Questions about Shreveport/Bossier City

My wife and I have an opportunity to check the Shreveport/Bossier City casinos off our to-see list and I noticed there were several posters here that frequent there. I was hoping some of you wouldn't mind offering your opinions about the area. We would be staying at the Horseshoe , but we prefer to hop around and experience all the casinos.

We'll be flying in and not renting a car, so will it be easy to get from casino-to-casino (i.e. Jitney in AC, or Hopper in Biloxi)? If no shuttles, do the casinos at least have a taxi line for quickly accessible cabs? Are any within walking distance of each other?

Table play for us is typically Pai Gow and 3 Card Poker. We're Double Double Bonus players, especially bar-tops. If we find a bartop with .25/.50 DDB, decent beer selection, good rock music, and attentive bartenders, we'll park it for hours. (Think Bourbon Room at the Venetian, but with VP.)

We like to try at least one buffet and one high-end meal on these trips. Any recommendations for either would be appreciated! Also, if there's any local fare, especially Cajun, I'd love to hear about it!

Thanks in advance!

 

I enjoy going to Shreveport, but I always have a car. We usually stay at the Horseshoe as well. Here is a website with some info about the casinos and about local transportation.
http://www.shreveport-bossier.org/casinos/
We also like Ralph and Kacoo's http://www.ralphandkacoos.com/
I am sure the Horseshoe steakhouse is good.

 

That's Kankan53's home casino. She's In Tahoe right now but let me forward this to her.

 

I was born and raised in Shreveport. Don't live there anymore but my family is still there. So the casinos are all relatively close to each other but not all walkable from the other. The easiest walk is between Sam's Town and El Dorado. The walk from Margaritaville to Horseshoe is doable but a little further though you can cut through the Boardwalk shopping center. Diamond Jacks isn't worth it though they have the best vp bartop paytables. The casino sucks, the buffet sucks, the old isle of Capri decoration are still up years later. The drink at Diamond Jacks are all out of the gun too.

From what I remember Margaritaville has the most 3 card. El Dorado has tons of craps and blackjack. The beer selection at Margaritaville is ok but if you're looking for a bunch of craft beer it'll be tough to find while gaming. At the restaurants and bars you should ask for Great Raft Beer. It's a local brewery that a friend of mine and his wife started. The brewery isn't that far from downtown if you feel like going to the tasting room.

 

We always stay and play at Horseshoe. We also like to walk and it is an easy walk over to Boomtown and Diamond Jacks if you want to check those two out. You can go out the front door - veer to the right and walk across the parking lot (employees usually) and through a big empty parking lot to Boomtown. - or walk further down and at Diamond Jacks in no time.

Before you get to Diamond Jacks (which I agree is not very nice) there is a nice historical place on the left- Robert E. Lee place that it a nice little stroll. Very nice landscaping too.

If you want to go to the Riverwalk shops and to Margaritaville - it is a nice short walk too. Just walk from the hotel past the new Marriott (I think it is) to highway. Turn left on the sidewalk and walk under the tunnel to the first left turn- follow to the Riverwalk shops and Margaritaville is just past Bass Pro shops.

Horseshoe Jack Binion's Steakhouse is good. A little pricey. The Four Winds Asian place at Horseshoe is really good and very good prices - large amounts too!

DH plays double double bonus on the bottom floor but several people have reported that the bartop on the main floor pays. Not a whole lot of machines though. The bartenders are great!

 

Just got back from a two night stay. We always stay at the Horseshoe but plan on staying at Margaritaville next trip. It's not Vegas but it scratches the itch until the next Vegas trip. The steakhouse at the Horseshoe is really good. The only negative is the only place for breakfast is the burger place and it charges double if you pay with TR credits. They don't really have any craft beer that I have found but drink service is awesome at the Horseshoe. The one thing my wife always comments on is how nice all the employees are. The best buffet we have had there is at the Margaritaville Casino which is also the only casino that doesn't look like you are on a boat. Most of the poker is on the bottom level with bartop VP on the middle level. We always have a car but it is walkable to the casino's on both sides of the Horseshoe. Good luck and have a great trip.

Mark

 

born and raised in Bossier City.... Agree with most comments on here.. but here's my two cents...
I would walk to Margaritaville if i had to and go through the boardwalk- since you don't have a car... but its not that short of a walk really ( but the strip at vegas is long too so i guess that really doesn't matter)
I would never walk from Horseshoe to Diamond Jacks or Boomtown.... the area is not safe and its by the highway and in my opinion is quite a walk...
Steakhouse at Horseshoe worth eating but buffet has gone downhill for a while- no breakfast buffet either..the Jasmine Noodle place is decent ..but has limited hours like open at 5:00 on weekdays.. and noon on weekends
not sure about other casino buffets as we are just Horseshoe regulars... we used to venture to El Dorado and i remember their buffet being decent. I like that atmosphere at El Dorado too- but with us going to Vegas a lot its just more convenient to get our CET points at Horseshoe!
Margaritaville has some good concerts and if you have good weather it is nice to sit on the patio by the river. I never win there..Lol... The hotel rooms are really nice too. They have a breakfast buffet! The casino feels tight to me, but no it does not feel like a floating barge on the river either.
Transportation- NO CITY BUSES- they are definitly not like Vegas buses! not safe...- We don't have a lot of taxi cabs but they are always at the casino and airport so that should not be a problem - however i have not found a clean taxi cab driver in the city! so be careful!

Casino-to-casino transportation provided Friday and Saturday only, 11 a.m. to 12 midnight.
TWIN CITY EXPRESS SHUTTLE SERVICE (318) 207-2838
$3 per person one way; $6 roundtrip.


$3 per person one way; $6 roundtrip.

 

oh and not sure about the bartops... i love the ones in vegas but here we don't have much of a selection same with the craft beers..
Good Local Cajun Fare..
Yes Ralph and Kacoos like someone mentioned.- that is a short drive from Horseshoe too! so should be cheap taxi fare. ( i just map quest- 3 minutes and 1.3 miles from horseshoe) brunch -
Shrimp and grits is very good on sundays.
The boardwalk has a few restaraunts too- Copelands Cheese cake factory and Saltgrass steakhouse are good
but there is also a Joe's crab shack and a Hooters. Fudruckers Burgers and an Italian little pizza spaghetti place. and an ice cream parlor and yogurt place.
Hope you have a great trip!!

 

I have been wanting to go to Great Raft Brewery!!!! good to hear!

 

The El Dorado buffet is good. The diamond jacks buffet = bad. I have buffet passes given to me from time to time at DJ and even then it's not all that enticing. And despite my hot garbage comment their chicken fried steak was actually good. I'll go for breakfast and keep it simple.

If you go in late May there is the Mudbug Madness festival where you can plenty of crawfish and beer.

I would tend to stay away from Boardwalk for eating as its basically all chains you can get in any generic suburb. If you venture out there is Strawns for diner style food, Fairfield Grocery, Blind Tiger, Superior Steakhouse, The Vintage, Oyster Bar, Monjunis or Twisted Root Burger.

 

Wow, I asked for some pointers and VMB delivered! Thanks to everyone who took time out to educate me on Shreveport.

I checked out the menu for Ralph & Kacoo's and that's exactly what I looking for. And I'll definitely partake of the local brew, so I'll look for Great Raft.

Transportation looks shaky, so thank you for the tips about walking. We're equal opportunity gamblers, so I imagine we'll still hit Diamond Jacks & Boomtown, but with lower expectations.

One thing that worries me is that all the casinos (except Margaritaville apparently) seem to be riverboats. The last riverboat casino we hit was the Horseshoe in New Albany, IN and it was by far the smokiest casino we've ever been in. How is the ventilation in the Shreveport/BC casinos?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

The riverboat is pretty big at Horseshoe. I never feel like I am on a riverboat. Our friends had never been on a riverboat and could not tell Horseshoe was one. However, we took them over to Boomtown and it is terribly smoky, very narrow, stairs are extremely narrow and they could definitely tell the difference.

Sam's Town and Diamond Jacks are also pretty small riverboat and very smoky too. I don't really think Horseshoe is that bad except later on at night on the weekends.

 

I think Margaritaville is on a barge instead of a boat since everything is on one level. The only casino I noticed smoke at was Sam's Town since it is a pretty small boat. It only hit me that the Horseshoe was a boat was when we went before New Years and the ramp leading to the casino was at a pretty good angle. I ended up helping a lady in a wheelchair make it up the ramp.

Mark

 

El dorado doesnt as much like a boat either as you don't have to walk a ramp to get on and the way it opens to the pavilion is nice. Sams town is def a boat feel, narrow, smoky and ancient machines.

 

Would also recommend Crawdaddies and Ralph & Kacoo's

 

We were just there this past weekend. We always stay at Horseshoe. Binion's Steakhouse is very nice, although pricey. If you can't get a reservation, they do serve a limited menu in the bar. We did that Friday night and got amazing service from Regina. I love the filet and their crab cocktail is a HUGE amount of crab with sauce on the side. Forget the crab cakes. Not worth it. Can't tell you much about the other casinos, as we are mostly at the H. I think they have a good selection of VP and slots. Have a great time, and whatever you do, go somewhere and have crawfish. It is peak season!