Any word on possible Iowa casino openings?

The smoking/non smoking ratio looked about the same to me.

 

Thanks!

 

Table games opened last night at Horseshoe . No idea how they are or set up.

 

I decided to take a pass this weekend. I very seldom do tables, but maybe with the tables opening, the place will have more 'vibe' than before. I would describe it as "meh" or even "blah" last weekend. It just seemed dead and depressing.

 

So tempted to climb in the car & head your direction. But I couldn’t handle a solo 7-8 hr drive (each way). HC has only opened Madison (several weeks ago), and Nekoosa is opening I believe this week (I posted in another thread). Nothing on local (BRF), Wisc Dells or Wittenberg.

 

Outside of a couple really fun nights, I’ve always thought CB seemed meh compared to Vegas obviously, but even KC.

 

Approximately 50% of table games open at horseshoe CB. Most tables at 50% capacity. All players at tables wearing masks. I'm guessing it's required, because only about 10% mask usage otherwise.

 

My wife and I drove to Dubuque today and went to both casinos.

We arrived at DIAMOND JO around 11:00 AM and it was quite empty. Was asked upon entering if we were feeling well and if we had been in contact with any COVIDers. Masks not required and we wore ours (mostly... I'll get to that at the end). Table games (except craps) had Plexiglas.



Every other slot was turned off and chairs removed from the deactivated machines.


You can also see deactivated slots in the background.

We were going to leave after an hour, but my wife (who is very susceptible to the virus, and to whom I had promised that we'd leave as soon as she started feeling uncomfortable) decided we could stay awhile. I quickly found this machine and hunkered down.


Within seconds of my wife saying "Its 1:00, time to go", I hit the 3X for 57 free games. She came around to watch, and I got myself all ready for a handjob.



4 bills is a nice win and all, but personally I think its kinda chintzy for 100 spins at 3X... especially when this hit just across from me while I was watching spin after spin result in nothing...



We ran to a grocery store after Diamond Jo, as we were going to picnic in a Wisconsin state park after gambling. After getting some brats and stuff, we headed to Q Casino for what was supposed to be a quicky.

At Q CASINO, upon entering we weren't asked any questions, but they did make us take our masks down for the cameras before entering.

I got too lazy to take pictures, but there was no plastic dividers on table games but the number of seats were limited. I did play a little craps, but being the only player at this $5 table (and with two back-to-back Point-Sevenouts, I didn't stay too long, either) so I don't know how many players they were accommodating. All employees wore masks, though a couple of times I saw employees with the mask pulled down under the nose, defeating the purpose (a waitress and the slot club attendant).

I don't believed I noticed the slot selection at Diamond Jo because of the light crowd, but Q got pretty crowded around 3:00, and the layout of their slot floor became quite frustrating. Specifically, they didn't have an abundance of Link, Buffalo, Wonder 4s or other popular and licensed games, and those they had were in rows of four with two machines turned off in the bank. But then you walk towards the back, and they have row after row of really old 5-reel and 3-reel slots (Quick hits, Triple Diamond, Wild Cherry, and video slots as old as Dean Martin's Wild Party and Texas Tea Party). You could just tell that everyone playing those ancient or generic games were just settling. I understand that it would be quite the undertaking to rearrange the slot floor so that all possible popular games were open and the dinosaurs deactivated, but it wasn't to be on our trip. It would be a great idea for them, though, as I rarely saw an open seat at one of the popular games.

I did manage to slide into the Wonder 4 Boost and hit a Rhino bonus of 132 spins. I played them out for a whopping $90 win. I also played some generic game where I got a bonus with the song playing Splish Spash, and hit that for almost $200. By 6:00, Q was packed and my wife started panicking so we headed out. For the day, I won $250, but my wife lost about $400 (maybe another reason she was in a rush to leave). Considering I thought we'd be lucky to get two total hours in, we played for almost 5 hours.

Regarding our masks, we both believe (and this is not to start a debate) that wearing a mask only protects others from us. That said, my wife wore hers at all times as a courtesy to others. I sort of did the same, but when I was alone at a machine, I felt the distance was so that I removed my mask... but I always had it in my hands, so anyone looking would see that I had one. I did put it back on when I got up from a machine and walked around, and I wore it while playing craps. We were both alarmed at the number of people who weren't wearing masks at either casino, especially while walking around. I am not exaggerating to say that maybe 10% of the people that we saw in 5 hours were wearing masks.

We got to Governor Dodge State Park around 7:00 PM. It was quite tranquil after 5 hours in casinos (that is my wife and her twin sister who had spent the day with us - we love her but she's a but weird. She is a no-masker, and she sent photos of at least 5 different wins of over $500, but said that she lost "a couple hundred". I didn't press her... not worth the effort).

 

@mjames1229

Thanks! I am guessing Q is old dog track.

I totally agree with you on masks (in our family the girls are wearing and the guys aren’t-sigh). Went to the Dells yesterday - downtown probably about 15% tops.

 

Yes, Q Casino is formerly the Iowa Greyhound Park. When we planned the day, we saw the dogs were running (I haven't been to a dog race since the day Dairyland Greyhound Park closed) but they were scheduled to begin at 5:30 PM... we planned to be picnicking well before then.

But a nice run at the slots at both casinos extended my time and we left around 6:00... with my interest in betting the doggies long forgotten.

 

Looking like Harrahs CB opening on July 3rd.

 

Visited Ameristar in CB yesterday. Newly opened craps was $25 minimum. I have too much money on the layout on a $5 minimum.


One table of $15 and two tables of $25 blackjack. Three empty tables of $50 blackjack.

One table of 2 deck pitch crapjack at $15 and another at $25. Seriously?

Look at the VP pay tables carefully before playing, the progressive DB game that was previously 9/6 was downgraded to 8/5. Unfortunately I did look close enough and discovered this after playing for while.

 

$25 minimum craps at Ameristar or any CB casino is ridiculous. Heck usually when you see a $10 minimum you’re like wow that is high for CB. I could MAYBE see a $15 minimum in prime time.

 

They had recently progressed(?) to the point of occasionally increasing the minimum to $10. The first time I saw this I made the mistake of buying in and ignorantly making a $5 PL bet that was noticed by the crew after the come out roll. The let me go on the bet, don't know that they had much of a choice, I made my customary $10 odds bet, waited for the point to be made and immediately colored up after sharing my opinion of $10 minimum in Council Bluffs!

 

$10 is quite common for the last year or two pre COVID in CB especially on weekend nights and when Ameristar or Horseshoe have more than one table open. Even Harrahs has done $10 more often on their lone table.

$25 though? That’s insane.

 

I will also add that I have played $15 minimum in Vegas, and even once played $25. When I played $25 I was betting $25 pass and odds, then $30 on 6/8. I had a small roll of $300 or so, but it worked out and I doubled up.

 

I got an email from my host today announcing this, but she said the hotel would not yet be open. The buffet was not mentioned at all although the Back Stage Grill will be open. Amenities there will be opened in phases, but no details were given:

“I am happy to announce that Harrah's Casino will be opening on Friday, July 3, at 10:00am with every other slot machine available for play. Backstage Grill will also be open from 10:00am - 10:00pm for dine-in (limited seating) or to-go orders. All other amenities, including Harrah's Hotel, will be reopening on a phased basis and will not be available on July 3.”

 

Surprised that leaves breakfast out. However with no hotel open probably not needed.

 

They announced it on the local news, and specifically mentioned that the buffet would be closed until further notice.

 

Also no table games from what I’ve read.