Seen a lot of negative remarks about Harrah's Tunica here but most seem to be from first timers who DON'T like the shuttles. Well first off it is what it is. Harrah's (formerly The Grand) is one of three casinos in area owned by CET/Harrah's entertainment conglomerate. I just stayed there in January for a three day junket and had not been there for probably about two years approx. Not much has changed but I don't agree with most on this site.
I think if you know the property it has a LOT of amenities and offers gaming that is better than Vegas in some respects. The only negatives I would say is that they have removed a LOT of machines from the second floor. Therefore there is not as much activity upstairs as a couple years ago and the Fieldhouse Sportsbar and restaurant doesn't have near as many people or patrons as they should.......they are missing out for both a relaxed and reasonable experience. (Recent change from Toby Keith's "I Love this Bar and Grill...which didn't last too long) Another change in the buffet after the Paula Deen debacle, it's no longer "named Paula Deen" but seems to have the same or similar food, other than the store out front doesn't have the Paula Deen "stuff".
I'm not a slot player but seemed to be ordinary activity to me. Only thing I was told that there were NOT as many of the "current games", whatever that means. Along with the Horseshoe and Tunica Roadhouse, there are 3 casinos owned by CET/Harrahs in the area. Shuttle from Harrah's to Casino Center where Horseshoe and Roadhouse are located runs often until 2am or 3am depending upon day of week.
Now two of the bigger hotels for Harrah's, The Terrance and Verandah are about 1/2 mile away as a walk. You could walk but during extreme weather (heat in summer and cold in winter), I would not recommend it. But the shuttle runs often and I have no issues with the hotel shuttle once you are aware of it. Besides, you can strike up a friendly conversation with other patrons on the way; take advantage of southern hospitality.
Harrah's property is probably one of the most inclusive of all in Tunica. They have their own golf course (Cottonwood); they have a shooting clays area (Willows); they have a pool (at each hotel or at least Terrance and Casino Hotel); a nice spa that I have used on more than one occasion (Bellisimo's) and a great arcade area for kids to play/day care "so to speak" IF you are one of the lunatics that brings kids to a casino resort or need to drop them off for a bit while you play. In addition EACH of the hotels has their own bar/coffee shop for LIMITED food and service. They are basically open in morning and not too late in day DEPENDING upon traffic. So to say that ALL there is in each of the hotels is the rooms is INCORRECT. Each also have a gift shop.
Table gaming....only complaint I have.....and I'm not the only Total Rewards player that does, is they don't give you "crap" for rewards as a table gamer. But the rules themselves are not too bad. They had single deck (no DAS) 3-2 AND 6-5 BJ pays, so beware. Along with double deck (DAS) and higher limits. Also on weekends I saw some of multi-deck shoes also having 6-5 BJ pays which I think is taking TOO much advantage of unknowledgeable players but hey.......casinos didn't grow through smart players, did they? Craps tables seemed to offer plenty of odds; regular tables. And there were also the various poker variation table games. So I think you can have your fill of fun and variety at Harrah's.
As to customer service, I have had a better experience than others. I have emailed Total Rewards/Harrah's about problems or discrepancies I have had and they have replied timely and though it took some discussion, more than attempted to resolve my issues by adding points to my card. So to state they are ignoring folks is not true in my experience.
When I go to Tunica, I always take my elderly mother. We tried to stay at Harrah's, but she just could not get on and off the bus. I tried to negotiate a deal for a move to the hotel next to the casino but I was told that was reserved for "high roller". Too bad cause we had to move to another property. I like the casino. It's nice and spacious removing that feeling you get in some casinos that someone is sitting in your lap. And the Paula Dean Buffet is tops in Tunica. Only problem is that I can barely walk after I finish.
We stayed in the Veranda building and shuttled to the casino. Probably arrived at the casino in about the same length of time from our room as we would arrive when walking at most attached casinos. From Harrah's, there's a shuttle that runs to three other casinos. The Harrah's casino doesn't have any really good video poker but does have a nice poker room and 3/2 blackjack tables so I was happy. Food was not as good as I expected (I expected more from Paula Deen).
Paula Deen's buffet is good, but not top-notch and I say over-priced.
The slots and gaming were fun, but where were all the winners? I saw no one hit a jackpot higher than $500 in the three days we stayed there.
For the price, the Terrace hotel was a great value, though our room needed some updating or repair. The pool area was awesome. Didn't mind the shuttle to the casino except for the mosquitoes.
The best thing going for Harrah's Tunica is their employees. We were treated well by everyone employee there. And for that alone I recommend a stay here.
There are three hotels, one is next to the casino and the other two are about a 1/2-mile away. Free shuttle service is provided from the outlying hotels.
We stayed at the Terrace Hotel and, like most Harrah's properties we've stayed at, it was very nice.
We had lunch at the Paula Deen buffet and it was excellent. A large variety of tasty southern-style foods and a fantastic selection of desserts.
The video poker paytables were not especially good, so we didn't gamble too much here. Other than that, we would highly recommend a visit to the buffet or staying in the hotels.
