del Lago Resort & Casino

Reviews 3

TI

Tiffany Allington

If youre going there to play the slot machines, youre going to have a bad time. I understand that as a brand new business, they are very eager to recoup investment capital and to get out of the red; however, the manner in which they are undertaking that task all but guarantees an opposite outcome. Let me explain... As a brand new, somewhat inexperienced (because losing money gives me anxiety) patron, I went there for my first time with my sister (BIG gambler) to check it out, play some slots, and maybe even walk away with a little money. No dice (pun intended)! Not only do the slot machines not pay-out, but theyre not even fun to lose money on whilst playing them! For example: if I purchase a scratch-off ticket I prefer the games that take longer to lose on (such as CashWord or Bingo) because even though I didnt win, I was at least entertained for a sufficient amount of time to justify the money lost without being butthurt about it. There is no such satisfaction on these slots. The rate at which the machines usurp your money, in my opinion, is callously disrespectful to their otherwise would-be repeat guests. There is no level of customer-enjoyment consideration whatsoever, and the undertone of corporate-like greed is palpable. A few things of note to be aware of that I observed: • The "last payout" displayed on each slot machine is the value in pennies, not dollars. (If it displays the previous machine payout of "370", it is not $370.00, it is $3.70.) • Every slot machine has a minimum bet that is always higher than the amount boldly displayed on the machine. (A minimum bet on a 1¢ slot machine requires a bare minimum of 30¢ or more -dependent on the machine- to play.) • Free alcoholic beverages are only available if youre playing the tables, and only if youre playing at a $10+ minimum buy-in table. • Free non-alcoholic beverages ARE available for slot players, however, there are no servers that come to you with them - rather they are available only at self serve, buffet style fountain drink stations along the parameter of gaming floor. ***So, if after youve lost a good portion of your money bouncing from machine to machine with hopes of turning your luck around on the next, the stars align and you manage to find that one machine that youve "got a good feeling about" that actually (temporarily) pays-out something and you become thirsty - you now have to either leave said machine and risk having it swiftly taken away from you by the creeper that has been watching and waiting to do just that, or deal with the all-too-real dehydration that comes along with the adrenaline rush of finally winning something after losing for so long!*** • Although there are a large number of themed slot machine variations, they are all basically the same machine model. Theres no character to any of them. • There are no signs above or around the machines to indicate which machines cost what amount of money to play. This causes significant wandering frustration. • The ATM machines double as change machines. You may insert $20 cash into the machine and the ATM will spit four $5s back out for you - but ONLY $5s, nothing lower. • The slot machines are cash or voucher only. The member card is not money-loadable, it is simply to track habits and points. So make sure to wait for your voucher to print out when you leave a machine. As for the food, we happened to be there for the majority of the overnight so since there was no food available, I cannot speak on that. Although I was very hungry and would have loved to eat there! The casino itself is quite visually appealing and the facilities are luxuriously appointed, if you dont pay close attention to finish details. The lanai smoking area smelled like the bottom of a tin ashtray and every surface area was covered in cigarette ash or mystery liquid. The overall detailed cleanliness of the casino left a lot to be desired. Their saving grace? The customer service counter staff. Absolutely hospitable, helpful, warm, and lovely people! Good luck!

MA

Mara Zeman

The Vine is great, the rest not so much AT ALL. Visited last Saturday to see Joan Jett play at the Vine. The venue itself is beautiful! Its well designed, and seems to have good vantage points from everywhere (I was lucky to be in the front row, so I cant speak directly to that). Sitting where we were, the sound was excellent, with good volume and clarity (loud but not TOO loud) and no distortion. I talked to some other folks sitting in various places throughout the venue, and they had similar things to say. The one bad thing I have to say about The Vine is that security down front (and I stress that, because all other security guards were extremely nice) were complete jerks. I got up and moved forward to stand against the barrier for ONE SECOND just to take a picture and the guard was on me in a second, telling me to move back. This behavior continued throughout the concert, and was not relaxed AT ALL even at the very end as is typically the case. Not only was the audience annoyed by this, since it seemingly served no purpose (this was a well behaved crowd that was not rowdy at all), but the performer herself gestured several times for them to stop it, to no avail. Loosen up guys when the crowd is more sedate, you are not members of Homeland Security! Now for rest, which is more negative. First off...Do you really think that a total of approximately 12 (roughly 4 per level) handicapped spots in the garage is enough for the kind of crowds this place draws? Clearly not, since I needed one and I could not find one to park in! What is with all the spots near the door relegated to alternative fuel vehicles? So if youre environmentally conscious you get carte blanche but if youre in a wheelchair or otherwise disabled you have to park far away?! What genius came to this decision?! NOT COOL AT ALL! I did not eat anywhere here, so I cant review the food. I did, however, play slots in the casino, and was left with mixed feelings about them. I did not find them to be particularly tight, but not overly loose either. I ended up breaking even, when all was said and done, which is not too bad. I am not a high roller, so I liked the fact that there were lots of penny slots, though I felt they could have used more 25¢ and 50¢ machines. The layout of the slots area makes absolutely no sense, however. Normally in a casino, slots of like amounts are grouped together. Not so, here...There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to where machines were placed, with dollar machines right next to penny machines, and so on. This makes it very difficult to find what you are looking for, especially if it is hard for you to get around like it is for me. I found it increasingly annoying since traversing back and forth was causing me actual pain. In summary, would I go back here? To see a show, probably (they really DO need to do something about the handicapped parking situation, that is enough of an issue to me that it would probably have to be someone I just had to see). For anything else, I dont think so.

J.

J. Morrison

We were robbed of over $300 on our first visit. On February 16, we went to the casino for the 1st time. Probably due to wintry weather conditions and being just 2 days after Valentines day, it was very empty on the floor. It was also just after midnight when we arrived. Once we reported the theft to a security officer, a woman from "the bank" in the back of the casino came up to get information. Once we went thru our actions leading up to the theft, we were only within feet of the slot machine and the cash out machine, we were told to just sit and wait until the 2 employees with us, were given more information from the bank. After about 30 minutes, we were told they were going to review their surveillance tape. So, for approximately another hour we sat and waited. After a total of about 1 1/2 hours, we were finally told that the video showed a man committing the theft and, for us to stay put a little longer while they canvassed the area. After 1 1/2 had already passed, we were pretty sure the thief hadnt stuck around. That was it. We left. But as we were in our vehicle about to back up, the security man came to our vehicle and suggested we contact the State police to file a report, which I did the next day. After a couple of days, in which I thought I might hear something from management about the situation, I called. I was put thru to the head of security and left a message. He never returned my call. I waited a few more days, and called to speak with General Manager Jeff Babinski. He informed me that he had heard nothing about it, but he would contact security and have him call me, which he did. He also stated he did know anything about the situation, but would check into it and get back to me. He never did. I feel that the customer service of this multimillion dollar business is very much lacking. They never reached out with any kind of acknowledgement of our situation. We have since found out, thru the local State Troopers, that the thief was identified and a warrant has been issued. We contacted the troopers, they were not called to the casino the night of the theft. So, I guess a place that will charge $3 to hang your coat up, is only interested in the money, not the customer.

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