1st time at biloxi

have been to tunica and really like it there , have a chance to visit biloxi in june
is it as good as tunica ? better? more dining options ?
i will be in mobile ala , but it is only 60 miles to biloxi and i wanted to make the drive there to check it out ...
anything to avoid ? any must do things ? or places to eat ?
are the casinos spread out like in tunica ? or closer together ?
thanks for any info .....

 

The casino's are kind of spread out but you can catch a shuttle to them all. There's a lot of great places to eat. Some of the best food is in the casino's. Try Shaggy's its on the beach. If you got a couple of hours to kill go to Jefferson Davis home site. It's net to see my wife loved it. The slots are very,very,very tight. we didn't win anything on them. I play a lot of poker and did pretty good. If you want to buy seafood and take home I can't think of the name of this place but it is about 3 or 4 blocks in front of the Beau Reviage, it a blue building they had great prices. All in all we had fun. I'm sure you will too

 

Is this your perception or does Biloxi have a reputation for tight slots?
Just wondering as we have been debating about taking a quick/short trip there.

 

We did not see anybody hit on slots. but I was talking to a guy while playing poker and he said his wife was playing a 5$ machine and won $100,000. But I did not see it. I also heard a lot of people saying the slots where tight. Just because we didn't win doesn't mean we won't go back we had fun. Good Luck

 

I've always had a gut feeling (based on my play) that the machines are tight in Biloxi as well. I've probably been 6 times or so in the last 4 years.

 

I visited a buddy in Air Force training there this time 3 years ago.

mostly played at the Hard Rock, but we also played at The Grand (had lower minimums on craps and roulette during the day) and played Blackjack at the Isle.

One of the last stops we drove to was the IP where I discovered the All/Tall/Small bet on craps. Since then I prefer this bet over the fire bet, but it seems fire bet is prevalent.

As for slots, i played very little at Hard Rock but it seemed many people were doing well at them. My friend was actually up a few hundred on penny slots. One time a limo driver stopped in for a few minutes and sat next to me. He ended up playing a slot I was on and made a nice hit, then proceeded back to wait in his car. Not bad for a break!
This was also when I learned sometimes the machines sitting directly near an entrance/exit can be super hot. Watched a lady hit for more than $600 one of these. They have probably since moved it, no doubt, but as you exit the casino and walk towards the Hard Rock restaurant there were some machines there (I dont even recall what game it was) that a lot of people were having luck on.

Seems to me ALL casinos in biloxi are independant of each other, not like in Tunica where some are bunched together. Then again I was never driving around so I didnt pay that much attention.

This was also right as the BP oil spill had happened, so there was no swimming going on, but it seemed like some of the areas had good swimming. Dont quote me on this though. I do know the Hard Rock had a nice pool area that I wish had been open. The weather was bad but if it was nice I could see that being a sweet place to hang out.

I dont remember much for food -- the Hard Rock restaurant was good, other than that we ate at a Beef O Brady's a few times which was good, and then Waffle House on the way out.

Good luck to you and please report back how you do!

 

We are huge fans of the dungenous crab on the seafood buffet at boomtown. I love to just gorge myself on it since I rarely get dungenous crab and its actually really good there.

 

the slots in Biloxi are definitely tight. I think you'll find them to be in between Vegas and the Indian casinos in terms of tightness. but they've definitely tightened them up in the past few years.

 

As close as Mobile is, I definitely think it would be worth the ride. Basically, the Biloxi casinos are either on Beach Blvd (hwy 90) or the back bay. I'll give you some descriptions going East to West along the coastline. You have a cluster just west of the Biloxi/Ocean Springs bridge consisting of Isle (just purchased by Golden Nugget-may have a name change by the time you go), Grand (the Gulf Coast's only CET property-it is one of the smaller propeties), and Palace (the Gulf Coast's only smoke free casino). Of those, I visit the Grand more than the others due to it being a CET property and it being my favorite property before Katrina. The casino is OK and I like their one VP bar but it is just small. If you are driving East from Mobile and come in from I-10 on I-110, you will wind up passing the back bay casinos (IP-a nice casino with the second largest hotel on the coast - around a thousand rooms), (Boomtown- a smaller casino catering to locals that has pretty good gambling and a nice buffet) and (Margaritaville-A JB property that is pretty laid back and fun but kind of small-about like the Grand).

If you continue past the back bay casinos on I-110 and make it to Beach Blvd (hwy 90), you will be at the entrance to Beau Rivage. BR is pretty much king of the hill in Biloxi. The same group of architects that designed Bellagio did Beau Rivage and it looks like a 2/3 size version of Bellagio without the fountains. It is the largest hotel on the Gulf Coast with around 1800 rooms. It is recognized as the nicest property in Biloxi but I have never felt the love there. OTOH- my GF loves BR and they love her so go figure. Right next door is the Hard Rock which I consider one of my two home casinos on the Gulf Coast (IP being the other) While Beau Rivage seems to represent Old Money, the Hard Rock has that energetic vibe that keeps me coming back. These two casinos are in easy walking distance of one another. If you like pools, I rank the Hard Rock #1 (they have a Deep South version of Rehab that they call DeTox on Sundays), Beau Rivage #2 (an elegant pool but it stays crowded) and IP #3 ( they do have about a 12' by 15' big screen TV at the pool for sports watching while you swim). All three have bars at the pool, the HR is swim up.

You also have the Treasure Bay casino a little further west on Beach Blvd (hwy 90). They have some of the best gambling on the coast and I almost always spend an hour or two there on every trip. If you watched any footage of Katrina, Treasure Bay was the casino built to look like a huge pirate ship. The ship got destroyed and they are now housed in a much smaller area. If you go all the way to Gulfport, the Island View casino is a nice property but you are looking at about 20-30 minute drive (depending on time of day)

If you wind up staying for a while, there is a casino "Hopper" which is basically a trolly that goes from casino to casino on a continuous loop and charges about a dollar to ride as far as you want. As for eating, I would say the the Beau Rivage probably has the most upscale offerings but HR has a Ruth Cris Steak House and an in-house restaurant called Vibe that is very good. (plus the requisite HR Cafe if you are going casual) Over at the IP, their 32 restaurant is very nice but is not open all days of the week. It got it's name from being on the 32nd floor. (great view of the Gulf) The IP also has what I consider the best sports bar on the Gulf Coast. If you want to watch a game, this is the place. If you eat outside the casinos, I would recommend either McElroy's which is located on the East end of the Biloxi/Ocean Springs bridge or the Half Shell located a couple of blocks in-land of Beau Rivage. A local culinary legend is Mary Mahoneys, housed in a building that dates back to the 1600's. It has a well deserved reputation for excellence. When I go there, I go for lunch. The food is just as good and prices are about 50% of the dinner prices. BTW- there is another McElroy's 100 yards East of the Hard Rock parking garage but in my opinion the Ocean Springs location is superior. The one by HR is where the original stood before Katrina. They have been open at that location for less than a year and they seem to still be finding their way.

Good Luck. I think you will enjoy a trip to the MS Gulf Coast. I spent most of my Spring Break there and had a blast despite some poor gambling results.