Thank you, Billy Jo and goodbye Harrahs St. Louis

[cook1947]

A big thank you to Billyjoe and the contact information you gave me. I was set up, finally, with a host from Laughlin, and she invited me on a free trip to Laughlin in June. I also received an email from the director or marketing in St. Louis, trying to explain how trips, gifts, etc. are given out, then informed that Harrah's St. Louis has been sold to the Argosy Corp. It hadn't been released at that moment, but I think there are going to be quite a few unhappy Harrah's members.I appreciated the assistance from you..you are a peach.

[BillyJoe]

Glad it worked out for you and Laughlin, Cook. Glad to hear that a corporate "suit" finally came through with something meaningful.
I had not heard about St Louis. Wasn't there two Harrahs casinos there, side by side ?

[robclyde]

Wow, news to me too!  Just read the reports and looks like going to Penn National under the Hollywood brand.  I've been a card holder at Tunica Hollywood since '94, holding a highest level card, and the comps have steadily gone downhill over the last few years.  Harrahs STL is pretty good to me and I hope Hollywood will be aggressive in that market with the other competitors there. Robert

[cook1947]

Harrah's St. Louis is on one side of the river, and on the other is Ameristar. I received the information about Harrah's from a high level exec in St. Louis, so I think it is fairly accurate. It has not gone public, but he said they are looking for a 3-4 month turnover. I also liked the Hollywood in Tunica, but the last time I was there, the pay schedule for video poker had dropped almost in half. Plus, most of the video poker machines have been removed, so I have avoided it. I am frequenting the Roadhouse and even the main casino at Harrah's has improved. Again, they have removed all the poker machines they had at one end of the casino, and moved some down to the other end, in front of Dunkin Doughnuts. If the machines go bad, at least a chocolate covered donut can make you feel somewhat better.

[robclyde]

Hi Cook, After your first post, I search the 'net and found numerous news reports from St. Louis news outlets along with the Wall Street Journal, posted over the last couple of days.  You are right about VP at Hollywood - nothing like what it used to be. By the way, Goldstrike has added 8 new 25/50/100 machine at the top of the escalators.  They are multi-game machines that include STP. My primary host is also based in STL even though Tunica is my favorite and nearest to me - headed down tomorrow night! Robert