| rev:text
| - If it were possible to diagnose a company as being bi-polar, the Horseshoe Cleveland Casino would be patient number one. To sum it up, it seems like every time they take one step forward, they end up taking two steps back. We'll break it down by different categories:
Overall look and feel: (4 of 5 stars) I will give them credit. They took the old Higbee Building and made it look good. It's definitely got more of a "traditional" feel versus the new contemporary look a lot of casinos are sporting these days. Lots of gold, marble, chandeliers, etc. Good clean lines. It kept the feel of the original architecture, which always gets an A in my book. The only downside to the first floor, is that the table games are literally butted up against a wall. So close that you can only walk single file past the roulette table and the Mississippi stud pit. Not good for flow. Especially on busy nights.
Game selection: (3 of 5 stars) I'm not a huge slots player, but unfortunately I find myself playing them more than I would like, mostly because of the availability of table games. I have been there too many times when all the tables are filled in one pit, while another pit sits closed. I know it's tough to forecast crowds, but this is the only casino I have ever seen that consistently has full tables, and won't open more. That is equally as true in the poker room. I've been up there more times than I can count when there are 13-17 people on a wait list for a game, and they refuse to open a new table. I don't know if it's lack of dealers or what. I can tell you I have left because of the frustration of seeing 20 people standing around waiting to play, and they won't open new tables.
Payouts: (3 of 5 stars) I suppose this is subjective. Here's my general rule of thumb. And this goes for slots or table games. If you bet really low limits, you will never make money. Period. So when I hear people complain about the slots being too tight, or why don't you have more $5 blackjack tables... it's really a moot point. If you are betting $5 a hand, or 25 cents a pull, you should just count that as entertainment money. You'll never win. For the bigger spenders, I have seen the machines pay off (I hit for a little over $600 on a $3 pull). I also have seen people walk with several thousand at the 3-card and 4-card poker tables. Those people were typically betting $25 a hand or more. Are their slot machines any tighter than anywhere else? Probably not. You just see a lot of complaints from low limit players that think their $20 should net them $1,000 in return. Sorry guys, it ain't gonna happen.
Food: (4 of 5) As part of the deal with the city, they don't have any full on restaurants to compete with what's nearby. They have three casual joints: Corky and Lenny's, Rosie and Rocco's, and B-Spot. They are all three somewhat affordable, and have pretty decent food. For a quick bite, you will always be able to find something here no problem. They also have a buffet downstairs, which can be really hit or miss. I have had great meals there, and equally bad ones. Again, bi-polar.
Comps/Rewards: (1of 5) Here is my biggest beef with the Horseshoe Cleveland. In year one, I earned Diamond status; which initially came with awesome comps. Free nights at the Ritz, free buffets, free slot play, free trips to Atlantic City, access to the Diamond Lounge. It was really nice. Then, out of nowhere, they all just stopped. To the point where my comps were almost patronizing. No rooms, a single buffet a month, $5 in slot play (when it used to be $100), no trips, no gifts, no anything. It was so peculiar, that I went to the Total Rewards desk and asked what happened. They said they have a computer that decides comps, and they didn't know what to tell me. Curiously, I asked some of the other Diamond players I knew, and sure enough, they were cut off too. I can only assume that they "wine and dine you" hoping that you'll get hooked. They then must assume that they think you will come play regardless of how they treat you after the honeymoon phase. It got to the point where I started visiting other casino's (Mountaineer, Wheeling Island) just to see if all comps had stopped everywhere. Within a week of my visits to each, I was bombarded with comps and offers. So apparently this is just a Caesars issue.
Overall, I liked the casino during year one, but since then, they have developed this "we're making enough money so we don't have to take care of you anymore, because there's someone else walking in the door to take your place" attitude. As a small business owner, the customer service experience is paramount to retaining customers. They will more than likely keep their Seven Star Members (those who spend $100,000+ a year) but I can't see them keeping many of their middle income players, and maybe that's just the way they want it.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)