Tunica Mississippi the best gaming value

The bad news is my annual late November guys’ trip to Las Vegas has been canceled this year, but the good news is that I will be going to Tunica MS. Instead. There are two reasons for the change. The first is that is simply cheaper for me to get to Tunica, and get around once I get there instead of Las Vegas. Secondly, Tunica is just a much better gaming value right now.
For me to get to Vegas It is a four hour car trip to one of the two airports with lower fares within reasonable driving distance from me. I usually depart from Nashville (BNA) or Indianapolis (IND) to get to Las Vegas. It is only on rare occasions do I find competitively priced flights out of Louisville (SDF) which makes for a shorter drive. Once I get to the airport then it is a four to five hour flight to Las Vegas. And finally upon arriving in Las Vegas another hour or so is devoted to ride the shuttle to the new consolidated Rent-a-Car facility, and do the paperwork for my rental car. If I want to go to Tunica I simply hop in my car and make a six hour drive. Since my car is already down there, I don’t have any transportation expenses to speak of once I get there. So by going to Tunica I don’t have the expense of an airline ticket or a rental car. The gas works out to be about the same. So conservatively speaking I have approximately $500 -$600 more to spend on the tip simply by making the decision to go to Tunica Instead of Las Vegas.

Over the last several years it has become clear to me that as a gambling destination Vegas is just not the value it once was. I still get my rooms comped as well as the meals at the casinos I frequent, but if I want to eat some place other than at a Harrah’s or a Boyd Gaming property the prices are astronomical. Even at a lot of the casino video poker bars they now want you to gamble 10 coins at a time on a machine with a horrible pay table to score a free drink. Most of the non-gaming attractions seem to have tripled in price over the last five years. For me the worst part of the Vegas experience is the aggressive up sell you get everywhere you go in Vegas. Overpay to visit a Vegas attraction and at least 2-3 times during your visit to that attraction you will be hit with requests to buy photographs.

As far as gaming conditions in Vegas go video poker conditions are just horrid on the Strip and the table games aren’t any better. In Vegas to get a good video poker pay table you have to head downtown or elsewhere off strip. Now don’t get me wrong if you go to Vegas for fine dining, shows and high end shopping Tunica would likely leave you very disappointed, but for a trip that is primarily for low to mid level gambling purposes Tunica is a much better value. I am convinced you can sign-up for a rewards card at almost any casino in Tunica, run very little money through the slots and receive very generous room offers. I have played very little at Resorts, Sam’s Town and Hollywood yet I consistently get free room offers from all of these properties.