Tunica TR Dec 28-30, 2008

Will post TR as a reply.

Tunica TR Dec 28-30, 2008

We have become frequent visitors to Las Vegas. Airfares didn%26#39;t drop to Las Vegas so we decided to road trip it to Tunica from Central Illinois.

This was a mother/daughter road trip......

The Drive, Hotel and Food

Drive there: Took about 8 hours from Central Illinois to Tunica. Long boring drive down I-57 through Illinois, a little more scenic once we hit the very southern tip. Only made about 3 quick stops on the way. Gas was about $1.69/gal in Illinois and as low as $1.24/gal in Arkansas. 480 miles one way.

Hotel: Got a great rate for Sunday and Monday night at Harrah%26#39;s - Terrace. Will post more details and pics in hotel review section. Lobby was really nice, checked in was fast, room was comparable to Bally%26#39;s north tower in Las Vegas. Parking was pretty close to the building. There was a pool and spa but we didn%26#39;t check that out. View from room wasn%26#39;t bad but we weren%26#39;t there for the view.

Food: We thought there would be some major food chains nearby to eat at. Near the outlet mall there is a Wendy%26#39;s, Sonic, Waffle House and KFC. There is plenty of land to put up a Bob Evan%26#39;s, IHOP, or some bigger restaurant that would serve food all day long. We were just a little surprised of the lack of food options. I%26#39;m sure there were decent places to eat in the other casinos but we didn%26#39;t check those out.

We did eat the Paula Deen buffet (at Harrah%26#39;s casino) for supper Sunday night and breakfast Tuesday morning. Can I just say it was delicious y%26#39;all!! Supper was a little under $18 each. Breakfast was around $9 each. For supper, it was less than a 10 min. wait from the time we stepped in line to pay and then seated. For breakfast, wait time was less than 5 minutes. (In Las Vegas, we have stood in line 45+ minutes for the Paris or Bellagio buffet.) The dining areas are set up like her house, with different rooms and furniture. There are several different food stations named after family members. For both meals, there wasn%26#39;t anything that we tried that we didn%26#39;t like. It does not taste like buffet food that has been sitting around or made it masses. It tastes like a meal you would have ordered at a sit down restaurant. Fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, several types of potatoes, hoe cakes, cornbread, biscuits, oysters, salad bar, shrimp, ham, meatloaf, mac n cheese, and more. The desserts were scrumptious too.

On Monday, we headed to the Oulet Mall and ate Sonic for breakfast . For lunch, we had comps at Sam%26#39;s Town so we gave their buffet a try. The buffet was okay. Mac n cheese was good, salad bar minimal, carved ham, potatoes, ribs, beef brisket, few desserts, etc. were okay. It was free so we figured we%26#39;d take what we could get.

Monday night (9:30 or 10:00ish) we were looking for a quick bite to eat. The Sports Bar in Harrah%26#39;s was a disaster. Hostess was almost non-existent, when we finally got seated, there was a couple next to us returning their food. We decided that was the sign to leave. We went to the casino floor snack bar and ordered a bite. The snack bar didn%26#39;t seem to be any more organized as people were returning their food there too.

Next up...shopping, gambling, and the drive home.

Tunica TR Dec 28-30, 2008

Shopping, gambling and drive home....

Shopping: We went to the Outlet Mall on Monday. Could have spent more time there than we did. Great after Christmas deals. Went to Totes, Nautica, Children%26#39;s Place, Osh Kosh, Old Navy, Lane Bryant, Kitchen Collection, Gap, Wilson%26#39;s Leather, and I%26#39;m sure others. There was a coupon in the casino newsletter located in Harrah%26#39;s lobby. We took that coupon to the Outlet Mall to get a booklet of coupons for the entire mall.

Gambling: As I mentioned, we stayed at Harrah%26#39;s. There are 3 areas of Harrah%26#39;s...Terrace, Veranda and then the one connected to the casino. There is a shuttle that runs 24/7 between these 3 places. There is also a shuttle that runs to the other Harrah%26#39;s properties (Sheraton and Horseshoe) but it has a specific time schedule. If you%26#39;ve been to the Gold Coast in Las Vegas, the layout of Harrah%26#39;s casino reminded us of that.

There isn%26#39;t much to look at when driving between the casinos. They are spread out in the middle of land. Ocassionally, we would pass a mini strip mall (about 5 businesses) but otherwise it%26#39;s highway and land.

We drove to Fitzgerald%26#39;s at night. It was like driving to a castle with castle like pillars and a bridge. We parked in the parking deck and walked in. Played quite awhile here on the Wizard of Oz machines. Met a funny couple from Wisconsin (someone that drove longer than us!).

Sheraton, Horseshoe and Gold Strike are grouped together. Very easy to walk between the three of these. Played in each. Liked the Horseshoe the best.

Bally%26#39;s is nothing like Bally%26#39;s in Las Vegas. It has a barn theme. Hmmmm....probably our least favorite.

Sam%26#39;s Town, Hollywood and The Resorts are close together but not really within walking distance of each other. Won some on the 97% payback dollar slots at Sam%26#39;s Town and then on a nickel machine. Liked Hollywood casino the best. Didn%26#39;t really care for The Resorts.

No big wins but was able to play awhile on our money at Sam%26#39;s Town and Hollywood.

Hollywood had the self serve soda/coffee machines. We liked that alot as it wasn%26#39;t often that we saw cocktail waitresses. Out of the 2 1/2 days there, only ordered 2 times from the cocktail waitress - and that was pop!

Will post some pics of the outside of the casinos.

Drive home: We decided to take I-55 home as it would be a little more scenic than I-57. This routed us through St. Louis and we stopped at Harrah%26#39;s in St. Charles, MO. Wow, has that casino changed. It was double in size from a year ago. We grabbed a bit to eat at the grill there - decent food and played a bit. Then back on the road for 3 1/2 more hours home. Once we hit Illinois - gas back up to $1.69-$1.79. Since this is the Tunia forum, I won%26#39;t go into detail about the St. Charles casino.

The thing I assumed was that Bally%26#39;s in Tunica was associated with HET. Nope.. and Fitzgerald%26#39;s isn%26#39;t associated with the Freemont St. Fitz either. Horseshoe is an HET property in Tunica but no in LV..I think I added about 4 more players cards to my stack!!

All in all, it was a fun trip. Would do it again IF gas prices stay down. Always wanted to go and can now say we did. Would be worth it just for the Paula Deen buffet and a quick get away.

Can%26#39;t compare it to Las Vegas at all. We go to Las Vegas for the sun, free stuff to look at, atmosphere, 24/7 food, and to get away.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.