road). From Nogales and Green Valley, take I-19 north to Exit 80. Hours: Mon.–Fri. 9 a.m.–4 a.m.; Sat.–Sun. 24 hours. Keno: Sun.–Thu. 9 a.m.–1 a.m.; Fri., Sat., 9 a.m.–3 a.m. Slot Machines: 500: From 1¢ games to statewide progressive slots; including video poker and blackjack Table Games: 15 blackjack ($3–$500), million-dollar keno Poker: No Entertainment: Headliner performances at the 2,400-seat Diamond Center. Sports Bar’s entertainment lounge features karaoke, dance music, comedy night, local talent. Restaurants: 3: Agave (casual dining), Diamond Buffet, Diamond Grill (snack bar, open entire time casino is open) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Desert Diamond rewards card. Blackjack lessons Tue., Thu. 10 a.m.–12 p.m. and 6 p.m.–8 p.m. Shuttle service for all hotels and resorts, shuttle service for group special events, shuttle service for Green Valley residents (every day); shuttle service to Nogales, AZ (Wed.–Sun.); shuttle between Desert Diamond Casino I-19 and Desert Diamond Casino Nogales Highway locations. Custom pickup for groups of 10 or more.

Tucson Tucson (population 508,000), 110 miles southeast of Phoenix and 65 miles north of the Mexican border, is the second-largest city in Arizona, after Phoenix. It is the home of the University of Arizona.

52. Casino Del Sol Address: 5655 West Valencia, Tucson, Arizona 85746 Phone: 520–838–6506; toll-free: 1–800–344–9435 Website: www.casinodelsol.com Email: Contact form on website Description: 22,500-square-foot Native American (Pascua Yaqui Tribe) casino with high ceilings and Tuscan architecture, in south Tucson. Casino opened in late 2001. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 500: 5¢, 25¢, $1, $5, and multi-denominational Table Games: 16: Blackjack ($3–$500) Poker: 13 tables: Hold’em, Omaha, 7-stud. Weekly tournaments. Jackpots. Freeroll and pot-limit games. Cash giveaways. Entertainment: Anselmo Tori Valencia Amphitheater (AVA), Arizona’s largest (5,000 seats) outdoor amphitheater, hosts

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE world-famous musical acts. The concert venue has already attracted artists such as Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, Tony Bennett, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Restaurants: 7 (fine dining, Mexican, diner, etc.) plus 3 bars Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Sol rewards club, focusing on cash back. High-stakes bingo 6 times a day. Free shuttles. For Club Sol members: Groups of 10 to 14 people all get a free meal at either Casino of the Sun or Casino Del Sol, and groups of 15 or more also get a $10 coupon.

53. Casino of the Sun

54. Desert Diamond Casino Nogales Highway Address: 7350 South Nogales Highway, Tucson, Arizona 85634 Phone: 520–294–7777; toll-free: 1–866–DDC–WINS (1–866–332–9467); poker: 520–741–3541 Website: www.desertdiamondcasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: Native American (Tohono O’odham Nation) casino in south Tucson. Directions: From Tucson, take I-19 south to Valencia Road, turn east on Valencia to Nogales Highway, turn south and Desert Diamond Casino is 1 mile on the right. From East Tucson, take Valencia west 2 miles past the airport, turn south on Nogales Highway, and Desert Diamond Casino is 1 mile on the right. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 808: From 1¢ games to statewide progressive slots, including video poker and blackjack Table Games: 21 blackjack ($3–$500), million-dollar keno Poker: 18 tables: Hold’em, Omaha high-low, 7-stud high and high-low. Uncapped bad beat jackpots. $50 “Splash Pots” (house adds money to certain pots) Mon.–Fri. at designated times. Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1: Grill, plus 24-hour snack bar, 1 bar Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: High-stakes bingo, 2 or 3 times daily. Desert Diamond rewards card. Poker lessons. Half-off meals for poker players. Shuttle service for all hotels and resorts, shuttle service for group special events, shuttle service for Green Valley residents (every day); shuttle service to Nogales, AZ (Wed.–Sun.); shuttle between Desert Diamond Casino Nogales Highway and Desert Diamond I-19 locations. Custom pickup for groups of 10 or more.

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Email: [email protected] Description: 24,000-square-foot Native American (Pascua Yaqui Tribe) casino that originally opened in 1989 as a bingo hall called Arizona Club. Casino of the Sun employees 600 people. About 2 blocks from Casino Del Sol. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 410: Video poker, craps, roulette Table Games: 6: Blackjack Poker: No Entertainment: See Casino Del Sol Restaurants: 2: Buffet, Midnight Express (snacks) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Sol rewards club, focusing on cash back. Cash drawings. Bingo

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Address: 7406 South Camino de Oeste, Tucson, Arizona 85746 Phone: 520–879–5450; toll-free: 1–800–344–9435 Website: www.casinosun.com

Yuma Yuma (population 65,000) is in southwest Arizona near the Colorado River, which forms the border with California, 155 miles southeast of Phoenix and about 20 miles from Mexico. While the Colorado River generally forms the border between California and Arizona, the course of the river has changed over the years and the border here is not at the river, but less than a mile east. In fact, the border runs right between the two sites of Paradise Casino.

55. Paradise Casino Arizona Address: 450 Quechan Drive, Yuma, Arizona 85364 Phone: 1–888–777–I WIN (1–888–777–4946) Website: www.paradise-casinos.com

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Description: 30,000-square-foot Native American (Quechan Tribe) casino. Although this casino has only slot machines and bingo, it is of interest because it is only about 20 feet from its sister casino in Winterhaven, California; the 2 casinos straddle the state line, and Paradise Casino California has table games and poker. Paradise Casinos describe themselves as the “excitement of Las Vegas without all the hassle.” Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 425+: video poker, video keno, multi-game machines Table Games: No; but Paradise Casino California has table games Poker: No; but Paradise Casino California has 4 tables of poker Entertainment: Showroom with headliners like Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Little Richard, LeAnn Rimes, Ricky Van Shelton, Pam Tillis, Thunder from Down Under Restaurants: 1: Seahorse Restaurant (24 hours) plus 2 bars (1 in each casino) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Paradise rewards card good at both casinos. Bingo.

CALIFORNIA

The first Native American casinos in the U. S. were opened in California. It was here that the first tribes negotiated state compacts pursuant to the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which permits tribes to operate for-profit games of chance not otherwise outlawed by the state. It all started with the Cabazon Indians of Southern California and their Fantasy Springs Casino in the town of Indio near Palm Springs. The minimum age for gambling in California is 18, although many casinos permit only those 21 and over to enter and play. The non-tribal cardrooms, many of which are as large as any casino, do not have traditional casino games, many of which are permitted in the Native American casinos. In particular they do not have any house-banked games. They have something called California games (see glossary), but these are mainly attempts to sidestep the law. These so-called California games include several variants of blackjack, none of which is played the same as what most people know as Nevada-style blackjack. All public cardrooms in California are completely nonsmoking, by state law. Many, though not all, of the Native American casinos are nonsmoking. Most large cardrooms have on-site masseurs and masseuses, who give massages to aching seated card players, usually charging by 15-minute increments.

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Alpine Alpine (population 13,200) is 25 miles east of San Diego, at the base of the Cuyamaca Mountains near Highway 8. The city, at an elevation of 4,000 feet, claims to have the best climate in the U.S. It has a large factory outlet center.

56. Viejas Casino

Blue Lake Blue Lake (population 1,140) is in northwestern California, 10 miles from the Pacific and 225 miles north of San Francisco.

57. Blue Lake Casino Address: 777 Casino Way Blue Lake, California 95525 Phone: 707–668–9778 Website: www.bluelakecasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: Voted best casino on the North Coast, Blue Lake Casino boasts a “high level of guest services, quality gaming, and entertainment.” Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot machines: 700 Table games: 16: Blackjack, Spanish 21, Lucky Ladies Poker: Trillium Poker room offers hold’em, Omaha, Omaha high-low, dealer’s choice. Daily tournaments include low buy-ins and freerolls, plus bounty events. See website for current schedule. Poker lessons. Ladies’ tournaments. Entertainment: Sapphire Palace has live shows, like Scott Amendola Jazz Trio. Steelhead Lounge has free live music nightly 9 p.m–1 a.m., karaoke night Thu. Also dancing. Restaurants: 3: Alice’s (buffet), Lily Pad Café (24 hours; breakfast buffet midnight–10 a.m.), Sapphire Palace (banquet hall) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Players Club

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Description: 210,000-square-foot Native American casino Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,000, including many with linked jackpots that are regularly in the millions of dollars; 5¢ machines and up. See website for current jackpots. Table Games: 35 blackjack ($5–$5,000), 20 pai gow poker, Let It Ride, and 8 tables of the following three games: double-hand baccarat, Caribbean Stud, three-card poker Poker: 21 tables: Hold’em, Omaha, or 7-stud. Daily and weekly tournaments, plus other monthly promotions. Entertainment: Sun.: Big bands (free); Fri. and Sat.: Top 40 shows (free); special entertainment other nights Restaurants: 5: Grove Steakhouse, Harvest Buffet, Sunrise Diner, China Camp, Mezz Deli Accommodations: No. Country Inn in Alpine is 3 miles away. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Outlet center next door. Off-track betting. Pai gow poker tournaments. Bingo: 7 regularly-scheduled games daily, $32,000 pot on Sun. V-Club rewards program. Valet parking.

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Address: 5000 Willows Road, Alpine, California 91901 Phone: 619–445–5400; toll-free: 1–800–84–POKER (1–800–847–6537); fax: 619–659–1954 Website: www.viejas.com

rewards card; earn gifts and cash. Special deals for seniors on Tue. Cash and merchandise giveaways. Bingo 4 or 5 days a week. Free shuttle from Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville.

Brooks Brooks (population 500) is northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area and 35 miles northwest of Sacramento.

58. Cache Creek Casino Resort

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Address: 14455 Highway 16 (at the corner of Wintun Road), Brooks, California 95606 Mailing address: Box 65, Brooks, California 95606 Phone: 530–796–3118; toll-free California: 1–800–452–8181; toll-free nationwide: 1–800–992–8686; fax: 530–796–2112 Website: www.cachecreek.com

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Description: A Native American casino owned and operated by the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians begun as a bingo hall in 1985, Cache Creek now encompasses 74,720 square feet of casino space. The 415,000-square-foot property also includes a 200-room luxury hotel and health spa, 8 restaurants, Club 88 entertainment venue, a 20,000-squarefoot event center, outdoor swimming pool, casino gift shop, and tribal-operated Mini Mart, gas station, and fire station. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,200: Includes the only 10¢ car carousel in Northern California, plus more than 550 progressive machines that accept anywhere from 2–300 coins. More than 500 nickel machines, plus 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, $10, $25, $100. Automated kiosks for ticket redemption line. Table Games: 120+: Blackjack (minimums from $5 up to $500, maximum wagers of $5,000; 2 single-deck blackjack tables and 5 double-deck tables), Caribbean Stud, Fortune Pai Gow, triple-bet Let It Ride, mini-baccarat, casino war, threecard poker Poker: 12 tables: Hold’em ($3-$6, $4-$8; no-limit, $1-$2 blinds, $100 buyin, can buy more if get below $100) Entertainment: Live entertainment daily. Musicians perform inside the casino on the Center Stage 1 p.m.–5 p.m. Club 88 showcases its own floor show Karaoke Kabaret, Thu.–Sun. 6 p.m.–10:30 p.m. The Event Center features headline entertainment. Restaurants: 8: Kung Fu Fat’s Asia Café, Loco Caliente Mexican Cantina, C2 Steak & Seafood, 400-seat Harvest Buffet, 24-hour Creekside Café, Food Court (featuring Blue Point Oyster Bar, The Deli, and Sweets, etc.) Accommodations: 200-room (includes 27 suites) four-star luxury hotel located next to casino Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Cache Club: bonus card points. Limited nonsmoking slot area. Slot tournaments scheduled regularly through the Cache Club. Separate high-limit room available for blackjack and baccarat players that includes a full-service bar and VIP cashier cage. Bingo with 1,000 seats and large full-color screens and monitors: Mon.–Thu., with matinee sessions on Sun., ranges from $8–$40 entries. Health spa, casino gift shop, swimming pool, 18-hole golf course.

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Cabazon Cabazon (population 2,300) is 75 miles east of Los Angeles and 10 miles west of Palm Springs on Interstate 10.

59. Casino Morongo Resort & Spa

Coarsegold Coarsegold (population 9,400) is 40 miles north of Fresno and 15 miles south of Yosemite National Park.

60. Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino Address: 711 Lucky Lane, Coarsegold, California 93614 Phone: 559–692–5200; toll-free: 1–866–7–WIN–WIN (1–866–7946–946) Website: www.chukchansigold.com Description: 56,000-square-foot Native American (Chukchansi Yokotch Tribe) mountain-lodge-style casino, with 4 fireplaces, waterfalls, and a wood motif; located on Highway 41 just north of Fresno. Must be 21 to play. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,800: 1¢–$100; linked and progressive, megajackpots Table Games: 47: Blackjack, pai gow poker, volcanic roulette (California roulette), poker, crazy 4, minibaccarat Poker: Not at the time of this writing, but planned soon Entertainment: Live shows, concerts with stars like Sinbad, Collin Ray, Olivia Newton-John, the Charlie Daniels Band; karaoke Restaurants: 7: California Market Buffet (specials for seniors 50+; Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–9 p.m.), Vintage Steakhouse (reservations recommended; Tue.–Sun. 5 p.m.–11 p.m., closed Mon.), Deuces Diner (Open 24 hours except Mon.–Thu. closed 6 a.m.–11 a.m.), Noodle Bar Asian Bistro (Mon. 5 p.m.–10 p.m., closed Tue.–Thu., Fri. 5 p.m.–11 p.m., Sat.–Sun. 3 p.m.–11 p.m.),

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Email: [email protected] Description: Newly upgraded 148,800-square-foot $250 million Native American (Morongo Band of Mission Indians) hotel-casino on a lake shore. Morongo is located 20 minutes west of Palm Springs off I-10 at the Cabazon Exit. From Los Angeles, take I-10 east toward Indio and exit at the Cabazon Exit, just past the Desert Hills Premium Outlets, and follow the signs to Casino Morongo. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,000 Poker: 10 tables: Hold’em, Omaha, 7-stud high and high-low. Bad beat jackpots. Table Games: 49: Blackjack, pai gow poker, three-card poker, Let It Ride, Morongo craps (see craps in glossary) Entertainment: Lounge acts; boxing Restaurants: 2: Café Serrano (Oriental, prime rib, seafood, salads, etc.), West End Café Accommodations: 23-story hotel has 310 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Winners Club card. Poker room is nonsmoking.

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Address: 49750 Seminole Road, Cabazon, California 92230 Phone: 951–849–3080; toll-free: 1–800–252–4499, 1–888–MORONGO (1–888–667–6640) Website: www.casinomorongo.com

Goldfields Cafe (6 a.m.–11 p.m.), Firehouse Blues (cabaret sports bar with finger foods; Mon. 4 p.m.–midnight, closed Tue.–Wed., Thu. 4 p.m.–midnight, Fri. 4 p.m.–2 a.m., Sat. 10 a.m.–2 a.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–midnight), The Bakery (sidewalk cafe) Accommodations: 192 rooms Dress Code: No Bonus: Chukchansi Players Club rewards card. VIP room with 4 high-stakes tables. Private bar. Free gaming lessons weekdays 3 p.m.–4 p.m. in the table games area.

Colma

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Colma (population 1,200), 10 miles south of San Francisco on Highway 280, is the home of 17 cemeteries, where, among those of the Bay Area, many war dead are buried (plus one more for pets). The literally millions of dead vastly outnumber the living. When Lucky Chances Casino originally applied for its license, politicians who were against gambling tried to block it with a bill making it illegal to have gambling in a necropolis, of which there is only one in California. One of the cemeteries has the distinction of being the final resting place of Wyatt Earp. The movie Harold and Maud was partially filmed in Colma.

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61. Lucky Chances Casino Address: 1700 Hillside Boulevard, Colma, California 94014 Phone: 650–758–2237 Website: www.luckychances.com Description: Major cardroom less than 10 miles from downtown San Francisco and 8 miles from the San Francisco Airport. At this writing, the casino is the largest in the Bay Area. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: No Table Games: 43 tables, about half devoted to California games: pai gow poker, tile pai gow, super pan 9 Poker: About half of the 43 tables: Limit hold’em, no-limit hold’em, Omaha high-low, pot-limit Omaha high-low, 7-stud. Buy-ins from $40–$1,000. Regular tournaments daily, limit and no-limit, with guaranteed prize pools ranging from $3,000–$10,000, plus added cash to some. Major tournaments include Gold Rush Bonanza, a week in November; Battle of the Bay, a week in June. Entertainment: Live entertainment every evening: ballroom dancing and high-energy disco music 10 p.m.–1:30a.m. Semi-formal attire. Restaurants: 2: Rene’s Fine Dining (lunch buffet 11 a.m.–3 p.m. every day, dinner Mon.–Sun. 5 p.m.–9 p.m., brunch every Sun.), Café Colma (24-hour coffee shop, steaks and seafood, plus American, Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese cuisines) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: The only casino in the Bay Area with underground parking. Free valet parking.

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Colusa Colusa (population 5,400) is 50 miles northwest of Sacramento, 8 miles east of Interstate 5 on Highway 20

62. Colusa Casino

Sycuan El Cajon (population 95,000) is a suburb east of San Diego on Interstate 8.

63. Sycuan Casino & Resort Address: 5469 Casino Way, El Cajon, California 92019 Phone: 619–445–6002; toll-free: 1–800–2-SYCUAN (1–800–279–2826) Website: www.sycuancasino.com Description: 305,000-square-foot Native American (Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation) hotel-casino located in a beautiful valley in the foothills east of San Diego Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,000 Table Games: Blackjack, pai gow, Sycuan craps (see craps in glossary), roulette, WPT hold’em (ante $2–$100 and bonus $1–$25) Poker: Hold’em, Omaha, 7-stud. Regular daily and weekly tournaments, many with either guaranteed prize pools or money added. Most have low buy-ins, ranging from $8–$25, some with rebuys and add-ons. Entertainment: Showroom features headline entertainers like Paul Anka, Kenny Loggins, Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, Howie Mandel Restaurants: 5: Paipa’s Oasis Buffet, Wachena Falls Cafe, Sunset Deli, Bingo Snack Bar, Cafe & Grille, plus two lounges Accommodations: 103 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual

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Description: 50,000-square-foot Native American (Cachil Dehe Band of Wintuns) casino. Must be 21 to enter. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 750+: 1¢–$5, token, ticket in-ticket out, and coin, wide-area and in-house progressive and linked jackpots, video slots, video poker Table Games: 14: California craps, single-deck blackjack, three-card poker, pai gow poker, 3–5-7 poker Poker: 6 tables: Hold’em ($3-$6, $6-$12), 7-stud ($1-$4, $1-$8 spread-limit). Regular tournaments. Hold’em, $10,000 guaranteed, second Sun. of every month 3 p.m.–7 p.m. ($155+$10); Fri., Sat., $1,000 guaranteed, hold’em 8 p.m.–11 p.m. ($20 minimum, $60 maximum buy-in). Satellites for World Series of Poker. Free poker lessons 4:30 p.m. Sun. Entertainment: Comedy shows, with comedians like Gallagher, Williams & Ree; concerts Restaurants: 1: Jack’s Bar & Grille (24 hours) Accommodations: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Platinum Player’s Club rewards card for slots and table play. Double points on Wed. Free plays on those days for points. Soft drinks, cocktails, beer, and wine served on the casino floor. Cash drawings in cardroom on Wed., $100 every hour 6 p.m.–9 p.m. High-stakes bingo 5 days a week: Mon., Tue., Fri., 6 p.m.; Sat., Sun., noon. Pull-tabs sold in bingo hall.

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Address: 3770 Highway 45, Colusa, California 95932 Phone: 530–458–8844; toll-free bingo hotline: 1–800–655–8946 Website: www.colusacasino.com

Bonus: Club Sycuan rewards club. Has largest nonsmoking slot area in San Diego. Moneyadded video poker tournaments Mon., Wed., and Thu. at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m., only for club members. Bingo. Off-track betting.

Gardena Gardena (population 58,000), 10 miles south of downtown Los Angeles on Highway 101, was known until the 1980s as the poker capital of the world. That distinction now applies to more than one area. Some would say Las Vegas; others say the name still belongs to Southern California.

64. Hustler Casino

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Address: 1000 West Redondo Beach Boulevard, Gardena, California 90247 Phone: 310–719–9800; toll-free: 877–968–9800 Website: www.hustlergaming.com

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Email: [email protected] Description: 50,000-square-foot cardroom, with a large donut-shaped gambling floor surrounding an enclosed atrium for smokers. The casino was built by Larry Flynt, controversial publisher of Hustler magazine. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: No Table Games: Super pan 9, pai gow poker, tile pai gow, Caribbean Stud, 21st-Century Baccarat, California blackjack. Bad-beat jackpots. Poker: Hold’em, Omaha, 7-stud. Regular daily and weekly tournaments, many with either guaranteed prize pools or money added. Ladies Poker Classic, a yearly event for women only. Entertainment: No Restaurants: 3 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: Larry Flynt plays almost daily in the highest-stakes poker games in his establishment. You’ll also find several superstars of poker in some of those games. The gift shop is perhaps the only casino gift shop in the world in which you can purchase what some might call pornographic literature. Blackjack progressive jackpots and tournaments. Cash and car giveaways. Reward card. Bikini contests and all-male revues (for women only). Car wash, free parking, valet parking.

Highland Highland (population 45,000) is 55 miles east of Los Angeles.

65. San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino Address: 5797 North Victoria Avenue, Highland, California 92346 Phone: 909–864–5050; toll-free: 1–800–359–2464 Website: www.sanmanuel.com Email: [email protected] Description: 120,000-square-foot Native American (San Manuel Band of Mission Indians) casino Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE Slot Machines: 2,000 Table Games: 29: Blackjack Poker: Hold’em, Omaha, 7-stud. Jackpots. Entertainment: Live pay-per-view boxing free for customers Restaurants: 4: Tutu’s Café (Thai), deli, Taste of Italy (inexpensive pizza and sandwiches), Snack Shack (Mexican fast food) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual Bonus: High-stakes bingo. Blackjack tournaments. Bus tours to the casino from many Southern California cities; see website for information. In poker, double jackpots every other hour from noon to midnight on selected days and all night Sun., high hand of the hour wins $250 ($50 for Omaha). Tickets for specified hands to win a chance to spin a money wheel for cash prizes.

66. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino Address: 84–245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio, California 92203 Phone: 760–342–5000; 1–800–827–2946 Website: www.fantasyspringsresort.com Email: [email protected] Description: Native American (Cabazon Band of Mission Indians) casino with 80,000 square feet of Las Vegas-style gaming floor. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino is north of Interstate 10 at the Golf Center Parkway exit near the city of Indio, Calif., and approximately 22 miles east of Palm Springs. Fantasy Springs is situated in the Coachella Valley in eastern Riverside County and attracts visitors from Los Angeles, Orange, and Imperial counties. Interstate 10 gives easy access from Phoenix and meets I-15, a quick link to San Diego and Las Vegas. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,956 Table Games: 28: Blackjack (hand-shuffled, machine-shuffled, or double-deck pitch; liberal rules), California craps, California roulette, mini-baccarat, three-card poker, four-card poker, jackpot pai gow, Spanish 21; limits as low as $2 Poker: No Entertainment: 4,500-seat special events center for concerts. 400-seat Fantasy Lounge, an intimate concert venue with upstairs VIP seating. “Joey & Maria’s Comedy Italian Wedding,” interactive dinner theater. Wild West Wednesdays: country music and line dancing. Indio Powwows, annual Native American festivals of song, dance, and culture sponsored by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, continue a more-than-10-year tradition Thanksgiving weekend and the last weekend of March. Restaurants: Players Steakhouse, The Café (24 hours), The Fresh Grill Buffet (international dining featuring Italian, Asian, Mexican, American, Brazilian), The Bistro (light American cuisine, large wine list; with indoor and poolside seating, located at the new Fantasy Springs Resort Hotel) Accommodations: 250 rooms, including 10 suites Family Amenities: Fantasy Lanes Family Bowling Center, a 24-lane, state-of-the-art entertainment facility for the entire family featuring a snack bar, video arcade, pro shop, cocktail lounge, and party planner. Future plans call for new 60-lane facility. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Fantasy player’s club and VIP Diamond Club, with rewards cards. The Cabazons are the tribe that won the Cabazon Decision in 1987, causing the start of Native

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Indio (population 49,000) is 15 miles east of Palm Springs and 2 miles south or west of Interstate 10 (it turns).

49

Indio

American gambling in the U.S. 750-seat Bingo Palace. Off-track satellite horse wagering. Private Diamond Club room for VIP players. Full-service facility with 100,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, including exhibit halls, meeting rooms, boardrooms, and ballrooms. Free valet parking and shuttle. Cabazon Cultural Museum (free admission).

Lakeside Lakeside (population 19,600) is just east of San Diego, 3 miles north of El Cajon and Interstate 8 on Highway 67.

67. Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino

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Address: 1932 Wildcat Canyon Road, San Diego, California 92040 Phone: 619–443–2300; toll-free: 1–888–7–BARONA (1–888–722–76620); fax: 619–443–2856 Website: www.barona.com

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Email: [email protected] Description: $260 million 300,000-square-foot Native American (Barona Band of Mission Indians) hotel-casino located in the scenic Barona Valley, 30 minutes from downtown San Diego Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,000, including video poker and keno, 5¢ machines and up. The highstakes area has $500 machines. Average daily payout is almost $14 million. Table Games: Nearly 70: Skins blackjack, jackpot pai gow poker, cash baccarat, blackjack (single-deck, double-deck, and six-deck games), super fun 21 (adds doubling on any number of cards, surrender at any time, and 2-to-1 payouts on blackjacks in diamonds), three-card poker, Caribbean Stud, casino war, Let It Ride, Barona Craps (see craps in glossary; $5–$5,000, 5x odds) Poker: 15 tables: Hold’em ($8-$16, no-limit), Omaha, 7-stud. Jackpots. Entertainment: No Restaurants: 6: Barona Oaks Steakhouse (fine dining, dinner only), Branding Iron Cafe (diner, open 24 hours), Ranch House Buffet (open daily for lunch and dinner), Food Court (Feisty Kate’s Burgers & Malts, The Pizza Place, and Javier’s Sombrero Mexican Food, plus Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Barona Coffee Company). Special menu for players, who can eat while playing. Accommodations: Hotel is a ranch-style resort with 397 rooms, including 33 suites that range in size from 836–4,000 square feet Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Barona rewards card. Nonsmoking areas, including entire poker room. Off-track betting. Lakefront wedding chapel. Swimming pool. Bingo. Limousine service. Business center with convention and meeting space (seats 25–600). Free and valet parking. Gift shop. Award-winning championship 18-hole golf course. The website has a link that will cause someone in customer service to call you (for free) anywhere in the world to answer questions about the casino. The Blackjack Hall of Fame is a museum that features the country’s largest display of card-counting and blackjack cheating devices. On exhibit, for example, is a pair of ordinary shoes that have miniature computers built into their heels, allowing a player to track and count cards during the game. The exhibit, located along a moving walkway, also profiles some of the game’s most notorious card counters, including “back counting” inventors Stanford Wong and Keith Taft, who created the first black-

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE jack computer in 1972. Named “#1 Indian Casino in Southern California” by KCAL (Los Angeles Channel 9) in May of 2004. Spa. 57 languages are spoken at the Barona Valley Ranch, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, Portuguese, and French. Rewards club.

Los Angeles The casinos in this section are not in Los Angeles. The city of Los Angeles has no cardrooms or casinos. Nor are these casinos all necessarily even within Los Angeles County. However, all are in what people generally know as the Los Angeles area, or, perhaps more officially, the Los Angeles Basin.

Email: [email protected] Description: Major cardroom 10 minutes (7 miles southeast on Interstate 710, the Long Beach Freeway) from downtown Los Angeles Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: No Table Games: 135 tables, about half devoted to California games: No-bust blackjack, California baccarat, pai gow poker, tile pai gow, super pan 9, 13-card poker Poker: About half of the 135 tables: Hold’em, Omaha (high and high-low), 7-stud (high and high-low), crazy pineapple, lowball, pan. All limits, ranging from $1-$2 to some very big games. Most games are limit, but there are also no-limit and pot-limit games. Regular tournaments. Several major tournaments throughout the year, including the Legends of Poker, a month of events in late summer culminating in the $10,000 buyin no-limit hold’em championship, a World Poker Tour event. Entertainment: Karaoke Restaurants: 4: Deli, grill, Jade Dragon (Asian) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Classic Club rewards card. Sporting events, car and cash giveaways. Karaoke contests. Meals, usually at special prices for players, and drinks served at tables.

69. Commerce Casino Address: 6131 East Telegraph Road, Commerce, California 90040 Phone: 323–721–2100; fax: 323–838–3472 Website: www.commercecasino.com Description: World-class cardroom, 90,000 square feet, with major hotel, just east of Los Angeles, where the Santa Ana Freeway (Interstate 710) meets the Long Beach Freeway (Interstate 5) Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: No Table Games: No-bust blackjack, 21st-century baccarat, pai gow poker, tile pai gow, super pan 9, 13-card poker, jokers wild pai gow poker, Caribbean Stud Poker: 260 tables: Hold’em, 7-stud, Mexican stud, 7-stud high-low, lowball, pan, pineapple, razz Omaha high-low. All limits, ranging from $1-$2 to some of the biggest games in

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Address: 7301 Eastern Avenue, Bell Gardens, California 90201 Phone: 562–806–4646 fax: 562–806–6623 Website: www.thebicyclecasino.com

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68. Bicycle Casino

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California. Most games are limit, but there are also no-limit and pot-limit games. Regular tournaments. Several major tournaments throughout the year, including the L.A. Poker Classic (Jan.–Feb.), a month of events culminating in the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship, a World Poker Tour event. Entertainment: Live entertainment and dancing, karaoke, Jokers Comedy Club (Thu. 8 p.m.; local and nationally known comics) Restaurants: 6: Eden (breakfast, lunch, dinner: 6 a.m.–11 p.m.), Arena Sports Bar & Grill (live sporting events on multiple large screens; bar: 6 a.m.–2 a.m., grill 11 a.m.–2 a.m.), Las Vegas Buffet Restaurant (10 a.m.–10 p.m.), New York Deli (Sun.–Thu. 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–12 p.m.), Tropical Snack Bar (Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Starbucks Coffee, snacks, open 24/7), GT’s Food Court (take-out sushi 11 a.m.–1 a.m.) Accommodations: Crowne Plaza at Commerce Casino (casino located within hotel): 179 standard rooms, 21 suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Only major cardroom in California to have its own hotel. Meals, usually at special prices for players, and drinks served at tables.

70. Hollywood Park Casino

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Address: 3883 W. Century Boulevard, Inglewood, California 90303 Phone: 310–330–2800; toll-free: 1–800–888–4972 Website: www.playhpc.com Email: [email protected] Description: First casino in a race track, still the only one in California. Card casino of 60,000 square feet, housed in a multistory building with a beautiful art deco theme. Appeals to a mostly local crowd but gets travelers based on close proximity (2 miles) to the airport (LAX). Several world-class poker tournaments regularly bring in competitors from around the world. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: No Table Games: 34 (minimums): No-bust blackjack ($2, $10, $25), Caribbean Stud ($5–$50), Asian baccarat ($10, $25, $100), super pan 9 ($10, $25, $100), pai gow poker ($10, $25, $100, $300), tile pai gow ($10), tonk ($3–$6 and $10–$20 games). Higher limits played available upon request. Poker: 66 tables, starting at $2-$4 limits. Regular tournaments every afternoon and evening, with buy-ins ranging from $20–$300. Several major tournaments each year, including National Championship of Poker (Oct.; the final, championship event of which is a World Poker Tour event), Poker Derby (Jan.) and the Sport of Kings (March). Cash games: Hold’em ($2-$4, $3-$6, $6$12, $10-$20, $15-$30, $20-$40, $75-$150, no-limit), 7-stud ($1-$2, $2-$4, $3-$6, $6$12, $10-$20, $15-$30, $20-$40), 7-stud high-low ($3-$6, $20-$40), Omaha ($2-$4, $3$6, $6-$12, $15-$30, $75-$150), Mexican stud ($2-$4, $4-$8, no-limit). Higher limits are available upon request. Entertainment: Various concerts and showroom headliners, weekly live jazz, pool and billiards tournaments Restaurants: Take-out deli, full cocktail and food service (with discounted menu) directly at the gaming tables around the clock Accommodations: Many nearby hotels, with special rates for patrons at some Admission Charge: No Dress Code: Casual; no tank tops Bonus: Free gaming instruction available 24 hours a day. Weekly blackjack tournaments. Regular cash giveaways, with separate drawings in California games section and poker room. Progressive jackpots in most California games. Progressive poker bad-beat jackpots. There is a 24-hour massage service at the gaming tables. Players can watch and wager on thoroughbred horserac-

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE ing from the gaming tables. Gaming table-side dining and cocktail service 24 hours a day. 1,000-capacity bingo hall open daily. A Players’ Club program gives casino credit for every hour played. Credits can be redeemed for cash, merchandise, food, massages, parking.

Oceanside Oceanside (population 160,000) is on the Pacific Ocean, 15 miles northwest of San Diego on the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 5).

Email: [email protected]; tournaments: [email protected] Description: 22,000-square-foot cardroom. From I-5, go east on Mission, and the first right is Brooks Street. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: No Table Games: Caribbean Stud (progressive jackpots, minimums: royal jackpot, $5,000; super jackpot, $3,000; bad beat, $1,000), pai gow poker, no-bust blackjack (progressive jackpots), pan ($1, $2, $5, $10 conditions) Poker: Hold’em ($2$4, $3-$6, $4-$8, $8-$16, $20-$40, plus $1-$2 beginners’ game every night at 6), Omaha high-low ($3-$6, $4-$8, $6-$12), 7-stud ($1-$5 spread limit). Jackpots seeded by club and increased daily. Regular tournaments: Daily limit and no-limit hold’em ($30+$5; Wed. $50+$5). Finish in the money in a daily tournament and qualify for $1,000-added tournament on first Sun. of following month; qualify more than once and get $100 in bonus chips for each finish. Also, larger, guaranteed-money tournaments. Entertainment: Live music Wed.–Sun. in Rat Pack Lounge Restaurants: 1 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Cash rewards card returns cash for hours played. Beginners’ poker lessons every Wed. 7p.m–9 p.m.

Oroville Oroville (population 13,000) is 70 miles north of Sacramento.

72. Feather Falls Casino Address: 3 Alverda Drive, Oroville, California 95966 Phone: 530–533–3885; toll-free: 1–877–652–4646; fax: 530–533–8944 Website: www.featherfallscasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: 118,000-square-foot Native American (Concow-Maidu of Mooretown Rancheria) casino Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year; poker room Mon.–Fri. open 4 p.m., Sat., Sun., open at noon. Poker room closes all days when all games break. Slot Machines: 1,000: Video reel, poker, keno, megajackpots Table Games: 11: Blackjack

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Address: 121 Brooks Street, Oceanside, California 92054 Phone: 760–439–6988; toll-free: 1–888–439–6988; toll-free fax: 1–866–741–3701 Website: www.oceans11.com

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71. Ocean’s Eleven Casino

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Poker: 5 tables: Sun.–Fri. $3-$6 full-kill hold’em, $30 minimum buy-in; Sat. $4-$8 halfkill hold’em, $40 minimum buy-in; Fri., Sat. no-limit hold’em, $100 maximum buy-in. Regular weekly tournaments: Tue. 6 p.m.: $10+$3 no-limit hold’em, unlimited $10 rebuys first hour, $10 add-on, $1,500-guaranteed prize pool; Thu. 8 p.m.: one-table $25 satellites for $10,000 event; Fri. 6 p.m.: $20+$5 no-limit hold’em, one $20 rebuy, $1,000-guaranteed prize pool (extra tournament chips for early-bird registration and for immediate rebuy); Sat. 6 p.m.: $40+$5 no-limit hold’em, one $40 rebuy, $2,500-guaranteed prize pool (extra tournament chips for early-bird registration and for immediate rebuy). First Sat. of month 6 p.m.: $200+$20 no-limit hold’em, no rebuys, $10,000-guaranteed prize pool (extra tournament chips for early-bird registration). First Sun. of month 8 p.m.: $40+$5 ladies only no-limit hold’em, one $40 rebuy, $1,000-guaranteed prize pool (extra tournament chips for immediate rebuy). Last Sun. of month 8 p.m.: freeroll with one $20 rebuy, $1,000-guaranteed prize pool. All tournaments have a maximum of 55 players, and most sell out. Players can buy in up to 1 week in advance for any tournament. Entertainment: Headliner shows of rockers, rappers, pop stars, some ticket events, some free Restaurants: 2, plus 2 lounges Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Bonus Magic Club rewards card. Cash and vehicle giveaways to members. Senior day every Mon. and Wed., with members 55+ receiving $7 in “Magic Money.” Seniors’ breakfast Mon. $1.99.

Palm Springs Palm Springs (population 13,000) is a desert resort 90 miles east of Los Angeles on Interstate 10.

73. Spa Resort Casino Address: 401 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs, California 92262 Hotel: 100 N. Indian Canyon, Palm Springs, California 92262 Phone: 760–883–1000; toll-free: 1–800–258–2946; hotel reservations: 760–325–14610; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–800–854–1279 Website: www.sparesortcasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: Native American (Agua Caliente tribe) casino that occupies an entire city block, 9 acres in the heart of downtown Palm Springs Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 900+, 5¢ machines and up and including $5, $25, and $100 machines, including video poker Table Games: 30: Blackjack, mini-baccarat, three- and four-card poker, pai gow poker Poker: No Entertainment: Live lounge (150 seats) acts nightly, no cover, 2-drink minimum Restaurants: 5: Roppongi (Asian, dinner, 5 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–11 p.m.; half-price meals 4 p.m.–6 p.m.), Noodle Bar (Asian, dinner, 5 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–11 p.m.), Oasis Buffet, Stage Deli (famous New York eatery, open 24 hours), Agua Bar & Grill (breakfast, lunch, dinner), plus 2 bars Accommodations: All 228 rooms were completely remodeled in 2003. Hotel right across from casino. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Private high-stakes gaming room. World-famous for the natural healing waters of its hot springs spa. Drawings, bonuses, and prizes. Club Paradise rewards club. Weekly slot tournaments on Mon., $10

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE or 10,000 points. New members get scratchers that win $5–$500. Free valet parking for nonmembers, $3 for others. Mon. night tailgate parties during football season.

Porterville Porterville (population 40,000) is located 40 miles north of Bakersfield, 15 miles east of Highway 99 on Highway 190, near where Highways 190 and 65 meet.

74. Eagle Mountain Casino

Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage (population 13,000) is 5 miles southeast of Palm Springs on Highway 111.

75. Agua Caliente Casino Address: 32–250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, California 92270 Phone: 760–321–2000 Website: www.hotwatercasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: 45,000-square-foot Native American (Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians) casino located in the Coachella Valley Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,000+ Table Games: 49: Three-card poker, blackjack, Caribbean Stud, mini-baccarat, pai gow poker, Hot Water Craps (see craps in glossary) Poker: 10 tables Entertainment: Cahuilla Showroom, with state-of-the-art sound system and seating for over 1,000, features headline acts, such as Wynonna Rider and David Brenner, plus championship boxing. Canyons Lounge offers variety, comedy, blues, and jazz performers nightly, with no cover charge. Restaurants: 6: Prime 10 Steakhouse, Maraskino Restaurant & Bar (lunch, dinner), Grand Palms Buffet (different specialties each day), Desert Eatery Food Court (deli, pizza, coffeehouse) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Poker room is nonsmoking. Cash bonus drawings for poker players. Weekly slot tournaments. High-stakes bingo. High-limit room.

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Email: [email protected] Description: 20,000-square-foot Native American casino in the Central Valley Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,500: Includes video poker, keno: 5¢, 25¢, $1, $5; progressive jackpots Table Games: Blackjack, Let It Ride, Monopoly Poker: No Entertainment: Showroom acts Restaurants: 2: High Steaks Buffet (breakfast 7 a.m.–10 a.m., $3.99; lunch, dinner 10 a.m.–10 p.m., $5.99), snack bar (always open) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Free bus from many locations in the Central Valley. Big-money blackjack tournaments. High-stakes bingo.

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Address: 681 South Tule Road, Porterville, California 93258 Phone: 559–788–6220; toll-free: 1–800–903–3353 Website: www.eaglemtncasino.com

Redding Redding (population 81,000) is on the Sacramento River 140 miles north of Sacramento on Interstate 5, and 10 miles south of Lake Shasta.

76. Win-River Casino Address: 2100 Redding Rancheria Road, Redding, California 96001 Phone: 530–243–3377; toll-free: 1–800–280–UWIN (1–800–280–8946) Website: www.win-river.com

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Email: [email protected] Description: 75,000-square-foot Native American (Redding Rancheria whose 260-some members are descendants of indigenous Northern California Indian tribes in Shasta County; current tribal affiliations are Wintu, Pit River, and Yana) casino in north-central California, near I-5. Must be 21 or older to play. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 750+: 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, $1, many with ticket in-ticket out Table Games: 18: Blackjack, three-card poker Poker: No Entertainment: Big name acts, like Styx and Kenny Rogers, in showroom; other name acts, like Starship, Jim Messina, John Waite, in lounge (no cover); live boxing Restaurants: 2: Elements (buffets), Grab & Go (fast food cafeteria), plus 1 bar Accommodations: No. Nearby hotels and motels. Dress Code: No Bonus: Free online games at website. Car and cash giveaways. High-stakes bingo. Free gaming instruction daily 5 p.m.–7 p.m. Cocktail service on the gaming floor, plus complimentary (non-alcoholic) beverages. Slot and blackjack tournaments. Player’s Club Card, with prize drawings, meal reductions, etc. Purchase tickets for all events online (at website). Reduced meal prices for seniors. Java City specialty coffees on gaming floor.

San Jose San Jose (population 930,000; metropolitan area 1.8 million) is the third largest city in California and is located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay, forming the southern reaches of Silicon Valley. San Jose gambling consists of two cardrooms. City ordinance limits any one bet to a maximum of $200. Thus, the highest games have a $200 limit. A few times a year, in special tournaments, the city allows poker games to go higher. This permits tournaments with buy-ins as high as $10,000, which can then generate prize pools in the millions of dollars.

77. Bay 101 Casino Address: 1801 Bering Drive, San Jose, California 95112–4207 Phone: 408–451–8888 Website: www.bay101.com Email: [email protected] Description: The largest (72,000 square feet) and most elegant (distinctive pink building with a beautiful dolphin fountain) cardroom in the Bay Area, with 2 casino areas, 1 for poker and 1 for California games. Closest airport: San Jose International, less than 5 minutes away. Must be 21 or older to play. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year

78. Garden City Casino Address: 360 South Saratoga Avenue San Jose, California 95129 Phone: 408–244–3333; fax: 408–244–7251 Website: www.gardencity-casino.com Description: 40-table cardroom in a beautiful A-frame building in northern San Jose; cardroom originally started in 1946 in downtown San Jose Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: No Table Games: 20 (minimum/maximum): 21st-Century Blackjack ($10/$100, $40/$100), pai gow poker ($10/$100, $40/$100, $100/$200), tile pai gow ($10/$100), super pan 9 ($10/$100), California Aces Poker: 20 tables: Hold’em ($2-$4, $3-$6, $6-$12, $8-$16, $20-$40, 7-stud high-low ($4-$8), pan ($2, $3, $5, $10 condition). Limit and spread-limit hold’em tournaments Mon.–Fri., with various buy-ins, generally small, with 1 or multiple rebuys and usually an add-on. Entertainment: Live jazz; piano bar Restaurants: 1: Elegant dining; attracts more than just cardroom visitors Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Yearly Speedway of Poker Tournament. Other tournaments as satellites to major events like the World Series of Poker. Call cardroom for schedule.

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Slot Machines: No Table Games: 20 (minimum/maximum): 21st-Century Blackjack ($10/$100, $40/$100), pai gow poker ($10/$100, $40/$100, $100/$200), pai gow tiles ($10/$100), pan 9 ($10/$100) Poker: 20 tables: Hold’em ($2-$4, $3-$6, $6-$12, $9-$18, $12-$24, $20-$40, $40-$80, $80-$160, spread limit $20–$200), 7-stud ($4-$8), Omaha high-low ($4-$8, $10-$20), pan ($2, $3, $5, $10 condition). Daily tournaments, limit and spread limit, with buy-ins ranging from $50–$120, with 1 or multiple rebuys and usually an add-on. This includes supersatellites for the Shooting Star Tournament. There are 2 major tournaments each year. The Bay 101 Open is 4 days of events in October with events in Omaha high-low, limit hold’em, and spread limit hold’em, 2 with buy-ins for $330 and 2 for $1,050. The Shooting Star Tournament, 8 days of events in early March culminating in the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship, a World Poker Tour event with a $3,900,000 prize pool—and a twist: 40 superstars of poker play, 1 at each table and each with a $5,000 bounty on his or her head. Bust that player and get half your buy-in, plus a T-shirt that reads “I busted .” Among these Shooting Stars are former world champions Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Tom McEvoy, and Dan Harrington; WPT champions Phil Gordon (2003 champion and host of Celebrity Poker), Amir Vahedi, Barry Greenstein, Gus Hansen, Antonio Esfandiari; WSOP stars T. J. Cloutier, Annie Duke, and Kathy Liebert; and movie stars James Woods and Mimi Rogers. Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2: Deli, Sutter’s Broiler (Asian and American meals at reasonable prices), plus a sports bar Accommodations: No, but excellent accommodations only a few hundred feet away Dress Code: No Bonus: Ongoing points promotion for tournament players, with the top 101 players qualifying for a supersatellite that awards 4 seats to the Shooting Star Tournament. Beauty salon. Shuffle Master shuffling machines for all card games.

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THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE

San Pablo By the time you have this book in your hands, the first urban casino in California should have opened. This is a big deal, because until this time, every Native American casino has been located outside any large urban area, usually in a small town or out in the country. The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians, a landless tribe, have been in negotiations with the governor to greatly expand the existing San Pablo Casino, a cardroom, and turn it into a fullscale casino. Original plans called for a massive building with 5,000 slot machines; those plans have been scaled back to 2,500 slots and a somewhat smaller building. At the time of this writing, the San Pablo Casino is in a state of transition, and whatever we say here would either be out of date—or just guessing.

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Santa Ynez

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Santa Ynez (population 4,600) is in Santa Barbara County, California, between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Santa Ynez is located 25 miles northwest of the city of Santa Barbara, and separated about 5 miles from the Pacific coast by the Santa Ynez mountains. The area is known for wineries.

79. Chumash Casino Resort Address: 3400 East Highway 246, Santa Ynez, California 93460 Phone: 805–686–0855; toll-free: 1–877–CHUMASH (1–877–248–6274) Toll free: 1–800–248–6274; fax: 805–686–3859 Website: www.chumashcasino.com Email: Contact form on website Description: 94,000-square-foot Native American (Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians) casino in south-central California Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,000, from 5¢ to $5, including progressive jackpots Poker: 14 tables: Hold’em, Omaha, 7-stud, 7-stud high-low Table Games: 40 blackjack, plus Let It Ride and three- and four-card poker Entertainment: Showroom has major headliners, like the Beach Boys, Randy Travis, Styx. Also lounge acts on weekends. Restaurants: 3: Willows (fine dining), Creekside Buffet, Chumash Café (casual dining; open 24 hours) Accommodations: AAA 4-Diamond hotel with 106 rooms, including 17 luxury suites. Most rooms feature balconies. Rates start at $125 and include continental breakfast and full use of fitness center, steam room, swimming pool. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: High-stakes bingo, with seats for 1,000; includes nonsmoking area. Club Chumash rewards card. Cash and car giveaways. Blackjack tournaments. Hot springs spa. Free valet parking. Gift shop.

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE

Temecula Temecula (population 77,400) is 32 miles north of San Diego on Interstate 15, 15 miles southeast of Lake Elsinore.

80. Pechanga Resort & Casino

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Email: [email protected] Description: 88,000-square-foot Native American (Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians) casino in the Temecula Valley. Must be 21 or older to play. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,000: 5¢–$5, and $10–$100 in high-stakes room Table Games: 85: Blackjack ($5–$5,000), pai gow poker, Let It Ride, three-card poker, mini-baccarat Poker: 54 tables: Hold’em, Omaha high-low. Jackpots, plus frequent double jackpot times. Daily tournaments at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. (4 p.m. Sun.), $20+$5, with $2,000 guaranteed prize pool. Regular tournaments, with buy-ins ranging from $35–$200. Tournament series often feature no-rebuy events. One offers the winner a $10,000 World Series of Poker seat. Entertainment: 1,200-seat Pechanga Theater Showroom offers Broadway-style shows and musicals, like Grease, Amadeus, and On Golden Pond, as well as headliners like the Moody Blues, Julio Iglesias, Chicago, Dana Carvey, Wynonna, the Beach Boys, Goo Goo Dolls, Styx, and Tower of Power. Casino Cabaret has free live music and karaoke nights. Live boxing events in the Grand Ballroom, which holds nearly 3,000 spectators, and events are broadcast by stations like HBO, Fox Sports, and NBC. The Eagle’s Nest Nightclub offers theme nights with live music, drink specials, dancing, plus great views of the Temecula Valley. Restaurants: 7: Great Oak (fine dining; Wed.–Sun. 5 p.m.), Paisano’s Italian (Tue.–Sun. 5 p.m.), Seafood Grotto (Thu.–Mon. 5 p.m.), Blazing Noodles (Asian; open daily for lunch and dinner at 11 a.m.), buffet (open for lunch and dinner Mon.–Fri. at 11 a.m., breakfast, lunch, and dinner Sat., Sun. at 9 a.m.), Pechanga Café (24-hour coffee shop) Accommodations: 522 rooms and suites (429 guest rooms, 63 suites, 19 Jacuzzi suites with parlor, 2 executive suites) Dress Code: No Bonus: Pechanga Rewards Club, with regular drawings for thousands of dollars. “Clean air” air filtration system. Poker room is nonsmoking and separate. 15 table games in nonsmoking gaming area. Hotel has pool and spa and fitness center. 40,000+ square feet of meeting and convention space includes 13 breakout-meeting rooms. High-stakes room (located off the casino floor) offers $10 to $100 slots and blackjack tables with $100–$5,000 limits.

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Address: 45000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula, California 92592 Mailing address: P.O. Box 9041 Temecula, California 92589 Phone: 951–693–1819; toll-free: 1–877–711–2WIN (1–877–711–2946); fax: 951–695–7410; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–888–PECHANGA (1–888–732–4264) Website: www.pechanga.com/default

Tuolumne Tuolumne (population 4,000) is 8 miles east of Sonora in the California Sierra Foothills, 20 miles west of Yosemite National Park and 65 miles east of the Bay Area.

81. Black Oak Casino Address: 19400 Tuolumne Road North, Tuolumne, California 95379 Phone: 209–928–9300; toll-free: 1–877–747–8777; fax: 209–928–9301 Website: www.blackoakcasino.com

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Email: [email protected] Description: Native American casino whose 3-level facility has of 164,770 square feet. Gaming area, on the second floor, is 63,505 square feet. The casino is located on Tuolumne Road in Tuolumne. Follow the signs from Highway 108 and exit Mono Way east. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: All machines are ticket in-ticket out that also accept currency, and range from penny slots to $5 machines. There are inter-casino (among several Native American casinos, such that jackpots can get very high) and local progressive linked slot banks. Table Games: 24: Blackjack, pai gow, three- and four-card poker, Let It Ride Bonus, mini-baccarat Poker: No Entertainment: Willow Creek Lounge offers live musical performances, DJs, dancing, and beverages. Restaurants: 4: Kingpins (counter-service casual family dining restaurant), The Mill Sports Bar (casual dining), Black Oak Café (24-hour buffet-style eatery), Seven Sisters (specialty dining) Accommodations: None, but has partnered with local hotels Family Amenities: The first floor has 53,000 square feet of games for both families and adults. Guests can bowl at Black Oak Lanes, a 24lane, state-of-the-art Brunswick bowling center. Play the latest interactive video and redemption games in the 3,200 square feet Underground Arcade. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Nonsmoking bar. Free refreshments, bonus cash for first-time visitors and Players Club Members, promotional giveaways (cash and prizes), slot and table games tournaments, plus bowling leagues and tournament play.

Valley Center Valley Center (population 73,000) is 10 miles north of San Diego on State Route 6.

82. Harrah’s Rincon Casino and Resort Address: 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Valley Center, California 92082 Phone: 760–751–3100; toll-free: 1–877–777–2457 Website: www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/rin Email: [email protected] Description: 55,815-square-foot casino in the valley below Palomar Mountain Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year; poker room opens at 10 a.m. Slot Machines: 1,600: Reel slots, video slots, progressives, and video poker. 1¢, 5¢, 25¢, $1, $2, $5, $10, $25, $100 Table Games: 45 tables: Rincon Craps (see craps in glossary), blackjack, mini-baccarat, Boston 5 stud poker (a variant of casino stud), pai gow poker, Fortune Pai Gow, royal match bonus blackjack, Let It Ride Bonus, super fun 21 (a blackjack variant with bonus payoffs for certain card combinations), midi-baccarat, three-card

Winterhaven Winterhaven (population 530) is in southeast California on both sides of the Colorado River, about 10 miles from Mexico. While the Colorado River generally forms the border between California and Arizona, the course of the river has changed over the years and the border here is not at the river, but less than a mile east. This means that a little bit of Winterhaven is on the east side of the river. In particular, the border runs right between the two sites of Paradise Casino.

83. Paradise Casino California Address: 450 Quechan Drive, Winterhaven, California 92283 Phone: 1–888–777–I WIN (1–888–777–4946) Website: www.paradise-casinos.com Description: This Native American (Quechan Tribe) casino is of interest partly because it is only about 20 feet from its sister casino in Yuma, Arizona; the 2 casinos straddle the state line. Paradise Casino California has slots, table games, and poker, while Paradise Casino Arizona has only slots and bingo. Paradise Casinos describe themselves as the “excitement of Las Vegas without all the hassle.” Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 260+: Video poker, video keno; multi-game machines Table Games: 11: Blackjack ($5–$100, $25–$300; shoe and double-deck games), three-card poker, pai gow poker Poker: 4 tables: Hold’em ($4-$8 with a full kill most days; no-limit with $2 and $4 blinds, $100 minimum buy-in, $300 maximum, Wed. and sometimes Thu. or Sun.), Omaha high-low ($4-$8 with a full kill, usually Fri. night and then 2 games). Regular tournaments: Sun. 11:30 a.m., no-limit hold’em ($20+$3, unlimited $5 rebuys first hour); Tue. 4:30 p.m. no-limit hold’em ($15+$3, 1 $10 rebuy, 1 $10 add-on); Wed. 4:30 p.m., no-limit hold’em bounty tournament ($15+$3, 1 $10 rebuy, $5 bounty); Thu. 5:30 p.m.,

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poker, Volcanic Bingo Roulette (roulette played with bingo-type balls rather than a wheel) Poker: 6 tables: Hold’em. World Series of Poker promotions, including regular $40 single-table satellites 5 times a week, prizes being free buy-in to Super Sunday satellites that award prizes ranging from $200 for tenth to $2,000 for second and a $10,000 buy-in to the WSOP Circuit plus $1,000. Harrah’s Rincon Casino is a stop on the Professional Poker Tour. Entertainment: Oasis Lounge (lounge acts 4 evenings a week, classic rock Wed., Thu., and top 40 dance and variety Fri., Sat. Live broadcast with live audience of That Sunday Sports Show, called “the best local sports show in San Diego,” all season, covering game highlights of the San Diego Chargers and San Diego Padres, Sun. at 10:30 p.m. Restaurants: 7: International Buffet, San Luis Rey Café, Fiore (steak and seafood), Oyster Bar, Fortunes (Asian), Corner Grill, Cabana Cove Bar & Grill (poolside meals, plus live entertainment on weekends), plus a coffee bar Accommodations: 651 rooms in hotel plus luxury tower Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Free shuttle buses to casino from all over Southern California. Total Rewards card, which can be used at all Harrah’s, Rio, Showboat and Harveys casinos, and Rewards Plus Club for those 50+. During sports seasons, Total Rewards members can pick winning teams for weekly cash prizes, second-chance drawings, and a chance for significantly larger prizes. Nonsmoking slot area. High-limit slot area.

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THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE

Omaha high ($15+$3, 1 $10 rebuy); Fri. 3 p.m. (varies), Sat. 11:30 a.m. ($15+$3, unlimited $10 rebuys, $10 coupon for first 10 live players) Entertainment: Showroom with headliners like Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Little Richard, LeAnn Rimes, Ricky Van Shelton, Pam Tillis, Thunder from Down Under Restaurants: 1: Paradise Bar (sandwiches, hot dogs, pastries, hot beverages, lattes, cappuccinos; 8 a.m.–2 a.m.) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Paradise rewards card good at both casinos. Cash drawings.

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Colorado has both Native American and state-regulated casinos. As in other states, tribes negotiated state compacts pursuant to the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which permits tribes to operate for-profit games of chance not otherwise outlawed by the state. They can remain open longer hours and are permitted higher stakes than the state-regulated casinos. There are two Native American casinos located in Colorado, both in the southwestern part of the state. Colorado has special restrictions for state-regulated casinos. The state-regulated casinos are permitted limited stakes gaming with $5 maximum bets. This includes poker. Casinos sometimes offer tournaments, which allows them to get around the bet restriction by permitting larger buy-ins than $5, and, correspondingly larger prize pools than would accrue in regular table games. Even though an individual poker bet can be only $5, a poker tournament buy-in can be $300 and first prize can be in the tens of thousands. Also, although individual bets are restricted to $5, if your blackjack hand permits doubling, this is considered a new bet. Similarly, when you split pairs, each new hand is a new bet. And in poker, the $5 means any individual bet or call. Since raising and reraising are permitted, generally to a maximum of one bet and four raises, a player could theoretically face what appears to be one single $25 bet. State-regulated casinos are not permitted to remain open 24 hours, but rather are restricted to 8 a.m.–2 a.m. As determined by statewide and local referendums, these casinos are all in the mountain towns of Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek. The minimum age for gambling in Colorado is 21.

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Black Hawk Black Hawk (population under 200) is 25 miles west of Denver. Black Hawk and Central City are sister cities.

84. Fitzgeralds Black Hawk

85. The Gilpin Casino Address: 111 Main Street, P.O. Box 458, Black Hawk, Colorado 80422 Phone: 303–582–1133; poker room: 303–582–2092 Website: www.thegilpincasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: 6,000-square-foot casino, sister casino to The Lodge. Slots are on the first floor, the restaurant is on the second, and the poker room on the third. Between the 2 clubs, there are 34 poker tables, with a wide variety of games. Hours: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 400+: 1¢ and up; reel and video poker; progressive jackpots Table Games: No Poker: 16 tables: Hold’em (limit with blinds of $1-$2, $2-$4, $1-$2-$5-$5), Omaha high-low, 7-stud, 7-stud high-low. These are “fast and loose” games, with 1 bet and 5 raises permitted every round. The Gilpin will spread any game for which there is demand. Tournaments every day, including sit-and-gos. Added-cash tournaments. Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1 Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Rewards card, good at either club; when you reach a certain level, you get free meals for 2; other amenities. Cash giveaways.

86. Isle of Capri Casino and Hotel Address: 401 Main Street, Black Hawk, Colorado 80422 Phone: 303–998–7777; toll-free: 1–800–THEISLE (800–843–4753) Website: www.isleofcapricasino.com/Black_Hawk Email: Contact form on website Description: 42,440-square-foot, one-level gaming complex that has a Caribbean motif Hours: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 1,100: 5¢–$5; 350 are EZ Pay machines (ticket in-ticket out) Table Games: 14: 11 blackjack, 1 Let It Ride, 1 three-card poker, 1 Bonus Six poker Poker: No Entertainment: 299-seat Flamingo Bay Ballroom features headline entertainment. Local bands Fri. 8 p.m.–midnight. Professional sports on three giant screens. Restaurants: 3: Farradday’s (steak, lobster, etc.), Calypso’s (buffet; with specialty station featuring

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Email: Contact form on website Description: 10,252-square-foot casino Hours: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 597: 5¢–$5 Table Games: 6: Blackjack Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1: Shamrock Café Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Fitz slot club. Cash, car, and merchandise giveaways.

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Address: 101 Main Street, Black Hawk, CO 80422 Phone: 303–582–6100; toll-free 1–800–538–LUCK (1–800–538–5825) Website: www.fitzgeraldsbh.com

alternating cuisines: Cajun, Caribbean, Asian, and others), Tradewinds Grill Accommodations: 238 rooms, including 131 mini-suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club rewards card. Coupons providing special benefits for those 50+. 1,100 parking spaces. 348,000-square-foot, 1,100-space parking garage adjacent to the casino. Free valet and self parking. Jacuzzi tubs in hotel mini-suites.

87. The Lodge Casino Address: 240 Main Street, Black Hawk, Colorado 80422 Phone: 303–582–1771; fax: 303–582–2300; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–877–711–1177 Website: www.thelodgecasino.com

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Email: [email protected] Description: 22,000-square-foot casino with hotel; sister casino to the Gilpin. Once you are in Black Hawk, make a left at the second stoplight. Make a right on Main Street and then an immediate right into free valet parking. Hours: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 900+: Progressive jackpots Table Games: 11: Blackjack, three-card poker, Let It Ride Poker: 18-tables, the largest poker room in Colorado: All hold’em (limit with blinds of $2-$5 and $5-$5). These are “fast and loose” games, with 1 bet and 5 raises permitted every round. Entertainment: Live local entertainers Fri.–Sun. Restaurants: The White Buffalo Grille (open for dinner Tue., Thu., Sun. 5 p.m.–9 p.m., Fri., Sat. 5 p.m.–10:30 p.m., closed Mon.), The Seasons Buffet (all meals, every day), Jake’s Deli (10:30 a.m.–1:30 a.m. daily) Accommodations: 50 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Rewards card, good at either club; when you reach a certain level, you get free meals for 2; other amenities. Free valet parking.

88. Mountain High Casino Address: 111 Richman Street, Black Hawk, Colorado 80422 Phone: 720–WINMORE (720–946–6673) Website: www.mtnhighcasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: Colorado’s largest (65,000 square feet) casino. To get there, turn right at second light in Black Hawk. Hours: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 1,000+: 1¢, 2¢, 5¢–$5; progressive jackpots Table Games: 12 (includes poker): Blackjack Poker: 12 tables: Hold’em (limit with blinds of $2-$5 and $5-$5). Regular tournaments, all no-limit hold’em: Mon. $50 buy-in with 1 $30 rebuy; Tue. $50 buy-in with 2 $30 rebuys; Thu. ladies only $25 buy-in with 1 $10 rebuy. Entertainment: The Mountain High Showroom with headliners like Tony Orlando and Elaine Boosler. Live professional boxing. The Winners Circle Lounge, with an 8-story atrium, presents free live entertainment on the weekends. Restaurants: 3: Steakhouse, Mountain High Grill, Mountain High Stone-Fired Pizza; also Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and a Starbucks Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Winners Advantage rewards card, with double cash-back points Mon.–Thu., frequent drawings. 1,000 covered parking places and free valet parking.

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Central City Central City (population 500) is 27 miles west of Denver. During the Colorado Gold Rush, the population exceeded 60,000. Black Hawk and Central City are sister cities.

89. Fortune Valley Hotel and Casino

Cripple Creek Cripple Creek (population 500) is 20 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, on the southwestern slopes of Pike’s Peak.

90. Double Eagle Hotel & Casino Address: 400–442 East Bennet Avenue, Cripple Creek, Colorado 80813 Phone: 719–689–5000; toll-free (information and hotel reservations): 1–800–711–7234; fax: 719–689–5050; hotel reservations: 719–689–5000 Website: www.decasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: 15,900-square-foot casino in a large 4-story red brick building Hours: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 850 Table Games: 6 blackjack (single- and multiple-deck games, including regular, multiaction, and streak blackjack) Poker: 6 tables: Hold’em, stud. Both are $2-$5 games, with $30 minimum buy-ins. Bad-beat jackpots. Weekly no-limit hold’em tournaments. Entertainment: Live music Restaurants: Winfield’s (fine dining; open 5 p.m.–10 p.m. Fri.–Sun. and holidays; reservations recommended); Lombard’s (breakfast buffet daily 6:30 a.m.–11: a.m., lunch, dinner), Jackpot Deli; plus a Starbucks Accommodations: 150 rooms, including suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Premier Club rewards card, for cash and merchandise, car giveaways, plus 10 percent hotel discount. Slot and blackjack tournaments. $40-for-$30 coupon on website. Conference facility for groups up to 300. Poker lessons available by calling or dropping by.

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Description: 31,826-square-foot casino Hours: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 907: 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 25¢, $1, $5 including video poker and video keno; progressives Table Games: Blackjack Poker: Hold’em, stud. Bad-beat jackpots. Tournaments. Entertainment: Live music in Club 243 Restaurants: 1 Accommodations: 3-Diamond rating (AAA) hotel with 118 rooms (including suites), starting at $79.95 Sun.–Thu. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Ultimate Club Card, with free official Denver Broncos hat plus free points to new members. Largest nonsmoking slot and video poker casino section in Colorado. Room plus cash deals, fare plus cash back to bus riders on Tue. 2 nights for the price of 1 in hotel Sun.–Tue. (except holidays). Gift Shop. Free valet parking. Free self-parking garage. Cash and merchandise drawings. Free barbecue Fri.–Sun. 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

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Address: 321 Gregory Street, Central City, Colorado 80427 Phone: 303–716–9769; toll-free: 1–800–WAGONHO (1–800–924–6646); toll-free hotel reservations: 1–866–924–6677 Website: www.fortunevalleycasino.com

Ignacio Ignacio (population 670) is in southwestern Colorado on the Los Pinos river, 225 miles southwest of Denver and 5 miles north of the New Mexico border.

91. Sky Ute Lodge and Casino Address: 14826 Highway 172 North Ignacio, Colorado 81137–0340 Phone: 970–563–3000; toll-free: 1–888–842–4180; toll-free hotel or show reservations: 1–800–876–7017 Website: www.skyutecasino.com

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Email: [email protected] Description: Native American (Southern Ute) 12,800-square-foot casino. The only 24hour casino in Colorado. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 412 (including video poker): 5¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5 Table Games: 6: Blackjack and three-card poker Poker: No Entertainment: Concerts, live professional boxing Restaurants: 2: Pino Nuche Restaurant (Southwest cuisine; breakfast, lunch, dinner), Rolling Thunder Café (daily specials, regular menu, plus take-out service; Sun.–Thu.11 a.m.–11 p.m., Fri., Sat. 11 a.m.–2 a.m.) Accommodations: 36 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Sky Ute rewards card. Only nonsmoking slot room in the Four Corners area. Bingo 5 p.m. Wed.–Fri., 1 p.m. Sun. Free scheduled shuttle service to the Durango, Farmington, and Pagosa Springs areas. Conference center, convention space, meeting rooms. Outdoor swimming pool, hot tub. Gift shop carries logo merchandise, jewelry, and pottery from around the area.

Towaoc Towaoc (population 1,100) is in southwestern Colorado, 8 miles from Four Corners.

92. Ute Mountain Casino Hotel & Resort Address: 3 Weeminuche Drive, Towaoc, Colorado 81334–9999 Phone: 970–565–8800; toll-free: 1–800–258–8007; hotel: 970–565–8837; toll-free: 1–888–565–8837; RV park and campground: 970–565–6544, 1–800–889–5072, fax 970–565–6553 Website: www.utemountaincasino.com Email: [email protected] Description: 45,000-square-foot Native American (Ute Mountain Utes, who are the Weeinuche band of Utes) casino Hours: Mon.–Wed. 8 a.m.–4 a.m., Thu.–Sat. 24 hours Slot Machines: 550 (including18 wide-area progressive machines): 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5 Table Games: Blackjack, Let It Ride, three-card poker, plus live keno, with payouts up to $50,000 Poker: 7-stud, 7-stud high-low, five-card stud, hold’em, Omaha. Omaha tournaments with $25 buy-in and one $25 rebuy, all money goes into prize pool, limited to 20 players, with prizes for first (60 percent), second (30 percent), third (10 percent) Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1: Southwest dining Accommodations: 94 rooms, including 14 suites Family Amenities: RV park and campground have playground, game

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE room, tent spaces, sauna, indoor pool, wading pool, plus you can stay in a teepee Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: RV park and campground ($19.99 per night), travel center, tribal park, pottery center. Online store at website for Ute art, jewelry, pottery. Highstakes bingo Mon., Tue., Fri., Sat. 6:30 p.m., Sun. 1 p.m. Free betting on selected events (football, baseball, basketball, the Oscars, NASCAR racing, and others).

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Connecticut has two casinos, both of which are huge. Just as in other states, compacts negotiated between tribes and the state under the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 permit Native American tribes to operate for-profit games of chance not otherwise outlawed by the state, and at agreed-upon limits. Foxwoods Resort Casino, operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, was New England’s first casino. Foxwoods originally started as a high-stakes bingo hall in 1986. When the full casino first opened in February 1992, slot machines were not permitted. In January 1993, the governor of Connecticut signed an agreement with the Pequots that gave the tribe the exclusive right in Connecticut to operate slot machines on their Ledyard reservation in return for a yearly fee. This agreement led to Foxwoods becoming the largest casino in the world. In early 1994, the Mohegan tribe made an agreement with the state of Connecticut that allowed it to also offer casino gambling on the reservation in Uncasville. Initially, the Pequots objected to this expansion, but they agreed to a deal in which the state lowered their yearly fee payment. The state agreed to the same payment schedule for the Mohegans, and the tribe opened its casino in 1996. The payment schedules could change at any time, however, if the state changes its own rules on what forms of gambling are permitted. The Mohegan casino had poker for awhile, but decided to abandon that market to Foxwoods, which now has a large and exclusive poker presence. The minimum gambling age at both casinos is 21 for casino gambling and 18 for bingo.

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Mashantucket/Ledyard Mashantucket and Ledyard (population 15,000) are different names for the same place, a town in the middle of the woods 45 miles east of New Haven, 9 miles from Long Island Sound, and about 11 miles west of the Rhode Island border. Ledyard is about 4 miles east of Uncasville.

93. Foxwoods Resort Casino

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Address: 39 Norwich Westerly Road, Mashantucket, Connecticut 06338 Mailing address: Foxwoods Resort Casino, Rt. 2, P.O. Box 3777 Mashantucket, CT 06338 Phone: toll-free: 1–800–FOXWOODS (1–800–369–9663); Foxwoods switchboard: 860–312–3000; toll-free: 1–800–PLAYBIG; Poker room: 860–312–3177; toll-free: 1–800–48–POKER; Live table phone-in reservations: 860–312–5374 (1 hour in advance Mon.–Fri. only, no weekends or holidays). Website: www.foxwoods.com

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Email: [email protected] Description: If someone asked you where the world’s largest casino is, you’d probably say something like Las Vegas or Monte Carlo, or maybe Atlantic City. Unless you know, it would not occur to you to answer Mashantucket, Connecticut. But that’s exactly where it is. This Native American resort, owned by the Mashantucket Pequots, has 6 separate casinos that occupy 344,000 square feet, plus 3 hotels. It’s all set in the middle of a huge forest, far from any urban area. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: More than 6,400, ranging from 5¢ to $100. Progressive and linked progressive jackpots, including Megabucks (which could pay off literally millions) Table Games: 354: Acey-deucey, baccarat, blackjack, Caribbean Draw and Caribbean Stud (both with progressive jackpots), casino war, Catch-A-Wave, chuck-a-luck, craps, Let It Ride, big six wheel, pai gow poker, tile pai gow, roulette Poker: 76 tables: 7-stud (high: spread limit $1–$3 and $1–$5; limit $5-$10, $10-$20, $20-$40, $40-$80, $75-$150) 7stud high-low ($2–$10 spread limit), hold’em (limit: $2-$4, $4-$8 or $5-$10, $10-$20, $20-$40, $50-$100; no-limit: $1-$2 blinds with $100 max buy-in, $2-$5, and $5-$10 or higher with $1,000 minimum buy-in), and Omaha (high and high-low: $2-$4, $4-$8 or $5-$10, $10-$20), also pot-limit. Sometimes $10-$20 H.O.E. Sometimes stud or hold’em games are available at higher limits, particularly at times of major tournaments, such as $100-$200 limit, $300-$600, even games as high as $2,000-$4,000 H.O.E. Regular tournaments almost every day in most popular forms of poker, limit and no-limit, with buyins ranging from $80+$20 to $420+$30, some with rebuys, some without. Major tournaments: New England Poker Classic, 2 weeks of events in the spring with most popular forms of poker, limit and no-limit, with buy-ins ranging from $200 to the 4-day $5,000 buy-in championship. World Poker Finals, 3 weeks of events in the fall with most popular forms of poker, limit and no-limit, with buy-ins ranging from $100 to the 5-day $10,000 buy-in championship, a World Poker Tour event. (The series had a prize pool in 2004 of over $10 million.) The Professional Poker Tour also makes a stop at Foxwoods. Entertainment: The Foxwoods Arena is a major showroom, seating more than 4,000 people, with headline entertainment and championship boxing events. The B.B. King

Uncasville Uncasville (population 19,000) is about 4 miles west of Ledyard, and separated from it by the Thames River.

94. Mohegan Sun Casino Address: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard, Uncasville, Connecticut 06382 Phone: Toll-free: 1–888–226–7711; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–888–777–7922 Website: www.mohegansun.com Email: [email protected] Description: At 300,000 square feet, one of the largest casinos in the world Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 6,300: 5¢, 25¢, $1, $5, $10, $25, $100, $500 (one machine); $5 and up in a high-stakes slot area; reel, tokenized, video, 632 cashless machines (ticket in-ticket out), video keno; no video poker; progressive and linked progressive jackpots Table Games: 250+: 24 roulette ($5–$2,000), 133 blackjack ($5–$10,000), 19 craps ($5–$3,000), 4 baccarat, 14 mini-baccarat, 4 midi-baccarat, 1 sic bo, blackjack bonanza, Boston 5 stud poker, midi-baccarat, mini-baccarat, Caribbean Stud, Caribbean Draw, casino war, Let It Ride, pai gow poker, tile pai gow, pai gow mania, Spanish 21, three-card poker, big six wheel, keno (two keno parlors, plus keno runners so you can play throughout the property) Poker: No Entertainment: The 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena presents headline entertainment, like Cher, the Village People, Rod Stewart, and Yanni, and sporting events, such as professional wrestling and world-class gymnastics exhibitions. The Wolf Den offers name acts like Brenda Lee, with no cover or minimum. The 350-seat Cabaret also offers name acts. Restaurants: 31: 6 gourmet, 9 casual dining, and a food court with 16 choices (Bamboo Forest, The Longhouse, Michael Jordan’s Steak House,

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Dance & Nite Club features an open dance floor and DJs, plus jazz, blues, and comedy acts, and entertainers like *NSync, the Chippendales, and B.B. King himself. The Fox Theatre has hosted entertainers ranging from Frank Sinatra to Bill Cosby to the Dixie Chicks. Famous recording stars have performed free live concerts at the Atrium and Intermezzo. Restaurants: 25: 5 gourmet, 7 casual dining, 13 express dining Accommodations: More than 1,400 guest rooms and suites: AAA 4-Diamond Grand Pequot Tower, the Great Cedar Hotel, and the Two Trees Inn Family Amenities: The Tree House at Foxwoods is a 2-level entertainment center featuring the MaxFlight FS2000 Flight Simulator, a roller coaster experience, and more than 140 video and redemption games. The illuminated tree and tree house have a glass-encased second floor and ornamental staircase. The Tree House Club is open to all ages. Hours: Sun.–Thu. 10a.m.–10 p.m. (mid-June to early Sept., 10 a.m.–12 a.m.), Fri.–Sat. 10 a.m.–1 a.m. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: World’s largest bingo hall. Poker room is completely nonsmoking. Keno lounge, plus you can play throughout the property. Racebook with pari-mutuel wagering on thoroughbreds, harness, greyhounds, and jai alai, and simulcast of races; all bets are commingled with the tracks’ betting pools and pay full track odds. Wampum Rewards Card. First-class shopping on premises. High-stakes bingo: Games begin at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., plus occasional special sessions.

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Pompeii & Caesar, Rain, Todd English’s Tuscany, Big Bubba’s BBQ, The Cove, Chief ’s Deli, Fidelia’s, Jasper White’s Summer Shack, Johnny Rockets, Lucky’s Lounge, Michael Jordan’s 23 Sportcafe, Mohegan Territory, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Ben & Jerry’s, Imus Brothers’ Coffee, Starbucks Coffee, Seasons Buffet, Sunburst Buffet, Casino of the Earth Food Court, Rising Moon Gallery of Eateries, The Dubliner, Leffingwells, and more). Also, 9 lounges and bars. Accommodations: 34-story hotel with nearly 1,200 rooms, including more than 175 suites, and 5 hospitality suites Family Amenities: Kids Quest, a 15,000-square-foot child care space, which includes an activity center for children 6 weeks to 12 years old and a nonviolent video arcade, is staffed by licensed professionals trained in first aid and CPR. Includes Barbieland, Construction Quarry, Kids Quest Recording Studio, and the Techno Questvideo arcade. Hours: Sun.–Thu. 9 a.m.–11 a.m., Fri., Sat., holidays 9 a.m.–2 a.m. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Mohegan Sun Player’s Club rewards card. More than 13,000 on-site patron parking spaces. 24-hour valet parking service. Currency machines provide coins for bills, smaller bills for large bills, and convert coins to bills. 2 nonsmoking slot areas, 1 with 600 machines, 1 with 152; nonsmoking pits. Racebook with pari-mutuel wagering on thoroughbreds, harness, greyhounds, and jai alai. Bus and ferry packages from New England and Long Island areas, all with meal or retail credit and four $5 pull tab plays included in the price. Meeting and conference facilities, with services of professional planners available. Wedding facilities, and complete wedding packages, including the services of wedding planners. The world’s largest planetarium dome, the Sky Dome. 7-story waterfall at The Shops at Mohegan Sun. Scores of fine shops, including apparel, jewelry, music, electronics, and many specialty shops.

FLORIDA

Florida’s gaming situation was in a state of flux at the time of this writing. Florida does not have legal non-Native American casinos. However, one county, Broward, recently voted to allow slot machines at three race tracks and one jai alai fronton. Florida has five Native American gaming facilities, which the state has been trying to shut down. The Seminole tribe, which runs four of the facilities, has countered by appealing to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, administrator of the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, to allow expansion of gaming facilities. At the moment, tribal casinos are permitted only Class II slot machines, bingo, and poker, but this may soon change, given the state’s entry into gaming in the form of Broward County’s slot machines. Florida also has a large number of cruise ships that dock at its shores, many of them engaged in “cruises to nowhere,” that is, trips into international waters solely for the purpose of permitting patrons to gamble. The minimum age for gambling in Florida is 18

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Hollywood Hollywood (population 140,000) is in Broward County in southeast Florida on the Atlantic Coast, 12 miles north of Miami.

95. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood

NORTH AMERICA

Email: Contact form on website Description: 130,000-square-foot Native American (Seminole) casino by a 12-acre lake and in an 86-acre resort, offering slots and a large cardroom, but no table games Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,100 Table Games: No Poker: 50 tables: 7-stud, hold’em, Omaha Entertainment: 5,600-seat Hard Rock Live for musical acts. Club Showroom features headliners like Don Rickles and Vanessa Williams. Restaurants: 5+: Hard Rock Café (9,600 square feet of restaurant “bursting with music memorabilia”; 11 a.m.–1 a.m. Sun.–Thu. and 2 a.m. Fri., Sat.; bar stays open 1 hour later than restaurant closes), Council Oak (steak house, 5 p.m.–10 p.m. Sun.–Thu. and 11 p.m. Fri., Sat.), Blue Plate (diner, 24 hours), Constant Grind (coffee, sandwiches, pastries; 6 a.m.–9 p.m. daily), plus a food court with Mexican, Asian, Italian, deli options, and more Accommodations: The 12-story Mediterranean-style tower has 500 rooms, including 63 suites with panoramic views. Family Amenities: Theme-park-style water slide. Seminole Okalee Indian Village & Museum offers deep-water alligator wrestling and snake shows in a 750-seat amphitheater. The museum has as its mission to show and teach nonnatives the history, life, and works of the Seminole Indians. There is a museum and living village. It also features Seminole-genre works from both Seminoles and non-Indian artists. Visitors learn about the heritage of the Seminole Indians through living history demonstrations that show how the Seminoles lived for thousands of years. Park hours: Tue.–Sat. 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Alligator and snake shows: Tue.–Sat.10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. Tours every 30 minutes from opening. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Players Club rewards card. More than 100,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, available for large meetings, exhibits, concerts, and sporting events, along with poolside function space. Spa offers facials, massages, and holistic body treatments. The full-service salon offers hair styling and makeovers. State-of-the-art gym, with fullcircuit weight-training and cardio equipment where guests can work out with a personal trainer or on their own. 25 specialty retail shops.

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Address: 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood, Florida 33314 Phone: toll-free reservations: toll-free: 1–866–502–PLAY (1–866–502–7529) Website:www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com

Immokalee Immokalee (population 19,800) is in southern Florida, 85 miles northwest of Miami.

96. Seminole Casino Immokalee Address: 506 South First Street, Immokalee, Florida 34143 Phone: 239–658–1313; toll-free: 1–800–218–0007 Website: www.theseminolecasino.com

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Email: Contact form on website Description: 47,000-square-foot Native American (Seminole) casino in the heart of Southwest Florida, inland from and between Naples and Fort Myers, offering slots and a large cardroom, but no table games Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 700: 5¢ to $30 Table Games: No Poker: 24 tables: 7-stud, hold’em, Omaha high-low, with betting levels of $1-$2 or $2 all the time with no set pot limit. Daily “mini-tournaments”: 7-stud, 5-stud, 7-stud high-low, hold’em, hold’em high-low, Omaha high-low. Weekly tournaments Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun: 7-stud, 7-stud high-low, hold’em, hold’em high-low, Omaha high-low. Entertainment: Live music Restaurants: 1: EE-TO-LEET-KE Grill with seating for 240 people. (EE-TO-LEET-KE means “The Camp” in the Seminole language.) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Car and cash giveaways. Free parking. Gift shop. Rewards card. Seminole Casino Poker VIP rewards card for poker players.

Miami Miami (population 363,000) is in southeast Florida on the Atlantic Ocean, east of Big Cypress National Preserve and the Florida Everglades.

97. Miccosukee Resort & Gaming Center Address: 500 S.W. 177th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33194–2800 Phone: Toll-free: 1–877–242–6464 Website: www.miccosukee.com Email: [email protected] Description: 67,000-square-foot Native American (Miccosukee tribe) casino 15 minutes west of Miami, located along the southeastern edge of the Florida Everglades Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: More than 1,000 video pull-tab and lotto machines Table Games: No Entertainment: Live big-name entertainment and sporting events, such as championship boxing, are hosted at the 2,000-seat Miccosukee Sports & Entertainment Dome. Restaurants: 5: Empeeke-Cheke (6 p.m.–11 p.m. daily), Empeeke Aaweeke (international buffet, 6 a.m.–midnight), Empeeke Aya (deli, open 24 hours), Café Hammock (steakand-lobster, tropical dishes, open 24 hours), Bingo Snack Bar Accommodations: 302 rooms, including suites Poker: 58 tables: Omaha high-low, hold’em, 7-stud. Regular small tournaments in Omaha high-low, hold’em, 7-stud. “Super” hold’em tournament every Sat. at 7 p.m., large prize pools. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: High-stakes bingo, Fri.–Sun. 10 a.m.–3 a.m., other days noon–1 a.m. Spa. Fitness center,

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE with personal trainers available, as well as aerobic and water aerobic classes. Cash giveaways daily. Dance contests for cash prizes.

Alton Alton (population 30,000) is north of St. Louis on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. Most of Alton is situated on bluffs overlooking the river valley.

98. Argosy’s Alton Belle Casino Address: 219 Piasa, Alton, Illinois 62002 Phone: 618–474–7400; toll-free: 1–800–711–GAME (1–800–711–4263) Website: www.argosycasinos.com/property/st_louis/st_louis_home.asp Email: [email protected] Description: 3-level 60,000-square-foot floating casino complex on the Mississippi River, 25 minutes from downtown St. Louis Hours: 9 a.m.–5 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 1,069, all ticket in-ticket out, on all 3 levels: 1¢–$25. Penny and nickel slots on level 3; 5¢ and up on level 1. 406 reel machines, 499 video reel,165 video poker, 8 video keno. Video multi-games, featuring both video poker and video slots on 1 machine, some also with video keno. Table Games: 2 craps (10X odds; $5–$500), 1 roulette ($1–$500), 2 three-card poker ($5–$25), 1 Caribbean Stud ($5–$100), 12 blackjack ($5–$2,000), 1 pai gow poker ($5–$500), Let It Ride Bonus ($5–$50). All are on level 2. Poker: No Entertainment: Argosy’s 500-seat Music Hall has name entertainers, such as Chuck Berry, Crystal Gayle, Vicki Lawrence, Sheena Easton, Lorrie Morgan, Little River Band, Bo Diddley with the Johnnie Johnson Band, and nationally recognized jazz acts Restaurants: 3: The Outfitters Grill (3 p.m.–10 p.m. Wed.–Sun.), Captain’s Table Buffet (11 a.m.–9 p.m. Sun.–Thu., 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Fri.–Sat.), La Cantina (snack bar; 9 a.m.–5 a.m.) Accommodations: No; many hotels and motels in Alton and St. Louis Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No (but shirt and shoes required) Bonus: Argosy Preferred rewards card. $10 free play when you first sign up for card. Prize drawings for members. Bingo. Preferred accommodation packages at nearby hotels. Group packages, with parties and deals on meals and transportation. Free parking.

NORTH AMERICA

All gambling establishments in Illinois are either riverboat or dockside casinos. The rules governing gambling have changed in that originally gaming was permitted only after the vessels had left the dock. When that changed, for awhile they maintained a fiction of boarding times. Players could get on at specified times only, and, if they left, had to wait till the next “sailing.” That, too, changed and now all remain dockside, do not cruise, and patrons may come and go as they wish. Some charge admission; some do not. While there used to be limits on how much patrons could buy in during a given session, those restrictions have also been lifted. The minimum age for gambling in Illinois is 21.

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ILLINOIS

Aurora Aurora (population to be 157,000), the third-largest city in Illinois, is on I-88 in the valleys of the Fox River, 37 miles west of Chicago.

99. Hollywood Casino Address: 49 West Galena Blvd. (or 1 New York St. Bridge), Aurora, Illinois 60506 Phone: 630–801–1234; toll-free: 1–800–888–7777; poker room: 630–801–7471 Website: www.hollywoodcasinoaurora.com

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Description: 53,000-square-foot single-level dockside (on the Fox River) casino with 18foot ceilings Hours: Sun.–Thu. 10 a.m.–4 a.m., Fri.–Sat. 10 a.m.–5 a.m. Slot Machines: 1,150: 2¢, 5¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, $25 Table Games: Blackjack, 5 craps tables, roulette, Caribbean Stud, three-card poker Poker: All games are limit hold’em. $20-$40 Mon., Tue., Thu. starting at 12:15 p.m. Up to 6 tables of $5-$10 or $10-$20 7 days a week, starting at 10 a.m. No-limit hold’em tournament every Wed. at 1 p.m., with over $8,500 prize pool, limited to 75 players, with registrants drawn in a lottery-like process at 10:45 a.m. after all have registered from 9 a.m.–10:30 a.m. Entertainment: Showroom with name performers like Tony Bennett, Bill Cosby, Paul Anka, Engelbert Humperdinck, Don Rickles, Tom Jones, and Aretha Franklin Restaurants: 3: Fairbanks Steakhouse (’30s and ’40s Hollywood setting), Epic Buffet, Take Two (breakfast all day, diner fare) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: $5 per person. Admission free for Marquee Premier card holders. Dress Code: No Bonus: Star Points reward card and associated Marquee Club, which has Gold and Premier levels. Hollywood Casino Corporation is one of the nation’s leading collectors of movie memorabilia, and displays memorabilia from notable films throughout the property. Hollywood Casino was named in 2003 for the second year in a row Illinois’ Best Casino by Casino Player magazine and the readers of Midwest Gaming & Travel. Hollywood also received the top awards for best slots, best casino buffet, and best fine dining restaurant, Fairbanks Steakhouse. Hollywood Casino Studio Store features logo items and merchandise and videos from more than a dozen major Hollywood studios and cable networks. A high-limit room has blackjack starting at $25.

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East Peoria East Peoria (population 23,000) is in the middle of Illinois along the eastern bank of the Illinois River. It is located directly east of Peoria and about midway between Chicago and St. Louis. Interstate 74 passes through the center of town.

100. Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino

East Saint Louis East Saint Louis (population 32,000) is on the Mississippi River directly across from Saint Louis, Missouri.

101. Casino Queen Address: 200 South Front Street, East Saint Louis, Illinois 62201 Phone: toll-free: 1–800–777–0777 Website: www.casinoqueen.com Description: 3-level 28,000-square-foot riverboat casino, with hotel on the dock, in view of the Saint Louis Gateway Arch Hours: 9 a.m.–7 a.m. daily. Slot Machines: 1,000+: 25¢–$5; progressive jackpots Table Games: Blackjack, craps, roulette, Caribbean Stud, pai gow poker, mini-baccarat, with limits from $2–$2,000 Poker: No Entertainment: Club Sevens: dance parties, tribute acts Restaurants: 4: Royal Table (fine dining), Courtyard Buffet, Riverview Grill, Gazebo Café Accommodations: 150 rooms, plus 7 suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Queen’s Club rewards card. 2-for-1 meals 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Triple slot club points 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Seniors’ Wednesdays, with free valet parking, gift shop discount, 2-for-1 buffet. Up to $12,000 in cash drawings on Thu. Hotel offers indoor heated swimming pool, exercise facility, complimentary continental breakfast, free valet parking, meeting and banquet facilities, direct MetroLink access, and is fully ADA compliant.

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Description: 3-level 33,000-square-foot dockside casino on the Illinois River. Directions on website. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,176, all ticket in-ticket out: 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, and higher Table Games: 21: Blackjack, roulette, craps, Caribbean Stud, three-card poker Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 3: Par-A-Dice Island Buffet, Boyd’s Steakhouse (Sun.–Thu. 4 p.m.–9 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 4 p.m.–10 p.m.), Nelson’s Deli (8:30 a.m.–6 a.m.) Accommodations: 208 rooms and suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Prime Rewards card. Members can win cars, cash, free phone cards, etc. Special days for men, women, seniors, with meal and gift shop discounts and free valet parking. Banquet facilities. Wireless Internet in the entire hotel: all rooms, meeting rooms, and even the ballroom. Discounts and packages are available for corporate affiliations. All Prime Rewards members receive $10 off the regular hotel room rate.

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Address: 21 Blackjack Boulevard, East Peoria, Illinois 61611 Phone: 309–698–7711; toll-free: 1–800–PAR–A–DICE (1–800–727–2342); toll-free hotel reservations: 1–800–547–0711 Website: www.par-a-dice.com

Elgin Elgin (population 95,000), is home to Judson College, a four-year liberal arts college, and is located about 25 miles west of Chicago on the Fox River.

102. Grand Victoria Casino Address: 250 South Grove Avenue, Elgin, Illinois 60120 Phone: Toll-free: 1–888–508–1900 Website: www.grandvictoriacasino.com

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Email: [email protected] Description: 80,000-square-foot riverboat casino west of Chicago on the Fox River Hours: 8:30 a.m.–6:30 a.m. Slot Machines: 1,000+: Including video poker Table Games: 41: 24 blackjack, 6 craps, 4 roulette, 4 Caribbean Stud, 2 three-card poker tables, 1 baccarat. All table games are on 1 deck. Poker: No Entertainment: Lounge acts, tribute groups, music groups, etc. Restaurants: 3: Buckinghams (fine dining), Grand Victoria Buffet, Deli on Grove (open 24 hours) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Victoria rewards card for table and slot play. Free self-parking. Valet parking. Banquet and wedding facilities. Voted “Best Riverboat Casino in the United States” 3 years in a row by Casino Player Magazine.

Joliet Joliet (population 121,000) is located about 40 miles southwest of central Chicago, near the intersection of Interstates 55 and 80. It lies on both sides of the Des Plaines River.

103. Argosy’s Empress Casino Address: 2300 Empress Drive, Joliet, Illinois 60436 Phone: 815–744–9400; toll-free: 1–888–4EMPRESS (1–888–436–7737) Website: www.argosycasinos.com/property/joliet/joliet_home.asp Email: [email protected] Description: 50,000-square-foot riverboat casino on the Des Plaines River Hours: Sun.–Thu. 9 a.m.–5 a.m., Fri.–Sat. 9 a.m.–6 a.m. Poker room: Mon.–Thu. 10 a.m.–5 a.m., Fri. 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Slot Machines: 1,110 Table Games: 30: Mini-baccarat, Caribbean Stud, craps, blackjack, roulette, three-card poker Poker: 2 tables, both hold’em (lowest limit $5-$10). Make an advanced reservation that day by calling 815–927–2175. Entertainment: Lounge acts Restaurants: 3: Alex (steakhouse), Café Casablanca, Marrakech Market Buffet Accommodations: 102 rooms, including suites Admission Charge: $5; free admission every day after 3 a.m. Admission is free for everyone Sun. and Wed. Dress Code: No Bonus: Air cleaning system. Argosy Preferred rewards card. New Argosy Preferred Club Members get free admission the day they join the club. 80-space RV park.

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104. Harrah’s Joliet Casino and Hotel

Metropolis Metropolis (population 6,500), in southern Illinois on the Ohio River, proclaims itself the “Hometown of Superman,” the comic book superhero who is based in a fictional city by that name (but which looks a lot like New York City). Metropolis, Illinois, celebrates its “local hero” in many ways, such as a large Superman statue in the city, a small Superman museum, and an annual Superman festival in June. The local newspaper is called the Metropolis Planet, a name inspired by the fictional Daily Planet.

105. Harrah’s Metropolis Casino Address: 100 East Front Street, Metropolis, Illinois 62960 Phone: 618–524–2628; toll-free: 1–800–HARRAHS (1–800–427–7247) and ask for Harrah’s Metropolis Casino Website: www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/met Email: None outside of customer service requests, which can be done through the website Description: 3-level 36,000-square-foot dockside facility casino on the Ohio River Hours: 9 a.m.–7 a.m. daily Slot Machines: 1,200+: 1¢, 5¢–$25; statewide progressive jackpots Table Games: 25: Blackjack, craps, roulette, Caribbean Stud (with progressive jackpot), three-card poker,

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Email: None outside of customer service requests, which can be done through the website Description: 50,000-square-foot riverboat casino on the Des Plaines River Hours: Sun.–Thu. 9 a.m.–5 a.m., Fri.–Sat. 9 a.m.–6 a.m. Slot Machines: 1,100+: 5¢–$100; including video keno ($1; 5 machines), and video poker (25¢–$25; 200+ machines); statewide progressive jackpots Table Games: Blackjack (4 tables on main casino floor and 7 in high-limit room), craps, roulette, Caribbean Stud (with progressive jackpot), three-card poker, mini-baccarat Poker: No Entertainment: Sevens Lounge features karaoke every Thu. and live bands every Fri., Sat. 8 p.m.–1 a.m. Restaurants: 4: Van Buren’s (fine dining; semiformal; $25–$50), Union Station Buffet (casual; $10–$20), Winning Streaks Stadium Café ($7–$20), Club Cappuccino (coffee shop, casual, $5–$15) Accommodations: 200 rooms (restricted to guests 21 and older) Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Total Rewards card, which can be used at all Harrah’s, Rio, Showboat and Harveys casinos. High-limit room. Gift shop. Fitness center available to hotel guests at no charge. Business center. Harrah’s Joliet is the official casino sponsor of the Chicagoland Speedway, which is the annual host of the Tropicana 400, a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race, and a NASCAR Busch Series race, and an Indy Racing Northern Lights (IRL) race and an ARCA Re/Max Series race every September.

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Address: 151 North Joliet Street, Joliet, Illinois 60432 Phone: 815–740–7800; toll-free: 1–800–HARRAHS (1–800–427–7247) and ask for Harrah’s Joliet Casino and Hotel. Website: www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/jol

Let It Ride Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 3: Range Steakhouse, Fresh Market Square Buffet, Ace’s Diner (’50s style food and fun) Accommodations: 258 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Total Rewards Card good at all Harrah’s properties (all Harrah’s, Rio, Showboat, and Harveys casinos). 1,200-seat multipurpose event center. Blackjack Mania, every day from 3 p.m.–7 p.m., pays bonuses for certain card combinations: 3 suited 7s ($125 on a $5 table and $250 on a $10 table), 6-78 suited or split aces once and get 2 more aces ($75/$125), 3 7s of any suit or 6-7-8 of any suit ($30/$60), Ace-Jack of spades or 21 on 5 or more cards ($15/$25). If you have a winning hand, you get the bonus plus your winning bet. All regular blackjack rules and payouts still apply. Slot tournaments for all denominations of slots. Cash giveaways. Receive free lunch buffet or $5 off any meal for riding the bus from surrounding cities in Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee.

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Rock Island

NORTH AMERICA

106. Jumer’s Casino Rock Island

Rock Island (population 40,500) is on the western edge of the state, 160 miles southwest of Chicago, separated from Iowa by the Mississippi River. It is part of a metropolitan area known as the Quad Cities, comprised of Rock Island and Moline, Illinois, and Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa.

Address: 1735 First Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois 61201 Phone: 309–793–4200; toll-free: 1–800–477–7747 Website: www.jumerscri.com Email: [email protected] Description: 13,200-square-foot casino, part of the Rock Island Boatworks, 4 connected individual floating vessels, the Casino Rock Island Riverboat Casino and the Ockerson constitute the casino, the T.G. Gerow houses administrative offices, and the Effie Afton Tugboat is a restaurant. The last 3 vessels are all permanently moored. The complex is located at the foot of 18th Street, at the Mississippi River. Directions on website. Hours: 8 a.m.–3 a.m. daily. Slot Machines: 700: 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, $25 reel and video machines. The casino has 12 progressive banks. 74 video poker machines in 5¢, 25¢, and $1 denominations, including 100 percent payback machines and triple-play progressive machines. Table Games: Blackjack, craps, roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker: No Entertainment: Lounge acts Restaurants: 1: Lunch and dinner buffet Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: EnterFunMent Xtra Club rewards card earns Bonus Dollars that can be used at local restaurants, hotels, retail shops, night spots, and more. With Club 50, seniors (50+) earn a free buffet Mon.–Thu. for $200 slot play or $50 table buy-in plus 50 minutes of play.

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INDIANA

All casinos in Indiana are dockside casinos. At one time they had sailing or boarding schedules, and specified times when patrons could enter and then must leave, and, indeed, were obliged to sail when weather permitted. This is no longer the case—the vessels do not sail and guests can come and go as they please. The minimum age to gamble in Indiana is 21.

Belterra

Address: 777 Belterra Drive, Belterra, Indiana 47020–9402 Phone: 812–427–7777; toll-free: 1–888–BELTERRA (1–888–235–8377) Website: www.belterracasino.com Email: Contact form on website Description: 38,000-square-foot riverboat casino on the Ohio River. Driving instructions on website. Hours: Sun.–Thu. 8 a.m.–4 a.m., Fri.–Sat. 8 a.m.–5 a.m. Slot Machines: 1,500+: 1¢–$100. High-limit area has denominations $5–$100. Table Games: 39: Crazy 4 poker, craps (10 odds), blackjack (5-, 6-, and 8-deck games), Let It Ride, three-card poker, progressive jackpot pai gow poker, Caribbean Stud, roulette, Spanish 21, Boston 5 poker Poker: No Entertainment: The 1,800-seat state-of-the-art CenterStage Showroom presents musical performances, theatrical productions and big name entertainment, from classic rock bands (like George Thorogood, Herman’s Hermits, Chubby Checker) to country-and-western stars. The VIP room on the mezzanine level, complete with plush seats and TV monitors, overlooks the stage and can accommodate up to 50 guests. Restaurants: 4: Ultimate Buffer, Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, Aquarium Grill, Casino Café, plus Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s Accommodations: 600+ luxurious guest rooms and suites overlook the Ohio River, rolling hills of Indiana, or the golf course Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Champions Club rewards card. Regular double and triple points promotions and big cash progressive drawings. CenterStage Showroom, with a large, 25-foot screen, is available for special events and corporate meetings. Weddings. Spa and salon.

NORTH AMERICA

107. Belterra Casino Resort

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Belterra is in southeastern Indiana, across the Ohio River by way of the Markland Dam Bridge from the Kentucky Speedway, and 38 miles southwest of Cincinnati, Ohio. Belterra is too small to be found on any but the most detailed maps; it’s 7 miles east of Vevay.

East Chicago East Chicago (population 32,000) is on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, 8 miles southeast of the edge of Chicago, 3 miles from the Illinois border, and 25 minutes from downtown Chicago.

108. Harrah’s East Chicago Casino & Hotel Address: 777 Harrah’s Boulevard, East Chicago, Indiana 46312 Phone: Main: 219–378–3000; fax: 219–378–3498; toll-free: 1–800–HARRAHS (1–800–427–7247) and ask for Harrah’s East Chicago Casino Website: www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/ech

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Email: None outside of customer service requests, which can be done through the website Description: In Pastrick Marina near the major interstate highway systems, its 53,000 square feet make this dockside riverboat casino the largest in the Chicago area. The casino caters to Chicago-area and northwest-Indiana customers, but often hosts players from across the country in special events and promotions. Languages spoken and understood include English, Spanish, and various Asian dialects. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,900+: 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, $1, $5, $100. The casino has the area’s largest selection of nickel slot machines. Coin and cashless (Fast Cash) machines. Progressive jackpots. Many video poker slots, some with 99 percent payback. Table Games: 60+: Craps, blackjack, Spanish 21, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride Bonus, mini-baccarat, three-card poker, pai gow poker Poker: 16 tables: 7-stud ($1-$5 and $2-$10 spreadlimit, $10-$20), hold’em ($5-$10, $10-$20, $20-$40, $40-$80, no-limit), Omaha highlow ($5-$10), pot-limit Omaha, H.O.S.E. ($30-$60). All games $5-$10 and lower offer bad beat jackpots. Regular tournaments: $220 buy-in $20,000 guaranteed tournament every Thu. (10 a.m. registration, 12 p.m. start). Higher limit games are available upon request. Entertainment: Free live band entertainment every Fri. and Sat. starting at 8 p.m. Restaurants: 5: French Quarter Room (fine cuisine; Tue.–Thu. 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m.; Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–11 p.m.; Sun. 5 p.m.–9 p.m., closed Mon.; reservation needed), Fresh Market Square Buffet (breakfast Mon.–Fri. 7 a.m.–11 p.m., Sat.–Sun. 7 a.m.–10 a.m., brunch Sat.–Sun. 10 a.m.–3 p.m., lunch Mon.–Fri. 11 a.m.–3 p.m., dinner Sun.–Thu. 3 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 3 p.m.–12 a.m.), Winning Streaks (casual café, with sporting events on big-screen TVs; Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–1 a.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–12 a.m.), Club Cappuccino (coffee shop, casual; 7 a.m.–1 a.m. daily), Aces Diner (’50s-style diner; 24 hours ) Accommodations: 293 room, 15-floor hotel connected to casino and pavilion. Each room is a spacious 504 square feet. The top floor also has 7 suites complete with concierge service. The suites are designed for special guests and VIPs and are comparable to that of penthouse living. Rooms are spacious with a marble floor foyer entrance, 2 closets, a shower separate from the bathtub, upscale decor, and a living room area. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Total Rewards Card players at all Harrah’s properties (all Harrah’s, Rio, Showboat, and Harveys casinos) are invited to slot tournaments, golf outings, birthday parties, and cash drawings. Rewards Credits can be used for meals or merchandise, plus they earn discounts for meals. The poker room permits patrons to call (219–378–3558) up to 1 hour prior to arrival to be placed on the waiting board for any game. (Reservations will be held for one hour.) Prospective players can also call the poker room to find out the current games and limits. Players at the casino

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE waiting for a seat can visit elsewhere in the casino and the poker room will page them when their seats are ready.

Elizabeth Elizabeth (population under 200) is on the Ohio River 10 miles southwest of Louisville, Kentucky.

Email: Contact form on website Description: 4-deck, 93,000-square-foot riverboat casino on the Ohio River. Several themed rooms: Burning of Rome Casino, Caesars Movie Casino, Caesars Music Casino, Caesars Sports Casino, Caesars Rome Casino. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,400, over 1,700 of which are EZ Pay machines (ticket in-ticket out); denominations include 1¢, 5¢ (over 400 machines), 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, $10, $20, $100 Table Games: 140+: Blackjack, roulette, craps, mini-baccarat, pai gow poker (with progressive jackpots), Caribbean Stud (with progressive jackpots), Let It Ride, 21+3 blackjack, Deuces Wild Hold’em Fold’em, 2–2-1 triple hand poker, and more Poker: 12 tables: Hold’em ($4-$8, $5-$10, $10-$20, $20-$40, no-limit), 7-stud ($2-$10 spread-limit, $30$60 limit), Omaha (pot-limit). Bad beat jackpots. Entertainment: Colosseum: headliner acts like Tony Bennett, Sinbad, and George Jones, and live boxing. Legends: 7,000square-foot lounge entertainment area, with a stage for local talent and tribute groups, “showtenders” (Cocktail-like bartenders), dancing, and menu items. Restaurants: 9: 2 fine dining: Nero’s Conquests (international; open for lunch and dinner; Wed.–Sun. 11:30 a.m.–11:00 p.m.; closed Mon., Tue.), Portico (steaks; Sun.–Thu. 5 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–11 p.m.); 7 casual Accommodations: 503 rooms (some with Jacuzzi), including suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: High-stakes room. Rewards card. Outside fitness trail features 18 workout stations and a scenic woodland view. 18-hole championship golf course. 24-hour fitness center. Kennel available for pets. Slot, blackjack, craps tournaments. Check website for game jackpots.

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Address: 11999 Avenue of the Emperors, Elizabeth, Indiana 47117 Phone: 812–969–6000; toll-free: 1–888–ROMAN4U (1–888–766–2648); toll-free hotel reservations: 1–866–ROMANS–1 (1–866–766–2671); poker room: 1–888–ROMAN4U ext. 4220 Website: www.caesarsindiana.com

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109. Caesars Indiana

Evansville Evansville (population 122,000) is on the Ohio River in southwestern Indiana, 20 miles from the Illinois border.

110. Casino Aztar Address: 421 N.W. Riverside Drive, Evansville, Indiana 47708 Phone: 1–800–DIAL–FUN (1–800–342–5386) Website: www.casinoaztar.com

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Email: Contact form on the website Description: 3-deck, 47,863-square-foot riverboat (the City of Evansville) casino on the Ohio River. Accommodates 2,700 passengers and a crew of 300. Driving instructions on website. Hours: Mon.–Thu. 8 a.m.–5 a.m., Fri.–Sun. 24 hours Slot Machines: 1,376: 2¢–$100; EZ Pay (ticket in-ticket out) and token slots; progressive and linked jackpots Table Games: 40: Blackjack with very liberal rules, craps (5X odds), Caribbean Stud, Caribbean Draw, three-card poker, Let It Ride Bonus, roulette, play 4 poker, Spanish 21, big six wheel Poker: 7-stud ($1-$5 spread-limit), hold’em ($5-$10), Omaha. Bad-beat jackpots. Entertainment: Hoosiers Lounge: live entertainment nightly, local acts Restaurants: 5: Cavanaugh’s (steaks, seafood), buffet, Diamond Deli, Max & Erma’s (diner), Corky’s Ribs & BBQ, plus Starbucks, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Accommodations: 250 rooms, including 10 suites. ADA-compliant rooms available. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Rewards club, with 4 levels and concomitant bonuses. Club 55 (for 55+), with free slot tournaments on Mon., meal discounts, free entertainment. Premium slot lounge. Nonsmoking areas. Complimentary soft drinks, coffee, and snacks in the poker room. Karaoke contests. Free self-parking in enclosed 1,600-space garage. Complimentary valet parking service for hotel guests. 11,000+ square feet of meeting space, with 11 meeting and conference rooms.

Gary Gary (population 103,000), on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, 15 miles southeast of the edge of Chicago, and 10 miles from the Illinois border, is known for its steel mills.

111. Majestic Star Casino Address: 1 Buffington Harbor Drive, Gary, Indiana 46406 Phone: Toll-free: 1–888–2B–LUCKY (1–888–225–8259) Website: www.majesticstar.com Email: Contact form on the website Description: 43,000-square-foot riverboat casino on Buffington Harbor on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,540+: 1¢–$25; includes video poker; progressive jackpots Table Games: 50: Blackjack, craps (100x odds), roulette, mini-baccarat, Caribbean Stud (progressive jackpots), Let It Ride, Spanish 21, pai gow mania, Caribbean Draw, Fortune Pai Gow, big six wheel, Boston 5 poker, three-card poker, 21+3 blackjack; limits from

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE $5–$50,000 Poker: No Entertainment: None currently Restaurants: 4: Harbor Treats (light snacks), Miller Pizza Co., KoKo Taylor’s Blues Café, Passports (buffet), plus coffee specialty shop Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Majestic rewards card, with 3 levels; offers same-day cash back. Cash and merchandise giveaways. Blackjack tournaments. Events center for parties.

112. Trump Casino Indiana

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Email: Contact form on the website Description: 37,000-square-foot riverboat casino on Buffington Harbor on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, 25 minutes (18 miles) from the Chicago Loop. Directions: From downtown Chicago, take I-90 south to Cline Avenue exit, Cline Avenue to Columbus Drive exit, turn left to Trump Hotel Casino. From the south or east, take I-80/94 or I-90 to the Cline Avenue exit, Cline Avenue north to exit 6 (Industrial Highway), follow signs to “Gary Riverboats.” Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,700: 2¢–$25 Table Games: 39: Craps, blackjack, roulette, Caribbean Stud, mini-baccarat Poker: 17 tables (expansion planned to 21 tables): 7-stud, hold’em, Omaha high-low. Satellite and supersatellite events for World Poker Tour tournaments. Entertainment: Koko Taylor’s Blues Café: live blues every Fri. and Sat. night. Restaurants: 8: Top Deck Deli, Passport’s Buffet, Koko Taylor’s Blues Café, Chops Steakhouse, Lakeside Cafe, Miller Pizza, Harbor Treats, Jackpot Java Accommodations: 300 rooms, overlooking Lake Michigan Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Trump Club rewards card; offers same-day cash back. New member promotion with possibility of $1,000 win. Trump President’s Club has a higher level of rewards. Golden Gamers benefits for seniors (50+) on Mon. Free valet parking and casino shuttle service for hotel guests. Special room rate coupons on website, including breakfast.

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Address: 1 Buffington Harbor, Gary, Indiana 46406 Phone: 219–977–9999; toll-free: 1–888–21–TRUMP (1–888–218–7867) Website: www.trumplakemichigan.com

Hammond Hammond (population 83,000), 6 miles from the southern shore of Lake Michigan, 5 miles southeast of the edge of Chicago, and right on the Illinois border, is a 20-minute drive from the downtown Chicago Loop.

113. Horseshoe Casino Hammond Address: 777 Casino Center Drive, Hammond, IN 46320 Phone: Main: 219–473–7000; toll-free: 1–866–711–SHOE (1–866–711–7463); fax: 219–473–6004 Website: www.horseshoe.com

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Email: On the main web page, click “Hammond” and then “Contact Us.” Fill out the form, which sends email to the corporate office, where it gets forwarded to the appropriate person, who will reply. Description: The closest casino to Chicago, Horseshoe Casino Hammond is a dockside casino that consists of both a permanently docked casino gaming vessel and a guest pavilion. The gaming area is 46,700 square feet. The pavilion houses 5 restaurants. Horseshoe Casino Hammond caters mainly to the local populace. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,009. Betting ranges are 5¢–$100; cashless machines. There are progressive jackpots. The $1 machines have a progressive jackpot that starts at $150,000 averaging 1 hit per month, and the 50¢ machines have a progressive jackpot that begins at $75,000. Table Games: 39 (minimum/maximum): 20 blackjack ($5/$10,000), 2 Caribbean Stud (min. ante-bet $5/max $200), 3 three-card poker ($5/$300), 1 mini-baccarat ($10/$100,000), 5 roulette ($5/$200; $5,000 outside limit), 6 craps (100X odds; $5/$20,000 flat, with $50,000 maximum odds wager), 1 pai gow poker ($10/$3,000), 1 play 4 poker ($5/$100) Poker: No Entertainment: Outside entertainment is periodically hired for parties thrown for casino-invited guests. Restaurants: 5: Jack Binion’s Steakhouse (received Wine Spectator magazine’s Award of Excellence), the Village Square Buffet (5 themed food stations offer meals from around the globe), Lake Michigan Deli Company (casual diner), J.B.’s Gourmet Sandwiches and Salads (open 24 hours/day; 365 days/year), and Java Jack’s Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Banquet and meeting space, a gift shop, concierge suite, shoeshine stand, and guest services area. Attached to the guest pavilion are 2 separate enclosed parking facilities with 3,100 spaces. Among the employees are some who speak Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Any Jack Binion property is always known for the excellence of its cuisine.

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Lawrenceburg Lawrenceburg (population 4,700) is in southeastern Indiana on the Ohio River, 18 miles east of Cincinnati, right where the borders of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky meet.

114. Argosy Casino and Hotel

Michigan City Michigan City (population 33,000) is located on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, 35 miles east of Chicago and 10 miles from the southwestern tip of Michigan. Because of its proximity to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan City gets a lot of visitors, particularly in the summer.

115. Blue Chip Casino & Hotel Address: 2 Easy Street, Michigan City, Indiana 46360 Phone: 219–879–7711; toll-free: 1–888–624–9618; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–888–879–7711 Website: www.bluechip-casino.com Description: 42,000+-square-foot riverboat casino on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Directions on website. Hours: Sun.–Wed. 8 a.m.–3 a.m., Thu.–Sat. 24 hours Slot Machines: 1,701: 1¢–$100, includes 100 penny slots on upper level Table Games: 51: Blackjack, roulette, mini-baccarat, progressive Caribbean Stud, three-card poker, four-card poker, Let It Ride Bonus, craps Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 3: Diamond Deli (open 24 hours), Grille on Easy Street (located in the pavilion, open 7 days a week for dinner only, reservations suggested, at 1–888–879–7711 ext. 2118; Sun.–Thu. 5 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 4 p.m.–11:30 p.m.), Blue Chip Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner) Accommodations: 188 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Prime Rewards Card. Cash and car giveaways. Mon. is Men’s Day and Fri. is Ladies’ Day. Those who earn 300 points on their Prime Rewards Cards between noon and

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Description: 74,300-square-foot riverboat casino on the Ohio River Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 2,300+: Slots, video poker, video multigames (video poker, video slots, some with video keno) Table Games: 90: Blackjack, roulette, Caribbean Stud, craps, big six wheel, Let It Ride, mini-baccarat, three-card poker, 21+3, Boston 5 stud, baccarat Poker: No Entertainment: Chartroom: headline entertainment Fri., Sat. No cover charge. Restaurants: Bogart’s Grille, Passport Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner), Jonathan’s (combination New York deli, sidewalk café, European bistro), Chartroom Sports Bar (bar and barbecue), Riviera Café Accommodations: 300 rooms Admission Charge: $5 Sun. 7 a.m.–5 p.m., Fri. 5 p.m.–midnight, Sat. 6 a.m.–midnight; $3 all other times Dress Code: No Bonus: Gaming classes. Cash drawings. Slot tournaments. Karaoke.

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Address: 777 Argosy Parkway, Lawrenceburg, Indiana 47025 Phone: Toll-free: 1–888–ARGOSY–7 (1–888–274–6797) Website: www.argosycasinos.com/property/cincinnati/cincy_home.asp

8 p.m. on their day receive $5 in chips or tokens and get to keep their points. On Seniors’ Day, Tue. 8 a.m.–3 p.m., those 55 and over receive 2-for-1 buffet and $2 vouchers. Nonsmoking slot section on the main level. Hotel has exercise facility, indoor pool, Jacuzzis, business conference rooms. Gift shop. Pavilion has ballrooms for parties.

Rising Sun Rising Sun (population 2,500) is on the Ohio River 20 miles southwest of Cincinnati, Ohio.

116. Grand Victoria Casino and Resort

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Address: 600 Grand Victoria Drive, Rising Sun, Indiana 47040 Phone: 812–438–1234; toll-free: 1–800–GRAND–11 (1–800–472–6311); fax: 812–438–5155 Website: www.grandvictoriacasino.hyatt.com

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Description: 40,000-square-foot riverboat casino on the Ohio River Hours: Mon.–Thu. 8 a.m.–5 a.m., Fri.–Sun. 24 hours Slot Machines: Nearly 1,500: 1¢–$25, many ticket in-ticket out, including multigame machines, video poker, video keno, bonus payouts, progressive jackpots Table Games: 37: Blackjack, craps (with 10X odds), roulette, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, Spanish 21, three-card poker, 21+3 blackjack, Boston 5 stud Poker: No Entertainment: Grand Theater: 12,000-square-foot entertainment showroom with 1,100 seats, featuring topname entertainment Restaurants: 3, in hotel: Buffet, Wellington’s Steakhouse, Piccadilly’s Deli (open 24 hours) Accommodations: 200 rooms, including 5 suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Cash and car giveaways. Hotel offers fitness center, health club, heated indoor lap pool, whirlpool, treadmill, exercise equipment, and sauna.

IOWA

Casino gambling in the Midwest began on April 1, 1991, when the Diamond Jo made its maiden voyage down the Mississippi River in Iowa. Passengers were originally limited to $5 per bet with a maximum loss of $200 per person, per cruise. These restrictions caused several boats to move to Mississippi, which offered 24-hour, no-limit, dockside gambling. In September of 1991, the first riverboats began operating in the bordering state of Illinois, but without Iowa’s restrictive bet or loss limits. The increased competition from these boats cut deeply into the profitability of the Iowa boats, so that in early 1994 the Iowa legislature voted to eliminate the gambling restrictions. Until 2003, boats were required to cruise at least part of the time. Most boats cruised from June through October and remained dockside from November through May. In 2004, the state legislature removed the restriction and now the boats do not cruise. In addition, Iowa has three Native American casinos. As in other states, tribes negotiated state compacts pursuant to the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which permits tribes to operate for-profit games of chance not otherwise outlawed by the state. The minimum age for gambling in Iowa is 21.

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Bettendorf Bettendorf (population 31,300) is on the Mississippi River in southeastern Iowa, 165 miles east of Des Moines and 165 miles west of Chicago. Bettendorf is 10 miles east of Davenport.

117. Isle of Capri Casino-Bettendorf

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Description: 2-deck 30,000-square-foot riverboat casino on the Mississippi River Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year. Poker room: Mon. 10 a.m.–4 a.m., Tue.–Thu. 11 a.m.–4 a.m., Fri. 11 a.m.–6 a.m., Sat.–Sun. 10 a.m.–6 a.m. Slot Machines: 1,1000+: 1¢, 5¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $2, $5, $10, $25 Table Games: 25: 14 blackjack, 3 craps, 1 Let It Ride, 1 Caribbean Stud, 1 three-card poker, 1 four-card poker, 2 pai gow poker, 2 roulette Poker: 7 tables. Regular games: Daily: $3-$6 hold’em; Mon. 1 p.m. $4-$8 dealer’s choice; Tue. 1:30 p.m. $6-$12 dealer’s choice; Thu. 2 p.m. $20-$40 dealer’s choice; Fri. 1 p.m. $10-$20 dealer’s choice, 2 p.m. $4-$8 Omaha high-low; Sat. 10 a.m. $2-$5 spread-limit 7-stud high-low, 1 p.m. $20-$40 dealer’s choice, 2 p.m. $4-$8 Omaha high-low. Regular tournaments: Mon. 10:30 a.m. dealer’s choice of hold’em and Omaha high-low $10+$5, $10 rebuys first 3 rounds, $10 add-on; Tue. 6:30 p.m. no-limit hold’em $10+$5, $10 rebuys first 3 rounds, $10 add-on; Wed. 6 p.m. no-limit hold’em $40+$10 with one $20 rebuy. Preference given Tue., Wed. to players seated in live games and those on the list for live games. Entertainment: 300-seat Caribbean Cove Showroom features live entertainment on certain weekends Restaurants: 3: Farradday’s Restaurant (steak, lobster, etc.; Mon.–Thu., 4 p.m.–10 p.m.; Fri., Sat., 4 p.m.–11 p.m. Sun., 4 p.m.–9 p.m.), Calypso’s Seafood Buffet (350 seats, on third floor of hotel; breakfast, lunch, dinner), Tradewinds Marketplace (Sal & Vinny’s Pizzeria, Giselle’s Bakery, Ed’s Grill, Fresser’s Delicatessen) Accommodations: 256 rooms, including suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: IsleOne rewards card. Paradise 50 Plus offers seniors double points on Tue., Thu., free breakfast or lunch buffet or $5 in coins (for earning 30 points that day), gift shop discount. Isle of Capri Convention Center: Meeting and banquet facilities with 15,000 square feet to accommodate groups and special events as large as 1,000 people, with 6 meeting rooms including a 9,600-square-foot Grand Ballroom. Hotel amenities: room service, valet parking, laundry and dry cleaning service, heated indoor pool and Jacuzzi, fitness center, and 500 space covered parking garage that is connected to the hotel and casino by a covered walkway.

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Address: 1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf, Iowa 52722 Phone: 563–359–7280; toll-free: 1–800–THE–ISLE (1–800–843–4753); tollfree hotel reservations: 1–888–782–9582 Website: www.isleofcapricasino.com/Bettendorf

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs (population 58,000) is in southwestern Iowa, just across the Missouri River from, and often considered a suburb of, Omaha, Nebraska.

118. Ameristar Casino Hotel Address: 2200 River Road, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501 Phone: 712–328–8888; toll-free: 1–877–IMASTAR (1–877–462–7827) Website: www.ameristarcasinos.com/council

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Email: Contact form on website Description: 3-level 38,500-square-foot riverboat casino on the Missouri River; modeled after the historic riverboats of the 1800s. Located at the intersection of Interstate Highways 80 and 29, Exit 52 on Interstate 29. Ameristar Casino is Iowa’s largest riverboat. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year; Amerisports Bar 11 a.m.–2 a.m. Slot Machines: 1,500+: Includes 100+ video poker, 700+ video slots, and 50+ multigame video machines. Also, 550+ traditional reel slots and nearly 100 system specialty machines. Table Games: 39: 21 blackjack (including one double-deck), 4 craps, 2 roulette, 3 Fortune Pai Gow, 2 Caribbean Stud, 2 three-card poker, 2 Spanish 21, 1 fourcard poker, 1 Texas Shootout, 1 Let It Ride Bonus Poker: No Entertainment: Amerisports Bar offers rock, variety, and other musical groups Restaurants: 4: Amerisports Bar (burgers, chili, pizza, etc.; kitchen hours 11 a.m.–11 p.m.); Prairie Mill Café and Bakery (Café: Sun.–Thu. 6 a.m.–2 a.m., Fri.–Sat. 24 hours; bakery: 24 hours daily; limited express dining menu available weekdays 2 a.m.–6 a.m.); Veranda Buffet (lunch Mon.–Fri. 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m., dinner Mon., Thu.–Sat., weekend brunches); Waterfront Grill (Tue.–Thu. 5 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–11 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m.–10 p.m., closed Mon.) Accommodations: AAA 4-Diamond Rating Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Star Awards reward card. Double points on Thu. 42 screens in Amerisports Bar, including one 9-by-12-foot. Free 24-hour valet service; covered 1,000stall parking garage. Business Center: The Holiday Inn & Suites situated next door features a 24-hour service for fax, copying, mail services, computers, and typewriters.

119. Harrah’s Council Bluffs Casino Address: One Harveys Boulevard, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501 Phone: 712–329–6000; toll-free: 1–888–598–8451 or 1–800–HARRAHS (1–800–427–7247) and ask for Harrah’s Council Bluffs Casino Website: www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/cou Email: None outside of customer service requests, which can be done through the website Description: 28,250-square-foot riverboat casino and hotel on the Missouri River Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,200: All ticket in-ticket out. Includes 90 video poker, multigame, multidenomination, reel, and video. Megajackpots, statewide linked progressive jackpots, are available on 1¢–$5 machines. Table Games: 31: Craps, blackjack, roulette, Caribbean Stud, Spanish 21, Boston 5 stud, pai gow poker, Let It Ride Poker: Hold’em ($3-$6, $4$8, and either $5-$10 or $6-$12 with a kill, and sometimes $10-$20) Entertainment: Harrah’s Convention Center: Name entertainment. Local bands free on Thu. nights.

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE Auditions for radio broadcast talent shows on Wed. nights, with prize of a trip to New York City to audition for a Sony recording contract. Restaurants: 4: 360 Steakhouse (twelfth floor of hotel), Vertigo at 360 (rooftop lounge on hotel, open afternoons, evenings), Aces Diner (24 hours), Fresh Market Square Buffet, plus Stir (party-atmosphere bar) Accommodations: 250 rooms, including suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: 21,000 square feet of meeting space, with room for up to 1,400. Custom entertainment packages available for groups. Gift shop. Fitness center.

Davenport

Address: 101 West River Drive, Davenport, Iowa 52801 Phone: 563–328–8000; toll-free: 1–800–BOAT–711 (1–800–262–8711) or 1–800–THE–ISLE (1–800–843–4753) Website: www.isleofcapricasino.com/Rhythm_City Description: 3-floor 35,000-square-foot riverboat casino on the Mississippi River. Rhythm City Casino’s boat is named the Treble Clef. The Treble Clef is 79 feet wide and 300 feet long and has a passenger capacity of 2,300. Casino has its own hotel, the Blackhawk, which was built in 1915 and is registered with the Iowa Historical Society. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,000+: 925 video and reel slots (1¢–$25) and 97 video poker (5¢–$10). All ticket in-ticket out. Casino advertises 92.29 percent payback slots and 100 percent payback video poker progressives. Table Games: 19: 13 blackjack ($2–$500), 2 craps ($3–$500), 1 pai gow poker ($5–$200), 1 roulette ($0.25–$875), 1 three-card poker ($5–$50), 1 four-card poker ($5–$50) Poker: No Entertainment: Frequent weekend and Sun. appearances by local bands Restaurants: 2: Hit Parade Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner), Rock Around the Clock Diner (open 24 hours) Accommodations: Blackhawk Hotel has 121 rooms, including 41 suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Fan Club Card awards $1 in = 1 point = 1¢ on all slots and video poker machines. There are two levels of player’s cards: Classic Card and Superstar Card. Drawings for cash, trips, merchandise. Food available at slots and tables. 24-hour shuttle service runs between hotel and casino.

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120. Rhythm City Casino

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Davenport (population 58,000) is on the Mississippi River in southeastern Iowa, 165 miles east of Des Moines and 165 miles west of Chicago. Davenport is 10 miles west of Bettendorf.

Dubuque Dubuque (population 58,000) is on the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa, 155 miles northwest of Chicago. History was made at Dubuque on April 1, 1991, when casino gambling in the Midwest began as the Diamond Jo made its maiden voyage down the Mississippi River.

121. Diamond Jo Casino Address: Port of Dubuque, Iowa 52001 Phone: 563–690–2100; toll-free: 1–800–LUCKY JO (1–800–582–5956) Website: www.diamondjo.com

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Email: [email protected] Description: 3-level 51,900-square-foot riverboat with 17,800 square feet of gaming space, and hotel, on the Mississippi River. Casino replicates a classic 19th century paddlewheel, has the capacity for 1,390 patrons, features a spacious two-story atrium. Adjacent to the Diamond Jo is a 2-story, 33,000-square-foot dockside pavilion. Hours: Mon.–Fri. 7:30 a.m.–3 a.m., Sat.–Sun. 24 hours Slot Machines: 750+ Table Games: 17: Blackjack, craps (20X odds), roulette, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, three-card poker Poker: No Entertainment: Grandstand Under the Stars offers a summer-long live music series featuring some of the biggest names in rock, country, and contemporary music, such as America, ShaNaNa, Bobby Vinton, Little River Band, Peter Noone and Herman’s Hermits, Eddie Money, Lou Gramm. There’s also a Wed. night free summer concert series. Restaurants: 3: High Steaks (Sun.–Thu. 5 p.m.–9 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–10 p.m.), Lighthouse Grill, Diamond Deli (Mon.–Thu. 8 a.m.–1 a.m.; open continuously Fri. 8 a.m.–Mon.1 a.m.) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Wild Card Club rewards card. Players 55+ with Wild Card get free breakfast Mon.–Fri. 7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m., gift shop discounts, birthday gift, deli lunch specials, and an early bird slot tournament Mon.–Fri. at 8:30 a.m.

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Fort Madison Fort Madison (population 58,000) is on the Mississippi River in southeastern Iowa, 135 miles southeast of Des Moines, near where the borders of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri meet.

122. Catfish Bend Casino

Marquette Marquette (population less than 500) is on the Mississippi River in northeastern Iowa, 95 miles west of Madison, Wisconsin.

123. Isle of Capri Casino & Hotel Address: 100 Anti Monopoly, Marquette, Iowa 52158 Phone: 563–873–3531; toll-free: 1–800–4–YOU–BET (1–800–496–8238) or 1–800–THE–ISLE (1–800–843–4753) Website: www.isleofcapricasino.com/Marquette Description: 3-level riverboat with 18,747 square feet of gaming space on the Mississippi River. Hotel is high on the cliffs overlooking the Mississippi. Hours: Casino: Mon.–Thu. 9 a.m.–3 a.m., continuously Fri. 9 a.m.–Mon. 3 a.m. Table games: Mon.–Fri. noon–3 a.m., Sat.–Sun. 9 a.m.–3 a.m. Slot Machines: 800+: 1¢–$5, more than half ticket in-ticket out Table Games: 13: Blackjack, roulette, craps, Let It Ride, three-card poker, four-card poker Poker: Two

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Email: [email protected] Description: 3-level riverboat with 13,600 square feet of gaming space. The corporate offices are in Fort Madison, where the boat spends half the year; it spends the other half of the year in Burlington, which is some 25 miles south. Both are on the Mississippi River. Hours: Mon. 8 a.m.–Tue. 2 a.m., then continuously Tue. 8 a.m.–Mon. 2 a.m. Slot Machines: 540 Table Games: 17: Blackjack, craps, roulette, Spanish 21, pai gow poker, 3-card poker, 4-card poker Poker: 4 tables: Hold’em, 7-stud high-low. Regular tournaments: No-limit hold’em Mon., Wed. 7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m., $20 buy-in, $20 rebuys. 7stud high-low Tue. 7 p.m., $20 buy-in, $20 rebuys. All tournaments limited to first 24 players. Live games available at tournament times. Entertainment: Live piano music at Sun. champagne brunch 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Restaurants: 1: Bourbon Street Buffet Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Catfish Bend Casino Players Club rewards card. Cash and car giveaways. Seniors’ (50+) days Thu., with cash drawings, discounts on meals. $20 blackjack tournaments Thu. 1 p.m., Sun. noon.

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Address: Mid-April through Mid-October: 902 Riverview Drive, Fort Madison, Iowa 52627 Mid-October through Mid-April: 400 Front Street, Burlington, Iowa 52601 Phone: 319–372–2946; toll-free: 1–800–372–2WIN (1–800–372–2946); fax: 319–372–9949 Website: www.catfishbendcasino.com

tables scheduled for March 2005 Entertainment: No Restaurants: 2: Calypso’s Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner), Tradewinds Marketplace (sandwiches, hotdogs, burgers, etc.; open all casino hours) Accommodations: 25 rooms, including 2 suites. Hotel is on a bluff overlooking Mississippi River. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: IsleOne rewards card. Gift shop. Free parking. Guests 55+ receive a 15 percent discount at Calypso’s Buffet. Self-service nonalcoholic drink areas are located on each of the 3 casino decks. Paradise 50 Plus on Tue. and Thu. offers guests 50 and older double bonus points, free buffet if they earn 30 points that day, and 25 percent discount in the gift shop.

Osceola Osceola (population 4,700) is in south-central Iowa, 3 miles east of Interstate 35.

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124. Lakeside Casino Resort

NORTH AMERICA

Address: 777 Casino Drive, Osceola, Iowa 50213 Phone: 641–342–9511; toll-free: 1–877–477–LAKE (1–877–477–5253) Website: www.terribleherbst.com/casinos/midwest_lakeside Email: [email protected] Description: 2-deck 37,480-square-foot dockside casino located about 40 miles south of Des Moines, in Osceola, Iowa along Interstate 35, Exit 34. Cruises during the summer months on special occasions, weather permitting and when water levels and lake conditions are satisfactory, on West Lake. Unique in that it does not cruise on a river. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year; poker noon–4 a.m. Slot Machines: 921: 1¢, 5¢, 25¢, $1; $5, $10, $25, $100 in high-limit section Table Games: 30+: Blackjack (pays 2:1 instead of 3:2 on bets up to $25 and only on 6-deck games), roulette, pai gow poker, craps, Texas Shootout, three-card poker, crazy 4 poker Poker: 4 tables: Hold’em. Weekly tournaments Wed. Entertainment: Showroom with headliners like Eddie Money, Diamond Rio. Free live entertainment Thu. evenings in steakhouse. Restaurants: 2: Wheelhouse Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner); steakhouse Accommodations: 60 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Player’s Club rewards card. Car and cash drawings. Free 1-on-1 gaming lessons Mon.–Fri. 1 p.m.–2 p.m. Lakeside 50 day is Mon., for those 50+ with a Player’s Club, offering cash drawings, double points, meal discounts. High-limit section on upper deck. Slot, blackjack, video poker tournaments. RV accommodations. Fitness room. Convention center with up to 8,000 square feet of meeting space.

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Sioux City Sioux City (population 85,000) is in western Iowa on the Missouri River, 90 miles north of Omaha, Nebraska.

125. Argosy Casino-Sioux City

Sloan Sloan (population 1,000) is in western Iowa on Highway 29, 10 miles east of the Missouri River and 140 miles northwest of Des Moines.

126. Winna Vegas Casino Address: 1500 330th Street, Sloan, Iowa 51055 Phone: 712–428–9466; toll-free: 1–800–468–WINN (1–800–468–9466); fax: 712–428–4219; hotel reservations: 712–428–4280 Website: www.winnavegas-casino.com Description: Land-based Native American (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) 45,000square-foot casino located 20 miles south of Sioux City, Iowa, and 75 miles north of Omaha, on Interstate 29. Exit at 127, and it’s 3 miles west. Winna Vegas Casino was the first land-based casino in Iowa. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 600+: 5¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1 Table Games: 22: Blackjack, Spanish 21, Caribbean Stud, craps, roulette Poker: Regular tournaments: No-limit hold’em Sat. 10 a.m., Sun. noon, Wed. and Thu. 7 p.m. Also satellites and supersatellites to the World Series of Poker, with bonus chips to live game players. Entertainment: No Restaurants: 1: Flowers Island Restaurant & Buffet Accommodations: Winnavegas Inn: 53 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: ClubWINN rewards card for slots and table games. Cash giveaways. Every day of their birthday month, club card holders can

NORTH AMERICA

Description: 3-deck riverboat casino with 36,000 square feet of gaming space located on the edge of the Missouri River in downtown Sioux City, accommodating up to 2,000 passengers and crew. Interior is decorated with elaborate chandeliers and ornate marble Greek columns. Casion has a spacious second-deck lounge, an observation deck, and a new half-million-dollar air filtration system. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 625: 1¢–$5, including video keno Table Games: 19: Blackjack, roulette, craps, Caribbean Stud (with progressive jackpot), three-card poker, pai gow poker Poker: No (At this time poker was planned but not finalized.) Entertainment: Bonkerz Comedy Club, with headliners including ventriloquists, hypnotists, comedians, plus live music between acts Restaurants: Outfitters Grill (Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 8 a.m.–11p.m, Sun. 8 a.m.–10 p.m.) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Argosy Preferred rewards card. Blackjack, slot tournaments.

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Address: 100 Larsen Park Road, Sioux City, Iowa 51102 Phone: 712–294–5600; toll-free: 1–800–424–0080 Website: www.argosycasinos.com/property/sioux_city/sioux_city_home.asp

spin a wheel for a prize that includes apparel, meals, and cash. Special days each week for women, men, and seniors, with gifts, meal reductions, extra cash on buy-ins. 400-seat bingo hall. $1,000-guaranteed blackjack tournament, Sat. noon, Mon. 7 p.m. $10 entry fee receives one entry into a $50 drawing, one $5 match play coupon, and one $3 match play coupon. Continental breakfast in hotel. Casino rates. Pets allowed in hotel.

Tama Tama (population 2,700) is in central Iowa, 60 miles northeast of Des Moines.

127. Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel

94

Address: 1504 305th Street, Tama, Iowa 52339 Phone: 641–484–2108; toll-free: 1–800–728–GAME (1–800–728–4263); fax: 641–484–1618 Website: www.meskwaki.com

NORTH AMERICA

Email: Contact form on website Description: Land-based Native American (Meskwaki) 128,000-square-foot casino located in central Iowa on Highway 30, 3 miles west of Tama Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,300+: Reel and video, 1¢–$100, with progressive and linked jackpots Table Games: 28: $100,000 keno (includes multirace keno, with 24 hours to collect on 1–20 games and 1 year on 21–1,000; 25¢ games available in multiples of 4), blackjack, Spanish 21, mini-baccarat, Fortune Pai Gow, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, three-card poker Poker: 7-stud high, 7-stud high-low, Hold’em, Omaha high-low, Omaha high, pineapple. $1-$3 and $1-$5 spread limit, $2-$4, $3-$6, $4-$8, $4-$10 spread limit with a half kill, $6-$12, pot-limit. Regular tournaments: Wed. 7 p.m. $50+$10, Thu. 7 p.m. $42+$8 Entertainment: Showroom with headliners like the Smothers Brothers. Live jazz. Restaurants: 3: River’s Edge Buffet, Garden Park Deli, Garden Park Concessions (Indian Tacos, frybread, hamburgers, chicken strips, pizza, nachos, etc.) Accommodations: 204 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Meskwaki rewards card for slot and table players, with instant cash back. Horse and dog racebook, with simulcast. Gift certificates available, usable anywhere in casino. Slot and blackjack tournaments. Cash drawings. High-limit room. 500-seat bingo hall, with several sessions daily. Buffet is nonsmoking.

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KANSAS

Kansas has several Native American casinos, all in the northeastern corner of the state. As in other states, tribes negotiated state compacts to operate for-profit games of chance not otherwise outlawed by the state. The minimum age for gambling in Kansas is 21.

Horton Horton (population 2,000) is in northeastern Kansas, 45 miles north of Topeka, 20 miles west of the Missouri border, and 23 miles south of the Nebraska border.

Email: [email protected] Description: 45,000-square-foot Native American (Kickapoo Tribe) casino Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 750: 5¢, 25¢, $1, $5, $10, $25; progressive jackpots linked around the country. Machines accept 1–5 coins or tokens. Table Games: 16: Let It Ride Bonus, craps, roulette, blackjack, three-card poker Poker: Regular games (start at noon): Mon., Tue. 7-stud $2-$5 spread-limit, $20 minimum buy-in; Wed. dealer’s choice among hold’em, pineapple, Omaha high-low $4-$8 limit; Thu. Omaha high-low and 7-stud $2$5 spread-limit and hold’em $4-$8 limit; Fri., Sat. hold’em $3-$6 limit, $30 minimum buy-in. Regular tournament: Thu. 6:30 p.m., hold’em with $5 buy-in, $5 rebuys, $10 addon; early seats to players in live action before 2 p.m. Entertainment: Showroom, with tribute shows, headliners like the Spinners Restaurants: Buffet and snack bar Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Rewards card. Incentives for those who arrive by bus. Bingo. Blackjack tournament fourth Wed. every month 7 p.m., with 100 percent payback: $25 buy-in, limited to 56 players, includes $50 drawing and dinner for 2. Mon. specials on table games: 25¢ craps (12 p.m.–10 p.m.), $2 blackjack, Let It Ride Bonus, three-card poker, and 25¢ roulette (2 a.m.–10 p.m.). Cash drawings. Senior (50+) spins Fri. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. for cash on prize wheel. Complimentary soft drinks and coffee.

NORTH AMERICA

Address: 1121 Goldfinch Road, Horton, Kansas 66439 Phone: 785–486–6601; toll-free: 1–888-GO–4–LUCK (1–888–464–5825) Website: www.goldeneaglecasino.com

95

128. Golden Eagle Casino

Mayetta Mayetta (population 300) is in northeastern Kansas, 20 miles north of Topeka.

129. Harrah’s Prairie Band Casino Address: 12305 150th Road, Mayetta, Kansas 66509 Phone: Main: 785–966–7777; toll-free: 1–800–HARRAHS (1–800–427–7247) and ask for Harrah’s Prairie Band Casino Website: www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/top

96 NORTH AMERICA

Email: None outside of customer service requests, which can be done through the website Description: 33,000-square-foot Native American (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) casino 15 minutes north of Topeka on US-75 Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,000+: 1¢, 5¢ up to $100; progressive jackpots, some linked statewide Table Games: 31: Blackjack, craps, roulette, Let It Ride, three-card poker, Bet the Set, mini-baccarat Poker: Hold’em, Omaha high-low, 7-stud, 7-stud high-low, at many limits, including no-limit upon request. Limits and game types are based on player request/demand. Wed. 5 p.m.: No-limit hold’em ($100 min. buy-in, $200 max. add-on buy-in). Regular tournaments: Mon. noon, no-limit hold’em ($20 buy-in, $10 rebuys), 6 p.m., no-limit hold’em ($20 buy-in, $10 rebuys, $3 add-on); Tue. 10 a.m., single-table tournament, 6 p.m., no-limit hold’em ($40 buy-in, no rebuys); Wed. noon, no-limit hold’em ($10 buy-in, $10 rebuys); Thu. 3 p.m., no-limit hold’em ($10 buy-in, $10 rebuys, $3 add-on), 7 p.m., no-limit hold’em ($40 buy-in, $20 rebuys, $3 add-on); Fri. noon, no-limit hold’em ($100 buy-in, no rebuys); Sat., Sun. 10 a.m., no-limit hold’em ($10 buy-in, $10 rebuys). In each case, the $3 add-on entitles the player to a free buffet, plus gives the player additional chips equal to half what the original buy-in purchased. (For example, if the buy-in gives the player $500 in tournament chips, the extra $3 increases the player’s tournament chips by $250.) Instead of the scheduled event, the first Mon. of every month is a no-limit hold’em tournament, $200 buy-in, no rebuys. Depending on number of entrants, as many as one-third of the participants win. Also, playing in events wins points toward a satellite tournament for an entry to the World Series of Poker final event. Entertainment: Free weekend concerts Fri., Sat. in the Great Lakes Ballroom 8 p.m.–midnight, with local groups Restaurants: 3: Fresh Market Square Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner, with a different themed buffet every night), Three Fires Steakhouse (open for dinner Sun.–Thu. 5 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–11 p.m.), Fresh Market Express (snacks, sandwiches, salads, pizza, desserts; open 24 hours) Accommodations: 300 rooms, including suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Total Rewards Card players at all Harrah’s properties (all Harrah’s, Rio, Showboat, and Harveys casinos). Free self parking. Hotel offers AAA and AARP discounts.

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Powhattan Powhattan (population under 100) is in northeastern Kansas, 50 miles north of Topeka, 40 miles west of the Missouri border, and 15 miles south of the Nebraska border.

130. Sac & Fox Casino

LOUISIANA

At the time of this writing, Louisiana had three Native American and 15 state-regulated casinos, all riverboats. New licenses were being negotiated, and likely there will be more. As in other states, tribes negotiated state compacts pursuant to the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which permits tribes to operate for-profit games of chance not otherwise outlawed by the state. Originally all riverboats were supposed to cruise, but the law changed several years ago to permit 24-hour dockside gaming at all state-regulated casinos. Video poker is permitted at truck stops, racetracks, and off-track betting establishments (OTBs), and bars in approximately half the state’s parishes (Louisiana’s equivalent of counties). Racetracks and OTBs can have an unlimited number of machines, truck stops up to 50, and bars up to three. The minimum age for gambling in Louisiana is 21.

NORTH AMERICA

Description: 40,000-square-foot Native American (Sac & Fox of Missouri Tribe) casino Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 470: 2¢–$1, some with progressive jackpots Table Games: 10: Craps (a 25¢ game is available), blackjack (a $3 game is available), roulette, 21 Madness, Caribbean Stud (with progressive jackpot), Let It Ride, double-deck blackjack (played with two, instead of multiple decks), three-card poker Poker: No Entertainment: No Restaurants: 3: The Lodge (breakfasts, and lunch and dinner buffets), Chop House, deli Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Rewards card, with cash back. Event center, for parties or business meetings. Ladies’ nights, gentlemen’s nights, with free gifts, hourly drawings, etc. Senior appreciation days. Gift Shop features many items from Native American craftsman from around America.

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Address: 1322 US Highway 75, Powhattan, Kansas 66527 Phone: 785–467–8000; toll-free: 1–800–990–2946 Website: www.sacandfoxcasino.com

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge (population 228,000), the capital of Louisiana, is 75 miles northwest of New Orleans.

131. Argosy Casino Address: 103 France Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 Phone: 225–378–6000; toll-free: 1–800–676–4847; toll-free hotel reservations: 1–888–627–8567 Website: argosycasinos.com/property/property_br2.asp

98 NORTH AMERICA

Email: [email protected] Description: 29,000-square-foot, 3-deck riverboat casino on the Mississippi River in the downtown historic district, across from the convention center Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 800+: 1¢–$25, includes video poker, keno machines Table Games: 30: Blackjack, Caribbean Stud, mini-baccarat, roulette, craps, Let It Ride Poker: No Entertainment: Live jazz provided by local jazz musicians Thu.–Sat. evening in the Atrium Lounge Restaurants: 4: Argosy Atrium Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner), Shucks on the Levee (seafood, steaks; lunch, dinner), Butler’s Pantry Deli (24 hours daily), Atrium Lounge (soups, salads, sandwiches, roast chicken, rib-eye steaks; Sun. 10 a.m.–10 p.m., Mon.–Sat. 10:30 a.m.–11 p.m., breakfast served daily to 11:30 a.m.) Accommodations: Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel has 300 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Rewards card, with points drawings for cash. Monthly three-card poker tournaments. Blackjack tournament third Wed. each month. 2-for-1 seniors’ buffets. Free parking, free valet service. Complimentary cocktails. Convention Center available for meetings, conventions, special events.

132. Casino Rouge Address: 1717 River Road North, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 Phone: 225–709–7777; toll-free: 1–800–44–ROUGE (1–800–447–6843) Website: www.casinorouge.com Email: [email protected] Description: 28,580-square-foot dockside riverboat casino on the Mississippi River, across the street from the state capitol in downtown Baton Rouge, with quick access from I-10 to I-110, exit North Street to the river Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,085+: 1¢, 5¢–$25, including nearly 100 video poker. EZ Pay. Table Games: 31: Blackjack, craps, roulette, Caribbean Stud, three-card poker, Royal Match 21, Let It Ride Bonus, pai gow poker Poker: No Entertainment: Sun., jazz brunches. Rhythms Lounge has live music groups Fri., Sat. Restaurants: 2: Capitol Bistro (steakhouse), International Marketplace Buffet Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Rouge rewards card for slots and table games. High-limit area. Valet parking at the pavilion entrance, plus secure, well-lit surface lot with over 1,100 spaces.

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Bossier City Bossier City (population 56,500) is in northwestern Louisiana, just across the Red River from Shreveport.

133. Boomtown Casino and Hotel

134. Horseshoe Casino & Hotel Bossier City Address: 711 Horseshoe Boulevard, Bossier City, Louisiana 71111 Phone: 318–742–0711; toll-free: 1–800–895–0711 Website: www.horseshoe.com/bossiercity Email: Contact form on website Description: 30,000-square-foot dockside riverboat casino on the Red River Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,600+: 5¢–$5; includes video poker, video keno Table Games: 50+: blackjack, craps, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, others Poker: No Entertainment: Riverdome has headline entertainment, including Mardi Gras events. Live musical groups in Lounge at Oak Creek. Restaurants: 5: Jack Binion’s Steak House (reservations recommended; Sun.–Thu. 5:30 p.m.–11 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5:30 p.m. to midnight), Four Winds (reservations recommended; Asian; Wed.–Sun. 5:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m.), Village Square Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner) Oak Creek Café & Grille, Lounge at Oak Creek Accommodations: 26-story hotel has 606 rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Horseshoe Hotel & Casino is the tallest building in the Shreveport/Bossier City area. Winners Circle rewards card, with 3 levels and commensurate rewards. Valet parking. Hotel has health spa, conference rooms, restaurants, and retail shops. Banquet hall, events center.

NORTH AMERICA

Email: Contact form on website Description: 30,000-square-foot dockside riverboat casino on the Red River, located off Interstate 20. Driving directions from Dallas: Take I-20 east, Exit 19B, turn right at the first light. From Monroe: Take I-20 west, Exit 19B, turn left at the light. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,250+: 1¢–$1 first level, $5–$100 second level high-limit section Table Games: 33: Spanish 21, blackjack (including double-deck hand-held pitch blackjack), mini-baccarat, roulette, craps, Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud, three-card poker Poker: No Entertainment: Sundance Cantina presents live local bands Fri., Sat. 9 p.m.–1 a.m. Karaoke Thu. 7 p.m–11 p.m. Restaurants: 4: Sundance Cantina (Mexican food and drinks; Sun.–Thu. 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–midnight), Cattleman’s Buffet (Sun.–Thu. 6 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 6 a.m.–midnight), Circle B Ranch Steakhouse (Wed.–Thu. 5 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–11 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m.–10 p.m.), Boomer’s Café (24 hours) Accommodations: 188 rooms, including 88 garden suites and 4 themed suites Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Circle B Player’s Club rewards card. Car and cash giveaways. 1,500 square feet of meeting and conference space available. Blackjack tournaments Mon., Thu. 7 p.m.–11 p.m., $20 buy-in, $500 guaranteed.

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Address: 300 Riverside Drive, Bossier City, Louisiana 71111 Phone: 318–746–0711; toll-free: 1–866-GO-2–TOWN (1–866–462–8696) Website: www.boomtownbossier.com

135. Isle of Capri Casino and Hotel Address: 711 Isle of Capri Boulevard, Bossier City, Louisiana 71111 Phone: 318–678–7777; toll-free: 1–800–THE–ISLE (1–800–843–4753) Website: www.isleofcapricasino.com/Bossier_City

100 NORTH AMERICA

Description: 4-deck 30,000-square-foot dockside riverboat casino on the Red River. Fourth level open to the elements. Caribbean-themed hotel casino with fountains, palms, and indoor waterfalls. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,099+: 5¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $2, $5, $10, $25, $100; includes progressive slots from 25¢–$5; some EZ Pay machines Table Games: 33: Blackjack, craps, roulette, mini-baccarat, pai gow poker, Caribbean Stud Poker: No Entertainment: 1,200-seat showroom presents headliners like the Four Tops, Spinners, Go Go’s, Percy Sledge Restaurants: 4: Farradday’s (steak, lobster, etc.; closed Mon., Tue.), Calypso’s (buffet; with specialty station featuring alternating cuisines: Cajun, Caribbean, Asian, and others), Kitt’s Kitchen & Rum Mill (island-themed restaurant featuring Caribbean, Mexican, tropical dishes), Tradewinds Marketplace (specialty meals; open 24 hours) Accommodations: 815 rooms Family Amenities: Eno’s Playhouse: professionally licensed childcare center; Fantasy Isle Arcade Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: IsleOne Members Club rewards card for slot and table play. Hotel discounts and free rooms for points. Golf package specials. 50 Plus Club offers benefits to seniors, like double points and meal and gift shop discounts. 22,000-square-foot meeting space. Free valet parking. Spa. Outdoor pool. Sauna.

Charenton Charenton (population 2,000) is 25 miles southeast of Lafayette and 85 miles west of New Orleans.

136. Cypress Bayou Casino Address: 832 Martin Luther King Road, Charenton, Louisiana 70523 Phone: 337–923–7284; toll-free: 1–800–284–4386; fax: 337–923–7882 Website: www.cypressbayou.com Description: 180,000-square-foot Native American (Chitmacha Tribe) casino. Directions: Take Highway 90 to Baldwin Exit 83 and follow the casino signs. Hours: Sun.–Thu. noon–2 a.m., Fri.–Sat. noon–4 a.m. Slot Machines: 1,200+: 5¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, $25 Table Games: 46: Bayou Blackjack, big six wheel, blackjack, Caribbean Draw, Caribbean Stud, craps, Let It Ride Bonus, three-card poker Poker: No Entertainment: Bocat’s Lounge; live entertainment on weekends Restaurants: 3: Eats (sandwiches, snacks), Café Bayou (breakfast, lunch, dinner), Mr. Lester’s Steakhouse, plus 3 lounges Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Club Cypress rewards card, includes cashback program. Nonsmoking slots area. Mr. Lester’s Cigar Bar has a baby grand piano and a fireplace, and offers many fine Central American cigars for aficionados.

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Harvey Harvey (population 22,000) is 5 miles south of downtown New Orleans, across the Mississippi.

137. Boomtown Casino

Kenner Kenner (population 71,000), a suburb to the west of New Orleans, is the site of Louis Armstrong International Airport.

138. Treasure Chest Casino Address: 5050 Williams Boulevard, Kenner, Louisiana 70065, Phone: 504–443–8000; toll-free: 1–800–298–0711 Website: www.treasurechestcasino.com Email: Contact form on website Description: 3-deck, 24,000-square-foot, classic 18th-century Victorian-style paddlewheel riverboat casino docked on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. Each of the three decks features a different theme, evoking the festive décor of Las Vegas, the Caribbean, and Mardi Gras. Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year

NORTH AMERICA

Email: Contact form on website Description: 30,000-square-foot dockside riverboat casino approximately 15 minutes from downtown New Orleans on the Harvey Canal Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year; Pinnacle Room (high-stakes room) is open evenings Slot Machines: 1500+: 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, $1, and $1–$100 in Pinnacle Room; progressive jackpots Table Games: 50+: Single ($5 minimum) and double deck ($25 minimum, in Pinnacle Room) blackjack, roulette, craps, progressive pai gow, mini-baccarat, three-card poker Poker: Freeroll hold’em shootout every Tue. with $500 prize pool, limited to first 44 (with 6 alternates) to sign up; registration starts at 8 a.m., play begins at 11 a.m. Entertainment: Boomers Nightclub; free local bands. Thu.–Sat. 9 p.m.–1 a.m. Restaurants: 3: Pier 4 (upscale casual dining, also oyster bar; 5 p.m.–11 p.m. daily), Bayou Market Buffet (lunch, dinner, Sun. brunch), Bayou Market Express (quick meals; Mon.–Thu. 8 a.m.–6 a.m., Fri.–Sun. 24 hours) Accommodations: No Family Amenities: Family Fun Center: arcade for kids of all ages Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Players Club rewards card has a new player bonus, earns points immediately, and gets immediate cash back. Points can be used to “self comp,” that is, players can go directly to a food outlet to get free or reduced price meals. High-stakes room. Free blackjack tournament with $1,500 prize pool every Mon. 7 p.m. Cash drawings. Birthday wheel spins every day for added points, cash, free meals, etc. 4,700 square feet of meeting space that can accommodate groups of 25–500 for special events, parties, or conferences, with full service catering available.

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Address: 4132 Peters Road, Harvey, Louisiana 70058 Phone: 504–366–7711; toll-free: 1–800–366–7711 Website: www.boomtownneworleans.com

Slot Machines: 950+: 1¢ and up; start at $1 in high-limit section; 85 percent ticket inticket out; multidenomination machines play 25¢, 50¢ or $1 Table Games: 50: Craps, blackjack (including streak blackjack), Caribbean Stud (with progressive jackpot), threecard poker, roulette, mini-baccarat and midi-baccarat (both with $5,000 maximum) Poker: No Entertainment: Caribbean Showroom has free shows (local groups) nightly. Also live entertainment on the front lawn. Restaurants: 3: Pontchartrain Grille (Sun., Wed., Thu. 5 p.m.–10 p.m.; Fri., Sat. 5 p.m.–11 p.m.; closed Mon., Tue.), Treasure Island Buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner), Pointe Deli (6 a.m.–midnight daily) Accommodations: No Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: 1,150 square feet of multipurpose space for business meetings and special occasions. Blackjack tournaments. Free ladies’ blackjack tournament Wed. 7 p.m. Weekly karaoke, $150 first prize, monthly with $250. Free slot tournaments, with points prizes. Treasure Chest Prime Rewards card for tables or slots.

102

Kinder

NORTH AMERICA

Kinder (population 2,100) is in southeast Louisiana on Highway 190, 155 miles west of New Orleans.

139. Grand Casino Coushatta Address: 777 Coushatta Drive, Kinder, Louisiana 70648 Phone: Toll-free: 1–800–58–GRAND (1–800–584–7263) Website: www.gccoushatta.com Email: [email protected] Description: 107,600-square-foot Native American (Coushatta Tribe) casino, with two hotels, located 25 miles northeast of Lake Charles on US 165 (I-10 Exit 44) and 5 miles north of Kinder; Louisiana’s largest land-based gaming resort Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 3,200: 1¢ and up; progressive jackpots Table Games: 82: Blackjack, three-card poker, pai gow poker, four-card poker, Let It Ride, roulette, mini-baccarat, craps Poker: 12 tables: 7-stud, hold’em, Omaha high-low; including jackpot games. World Poker Tour satellite tournaments 2 or 3 times a month, plus one-table no-limit hold’em shootout satellites. Guaranteed-prize-pool tournaments, some with bounties, several times a month. Entertainment: Mikko Entertainment Center: Headliners and local groups. Pavilion: National and international acts live in concert. Also, hosts United States Team Roping Championships events. Restaurants: Seven Clans Buffet (Sun.–Thu. 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–11 p.m.), Big Sky Steakhouse (Sun.–Thu. 4:30 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 4:30 p.m.–11 p.m.), Terrace Café (breakfast 24 hours, breakfast buffet midnight–10:30 a.m.), Cafe Grandé (24 hours), Grand Circus of Slots Food Court (Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–midnight, Fri.–Sat. 24 hours, Sun. midnight–10 p.m.), Gumbeaux’s Oyster & Sports Bar (lunch and dinner daily) Accommodations: Coushatta Grand Hotel: 208 rooms and suites; Coushatta Grand Inn: 195 rooms; Resort at Red Shoes Park: 40 acres, with 100 furnished chalets, RV park with 100 hookups Family Amenities: 2 venues for guests under 21 years of age: Kids Quest is a New Horizons supervised child care center, available for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years (hourly charge per child). The Arcade at Coushatta, free, is for ages 12 and above, with 60 video games and games of

THE ULTIMATE CASINO GUIDE skill; games accept tokens for play. Also, children’s playground at Resort at Red Shoes Park. Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: High-stakes room. Shuttle service available from surrounding areas, including Houston. Free shuttle service to and from casino from Resort at Red Shoes Park. Grand Advantage Players Club rewards card and Grand Advantage VIP Players Club (provides perks to those the casino regards as its best players). Koasati Pines, 18-hole championship golf course, is nearby.

Lake Charles Lake Charles (population 72,000) is 190 miles east of New Orleans.

Description: Complex consisting of 2 stationary barges, Crown Riverboat and 3-deck Grand Palais Riverboat, constituting a 48,900-square-foot casino, on Lake Charles; southwest Louisiana’s closest casino to Texas, a 2-hour drive from Houston; from I-10, take Westlake Exit 27 Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,791: Many ticket in-ticket out Table Games: 60 Poker: 25 tables. Regular tournaments: Mon.: Noon, $1,000-guaranteed no-limit hold’em ($30 buy-in, $25 add-on; pays top three places); 6:30 p.m., $1,200-guaranteed limit Hold’em ($10 buy-in, $15 unlimited rebuys until break, add-ons $15 and $30; pays top three places). Tue.: Noon, $500-guaranteed no-limit hold’em, Shootout ($30 buy-in; pays top two places). Wed.: Noon, $500-guaranteed no-limit hold’em ($30 buy-in, no rebuys; pays top two places); 6:30 p.m., $1400-guaranteed limit hold’em ($15 buy-in, $15 rebuys, add-ons at break; pays top three places). Thu.: Noon, $1,000-guaranteed no-limit Omaha ($30 buyin, 1 $25 rebuy; pays top three places); 6:30 p.m., $1,400-guaranteed limit hold’em ($15 buy-in, $15 rebuys, add-ons at break; pays top three places). Fri.: 7 p.m. $2,000-guaranteed no-limit hold’em shootout ($30 buy-in, 1 $25 rebuy; each table plays down to 1 player for the final table; payouts, 4th–10th=$100, 1st=50 percent, 2nd=30 percent, 3rd=20 percent of remaining prize pool). Sat.: Noon, $15,000-guaranteed hold’em tournament ($110 buy-in, unlimited $100 rebuys; pays top 10 places). All tournament sign-ups are 2 hours prior to start time. $5 of each buy-in on weekdays and $10 on Sat. goes towards future poker promotions. Entertainment: Flamingo Bay Ballroom, with concert seating for 1,100, has headliners like Toby Keith, Steve Warner, Tanya Tucker, Pam Tillis, Chubby Checker, Willie Nelson, Trace Adkins. Caribbean Cove Lounge, with 463 seats, has karaoke Mon., Wed. 8 p.m.–midnight. Restaurants: 5: Farradday’s, Kitt’s Kitchen & Rum Mill (serves Caribbean cuisine and 31 flavors of rum), Calypso’s Buffet, Tradewinds, Lucky Wins (Asian cuisine) Accommodations: 2 hotels with 396 rooms: Isle of Capri all-suite hotel has 255 suites; Inn at the Isle has 241 regular rooms Admission Charge: No Dress Code: No Bonus: Paradise 50 Plus provides benefits for seniors, like free buffet Mon., Wed, Fri. (with 30 points), extra points, other discounts. Hotel amenities: Health spa, sauna, massage therapist, outdoor pool and hot tub, room service, in-room whirlpool tub. 14,500 square feet of meeting and banquet space.

NORTH AMERICA

Address: 100 Westlake Avenue, Westlake, LA 70669 Phone: 337–430–2400; toll-free: 1–800–THE–ISLE (1–800–843–4753); poker room: 337–430–2407 Website: www.isleofcapricasino.com/Lake_Charles/

103

140. Isle of Capri Casino-Lake Charles

141. Harrah’s Lake Charles Address: 505 North Lakeshore Drive, Lake Charles, Louisiana 70601 Phone: 337–437–1500; toll-free: 1–800–HARRAHS (1–800–427–7247) and ask for Harrah’s Lake Charles Website: www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/lch

104 NORTH AMERICA

Email: None outside of customer service requests, which can be done through the website Description: 30,000-square-foot dockside casino in southwest Louisiana off Interstate 10 on Lake Charles Hours: 24 hours/day; 365 days/year Slot Machines: 1,200+: 1¢–$100; includes video poker, 20+ progressives, and 12 25¢ video keno Table Games: 58: Mini-baccarat, 28 blackjack (including multideck and hand shuffled), 4 craps, 3 roulette, 2 Caribbean Stud, 2 Let It Ride, pai gow poker Poker: 21 tables in a new 9,000-square-foot facility, including an electronic player list and paging system that alerts players of available seats