Kristina and I left Las Vegas for Cincinnati on May 6 to start our 16-day casino road trip. We drove to South Bend from the airport on day one. It rained most of the way. Luckily, we only encountered one other bad weather day on the entire trip.
We did not stop at the two racetracks near Indianapolis because we planned on hitting those and six other Indiana casinos later in the trip. We ran out of time and energy at the end. This post shows the 58 casinos that we visited on this trip. All will be covered in posts like this one in the coming weeks.
Kristina and I spent the night at a Holiday Inn in South Bend. We headed to the first stop of our casino tour. This map shows where we went from South Bend.
Four Winds Casino, South Bend, IN
The first casino visit for the trip was Four Winds South Bend. The casino is entirely slots and live poker, except for some video poker at the bar called Triple Chance Poker. I had never heard of the game. It had some odd rules. The bartender and slot attendants did not know how to play the game. I decided not to play it. I later read at Wizard of Vegas that it is some sort of bingo game that uses cards to display winners and not a random card game.
The poker room was open but had no games running. Our first stop was a bit of a letdown. The property was nice though. A new hotel is under construction.
Blue Chip Casino, Michigan City, IN
Our second stop of the day was Blue Chip Casino. It is on a boat in Lake Michigan. Boyd Gaming owns the property. We arrived early on a Friday morning so there was not much going on there. I found some $1 9/6 Double Double Bonus to play. I lost $20 quickly.
The table games had $10 and $15 minimum bets. Options include six-deck blackjack with re-split aces. At $25, the game stands on all 17’s. Other table games available are double zero roulette, craps, crapless craps, Heads Up Hold’em, Mississippi Stud, High Card Flush, Three Card Poker and baccarat. Craps and crapless craps offer 10 times odds. The field pays triple on 12.
Those that prefer lower limits may play $5 video 3:2 blackjack and double zero roulette. These machines are near the pit.
Results: -$20
Four Winds Casino, New Buffalo, MI
This is the largest of the Four Winds properties. It was impressive. It dealt most common table games for $10 and $15, including $15 3:2 traditional and 3:2 Free Bet Blackjack. Aces may be re-split at the standard blackjack game. High limit blackjack that stands on all 17’s starts at $50. There was also a 6:5 single deck blackjack game.
Other common table games with $10 and $15 limits were double zero roulette, Mississippi Stud, Heads Up Hold’em, Let it Ride, Three Card Poker, Crazy 4 Poker, baccarat, pai gow poker and High Card Flush.
There were several unusual table games at Four Winds New Buffalo. This includes DJ Wild, Criss Cross and WPT All In. Roll to Win craps was $10. The live version and crapless craps were $15. Odds are 3-4-5 times at the standard game. In crapless craps, it is 1-2-3-4-5 times. Players looking for lower limits will find a variety of electronic ad stadium table games.
One of the largest video poker selections on our trip outside Atlantic City is available here. Most major variants and several hard to find ones are on the floor. I played $1 9/6 Double Double Bonus. I took another $20 loss.
Results: -$20, trip -$40
Four Winds Casino, Dowagiac, MI
The next two stops were smaller versions than the main Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo. Each offered a better value at table games than the larger property. There is six-deck 3:2 blackjack that starts at $10. It permits re-split aces. The dealer hits soft 17. There was $5 double zero roulette, High Card Flush and Mississippi Stud.
Craps is available on heads up bubble machines for $5. There is also $5 video 00 roulette.
The best video poker game was a little better here than at the large property. I found one machine with real 8/5 Bonus Poker. It was available from quarter up to $2. I played that and the heads up craps machine. I lost $10 here.
Results: -$10, trip -$50
Four Winds Casino, Hartford, MI
The next Four Winds stop was a bit smaller than Dowagiac but with more to do in the pit. Craps was available on heads up machines for $5. That is what I played here. I won $12.
Its 8/5 Bonus Poker paid 30/1 on all quads, at least from what I could find. Many were traditional 7/5 pay tables. The pit offered $10 3:2 six-deck blackjack with re-split aces. There was $5 double zero roulette, High Card Flush, Mississippi Stud and Big Raise Stud Poker. I had never seen the last game before and did not see it again on the trip. It looks like a Mississippi Stud clone.
Results: +12, trip -$38
Gun Lake Casino, Wayland, MI
Gun Lake required a detour of over an hour from Interstate 94. I was worried we may find something comparable to the smaller Four Winds casinos. However, it turned out to be much larger than those properties.
I could not find any video poker that I wanted to play. The best I could locate was 7/5 Bonus Poker at $1 and $2 denominations. I played some multi play for quarters per hand for a $15 loss.
The pit did not have enough tables open to sit at a game I would normally play. Craps was so crowded it was hard to get close enough to find the odds and limits. Gun Lake Casino had both traditional and crapless craps. Players could bet up to 10 times odds. The field pays double on 12. The minimum bet was $10.
Other $10 table games included double zero roulette, Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Crazy 4 Poker. We found $15 3:2 blackjack and 3:2 Free Bet Blackjack. The $5 table games were Mississippi Stud, Three Card Poker and Criss Cross Poker.
Results: -$15, trip -$53
Firekeepers Casino, Battle Creek, MI
Firekeepers Casino was easily the most eventful stop on our first full day on the road. This resort has it all. There is dining at every level of pricing, a hotel, several bars, and a great sportsbook with some elevated seating. The games were decent, too.
There is an old bingo room at Firekeepers Casino that is now full of video poker. It had a massive library of variants for the region. Denominations were generally nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar and dollar for variants and quarter, half-dollar and dollar for traditional games with five or fewer hands.
I counted 20 multi-hand variants like Ultimate X, Split Card and Dream Card, each having a wide menu of game titles that include the typical Bonus Poker family and wild card games. I played a variety of these games. I lost $45 here.
The pit at Firekeepers offered nearly every popular game. All blackjack pays 3:2. This includes $15 six-deck and $50 double deck that hit soft 17. The $50 six-deck game stands on all 17’s. The $50 blackjack games are in the high limit salon. Re-split aces up to four hands is permitted at all Firekeepers blackjack tables.
Craps was $10 with 20 times odds. Crapless craps was $10 with 10 times odds. The field pays triple on 12. Most other table games were $15, including double zero roulette, Mississippi Stud, High Card Flush and Three Card Poker. Baccarat was $25. We were there early on a Friday night, so our numbers may be on the higher end of normal.
When we finished, we decided to have a drink. Playing or not, you must buy them, per Michigan law. We took our drinks to the upper level of the sportsbook. It offers a great view.
I talked with many employees at Firekeepers. They were all polite and helpful. The entire visit was a great experience.
After this, we drove to Ann Arbor and stayed the night there. The next post will pick up there. It covers Detroit and northern Ohio.
Results: -$45, trip -$98
