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Pair-a-Dice Casino or Blue Chip Casino

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Casino Hotels' started by bluesdude, Aug 14, 2016.

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  1. bluesdude

    bluesdude VIP Whale

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    Ok Midwesterners or anyone else in the know, I need some help. We want to maintain our Sapphire status with Boyd. We don’t go back to Vegas until Thanksgiving and we will lose our status in October (by about 250 pts!). I know, bad point management on our part, but it is what it is. My question is what Boyd property should we try and maintain our Sapphire status, Pair-a-Dice in Peoria, Il or Blue Chip in Michigan City, Ind? Both are about 2-3 hrs driving time from us. The next closest one that I can find is Diamond Joe in Worth, Iowa, but that is 5.5 hrs driving time. We are mostly $0.25 DDB VP players and it doesn’t look like there is playable DDB at either place, at least at our level. Any suggestions or other options would be helpful.
     
    Dead & Co with my son! June 4 or 5th - June 8th
  2. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    Haven't been to Par-A-Dice but I go to Blue Chip a few times a year. I would do Blue Chip as you earn tier points at an accelerated rate there, Can't speak to VP quality there, though. I just know they don't offer a lot of it. For 250 points, it may be worth a little time on the slots to get it done quick. There is a nice outlet mall nearby and it's near the lake even though activities there die down at back to school time. I've heard decent things about Peoria but no one I know has been inspired to go back for a second trip.
     
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  3. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

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    I'm with Leo, in regards to Blue Chip.

    Par-A-Dice is a dump. Its an actual riverboat! So its small and being in IL they are capped at 1200 gambling positions. This includes table games! 5 chairs at a BJ table and now you only have 1195 positions left. So they do not have a large selection of slots or VP. Not that they could fit them anyway.

    Blue Chip is in Indiana so they dont have the same cap as an IL casino. They have to be on the water, but the casino sits on a huge barge. It feels very much like a land based casino with a large main room and two smaller rooms on either side.

    Like Leo said, you have a large outlet mall across the street (Lighthouse Outlets) you are along the dunes if you want to go to the beach. They have a decent zoo 5 minutes from the resort as well.

    Once you hit your points, head down the road to the Four Winds Casino. Its pretty awesome and blows Blue Chip out of the water!

    But between Par-A-Dice 7 BC, its not even close!
     
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  4. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    First, re-read Grid's post. It covers the differences really well. I also really like the place because they rotate local craft beers there. You have to pay for them though of course. :(

    As for VP, unless you think anything less than 9/6 DDB (98.98%) isn't playable, blue chip will fill your need for points just fine. Especially since it's only 50c a tier point for VP there instead of $1 in Vegas.

    There are about 2 dozen new game kings in the casino, which all have 9/5 DDB (97.87%) on them. I've never seen them so busy where getting on them was an issue. They also offer two other games on them that have better long term payback but are similar in strategy to DDB. 7/5 Super DDB (has extra kicker pays; 98.61%) and 7/5 Super Aces Bonus (all 2-4s only pay $100, but all Aces pay $500; 98.85%).

    Their standalone STP machines also offer 9/5 DDB (98.14% w/STP) for quarters. And those games can be set via the touchscreen to be set to any number of lines while still betting 5 coins (6 w/STP) per line.

    Also their "Hot Roll Poker" games are 9/5 DDB (97.87%) for as cheap as nickels. This game can also be set to bet 5 per line without the bonus bet.

    Overall blue chip is a slam dunk here, imo.
     
  5. wanker751

    wanker751 Dutch Rudder Enthusiast

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    Yes I agree blue chip all the way
     
  6. bluesdude

    bluesdude VIP Whale

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    Leo, Grid, Tring and Wanker, thank you, thank you! We have been to BC but not Pair-a-dice. It has been a few (maybe 5) years though. I did check vpfree and they dont seem to be quite up to date as Tring reports. Tring, we go to Potowatami somewhat frequently and the best they have for DDB is 9/5. For me, I have been able to accept those paytables and I have had some success with them. So 9/6 is definitely in my wheelhouse. I had no idea about the $.50 tier at BC! We may have to go more frequently!!

    I kinda figured BC would be the place of choice. We have also been to Four Winds years ago, so that may be on the radar also.

    Also thanks for the tip on the craft beers! i will keep an eye out for a good IPA. If I remember correctly as far as food goes, the buffet sucked big time when we were there. We did get it comped but I don't think it was worth it. We did not try the sports bar so I hope that will be a better choice for a meal.

    Again, thanks to all of your contributions! Just what I was looking for.
     
    Dead & Co with my son! June 4 or 5th - June 8th
  7. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    Buffet is okay. I wouldn't pay for it but if they send a coupon, it's adequate. But the deli, the Steakhouse and Vegas, Baby! more than make up for it. Sports bar is alright. There's not a lot on the menu that appeals so I've only been there once or twice.
     
  8. stripes46

    stripes46 Low-Roller

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    My wife and I have been to both and prefer Blue Chip hands down (and not just because we live close to Blue Chip). Like what was already mentioned you have the Lighthouse Outlet Mall about 1/2 mile west, Lake Michigan beach about 1/2 mile north, lots of good restaurants on and off the property (our favorite on-site is the Sports Bar and William B's Steakhouse and our favorite off the property is Galveston Steakhouse about 1/4 mile northwest of Blue Chip). I enjoy the bands that play on Thur, Fri, Sat and Sundays in Rocks Lounge in the casino. They also have bands that play in "Vegas Baby" on the weekends (usually with a cover charge). If you use your players card in any of the casino restaurants they will deduct points at half of what the meal cost and cover your whole meal. Huge selection of craft beers at the walk up bar next to the casino. Beautiful hotel rooms in the new section and the older hotel section has just went thru a remodeling.
     
  9. bluesdude

    bluesdude VIP Whale

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    Mission Accomplished!

    So we went to BC yesterday and built up 10k+ in card score points to keep our Sapphire status. Nice selection of VP and my wife thought they had plenty of penny machines for her liking.

    Not to make this a total TR, but we left about 7:30am. It was about a 2-hour drive. We did I90 to I355 to I80 to I94. I hate that drive, going around the lake. It seems like there is always construction somewhere along the way. Anyway, we stayed for about 9hrs. Managed to get 14 4oaks and also some good hits on .05 cent Hot Rolls. Here are some highlights:

    IMG_2092.jpg IMG_2093.jpg IMG_2096.jpg IMG_2100.jpg

    One thing I did not like about the VP machines at BC is that the display does not keep an ongoing count of your points. You see the totals when you first put your card in, but then it disappears. We came home about $150 down but well worth it to keep Sapphire status. We only ate lunch there and ate at the sports bar (The Game). It’s Vegas Baby! and William B’s Steakhouse was closed. I was a little surprised also that neither of those restaurants was open when we left at 6:30ish. Hopefully we will get some offers with regards to our play. Even so, we will end up going back periodically.

    Thanks everyone for you tips and advice!
     
    Dead & Co with my son! June 4 or 5th - June 8th
  10. bluesdude

    bluesdude VIP Whale

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    Correction on the above post! William B's WAS open when we left.
     
    Dead & Co with my son! June 4 or 5th - June 8th
  11. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    I prefer I-294 over I-355 because of the cheaper tolls but that may be even more traffic and construction trying to get from I-90 to I-294.

    I hate that too! It's not like in Vegas, right? I don't fret over it because you basically earn a point betting anything but it's helpful to track your sessions and count down your freeplay with the meters.
     
  12. bluesdude

    bluesdude VIP Whale

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    Lots of construction on I-90 coming from the NW suburbs right now. For me, I-355 seems to flow better even when there is traffic but we don't drive it that often to know when it is bad.
     
    Dead & Co with my son! June 4 or 5th - June 8th
  13. nhanna45

    nhanna45 Low-Roller

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    I have been to Par-a-dice a few times. The hotel is pretty nice. The casino is a little dated but clean and cheap drinks :) (old riverboat, but puts off a cool vibe). I play video poker on the 4th floor and the table games are on the main level. Definitely not close to the Blue Chip if you like luxury but its a good time. There is a sports bar across the street with super cheap but good food.
     
  14. wanker751

    wanker751 Dutch Rudder Enthusiast

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    That and big Al's is in Peoria.
     
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  15. bluesdude

    bluesdude VIP Whale

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    I am reviving this thread to let you all know that because of our play, we got an offer on the Boyd app for 2 comped nights in either the Blue Chip or Spa Tower every week in November. Unfortunately we cannot take advantage of the offers but I am hoping that we get the same offer in December! We have stayed once before I think in the Blue Chip tower. The room was nice and we will do it again.
     
    Dead & Co with my son! June 4 or 5th - June 8th
  16. wanker751

    wanker751 Dutch Rudder Enthusiast

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    The blue chip tower was recently renovated
     
  17. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

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    Blue Chip Tower rooms might be a tad bigger. But the Spa Blu tower is much nicer if you go back. Once you get on their radar they will keep sending you offers for at least 6 months of free rooms if you dont show up in the mean time. Glad it worked out well for you.
     
  18. bluesdude

    bluesdude VIP Whale

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    Grid, I appreciate the advice! I would like to get there once every couple of months if we can just to keep our foot in the door. I think we will try the Spa Tower when we go. It is part of our offer so we will take advantage of it. I am assuming higher floor the better? West view, looking at the lake?
     
    Dead & Co with my son! June 4 or 5th - June 8th
  19. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    Blue Chip Tower was renovated but it was done on the cheap. It's nice but in a couple years it will look worn. Stick with the Spa Tower. Yes, a high floor facing the lake would be nice. You can see the skyline and sunsets are pretty but the area was pretty industrial so it's not a drop dead gorgeous view. I think the Spa Tower room is actually larger but not by much. The real difference is the bathroom which is much nicer in the Spa Tower. Also, take advantage of Spa Blu. The rates for services are amazing and it's one of the reasons Blue Chip became one of my favorite hotels.
     
  20. bluesdude

    bluesdude VIP Whale

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    Leo, thanks for the response! What kind of services are we talking about for Spa Blu? We usually are not spa users but hey, there is always a first time for anything. I think I need to start looking differently at Blue Chip.
     
    Dead & Co with my son! June 4 or 5th - June 8th
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