This day was Mother’s Day. The driving that day was by far the worst out of the entire trip. We started in Cleveland and ended in Wheeling, WV.
It was pouring rain in Cleveland, which made dealing with its archaic highway system more difficult than it already is. It rained all the way to Erie. When we left Erie, we encountered snow much of the way to the next interstate interchange near Pittsburgh. Luckily, the snow only got the roads slushy, though the visibility was tough during its hardest times. It rained most of the time when it was not snowing on this day.
This day included our first casino stop at a West Virginia casino. The drive from Youngstown was interesting in all the rain. It included paying $0.75 to cross the private Newell Toll Bridge. It was built in 1905. There is significant history to see along the Ohio River Valley in this area.
JACK Cleveland
We arrived at JACK Cleveland around 9am on Sunday morning. It was a far saner environment than the previous night when we tried to visit. It was the first casino where we encountered paid parking. The cost was $15. Loyal players can get free parking as part of the players club. This was the only casino of the 48 outside Atlantic City that we visited where there was a charge for parking.
The JACK Cleveland casino was disproportionately table games and video poker when compared to most other stops on our trip. That is likely because the same company owns the slots-only casino just south of it at Thistledown. That racino cannot have video poker or table games.
The video poker pay tables were average for a city with a monopoly casino. I found $1 and higher 7/5 Bonus Poker, 20/13 Bonus Deuces Wild and Illinois Deuces. The $2 denomination of these games in high limit has a progressive. I played Bonus Poker because I had to forget my other wild card games when I studied Joker Poker. I won $60.
The table game limits were $15 for house-banked poker and 6:5 blackjack, $25 for 3:2 blackjack, pai gow poker, craps and double zero roulette, and $50 for baccarat.
Results: +45 (parking was $15), trip: -132
Presque Isle Downs, Erie, PA
The next stop was Presque Isle in Erie, PA. It was exactly as I expected. I played $100 on $2 9/6 Double Double Bonus. I left with $60 of it.
The poker table games started at $10. Double zero roulette and craps were $15. Craps is 10 times odds. The field pays double on 12, something that is uniform in all of Pennsylvania. It took $25 to get a 3:2 blackjack game this afternoon. Its blackjack stands on all 17’s, offers surrender, and re-splitting of aces one time.
Results: -$40, trip: -$172
Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Youngstown, OH
This is a video lottery racino. It is all slots and keno. There were no races on this day. We left after a quick look around.
Mountaineer Casino, New Cumberland, WV
This was our first visit to a West Virginia casino. It was busier than I was expecting on this Sunday afternoon. We thought it may be slow because the hotel is only open Thursday through Saturday nights.
The machines are part of the West Virginia video lottery. The video poker in West Virginia is almost uniformly terrible for this reason.
I played $15 Spanish 21 that stands on all 17’s. I was rusty on the game, and it beat me for $150 through mostly bad luck. The player on my right, that stood on soft 17 against anything, got angry at me for making a mistake on a double down. I stopped having fun and it was time to head to the next West Virginia casino.
All table games had a $15 minimum at Mountaineer Casino. Craps has 10 times odds. All blackjack is 3:2 and includes standing on all 17’s and re-split aces.
The staff at Mountaineer Casino was quite friendly. This would become a theme as we visited casinos in West Virginia.
Results: -$150, trip: -$322
Wheeling Island, Wheeling, WV
The drive to Wheeling Island Casino from Mountaineer Casino was scenic in both nature and industrial history. There were many historic bridges and sites through here.
The bar had the best video poker that I found in West Virginia. It has quarter and half-dollar 7/5 Bonus Poker, 9/6/5 Double Bonus and 9/5 Double Double Bonus. I won $40 playing double Bonus.
The table games at Wheeling Island were a bargain. Craps, double zero roulette, Three Card Poker and Mississippi Stud were all $5. Six-deck blackjack that stands on soft 17 was $15. It paid 3:2 and offered surrender and re-split aces once.
Wheeling Island turned out to be the most friendly casino on our trip. We stayed the night at the Hampton Inn. It was a great experience. I will start tomorrow’s trip report with that story.
Results: +40, trip: -$282
