Review Detail
4.0 12
Island View in Gulfport, MS
Overall rating
3.0
Slots
3.0
Table Games
3.0
Customer Service
3.0
Player's Club
3.0
Gaming Atmosphere
3.0
Amenities or Hotel
3.0
Food & Drink
3.0
Island View Casino in Gulfport, MS, is owned by the previous owners of the former Copa Casino in Gulfport, although legally the ownership is a completely different entity.
Of all the casinos that have returned here to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Island View is perhaps the biggest disappointment. I don?t mean the facility itself. The property was purchased from Harrah?s, and the former Grand Casino?s Oasis Hotel was renovated to house both the casino and hotel. The owners did an excellent job, much better than Harrah?s did with the Grand in Biloxi. But to me, the building that a casino is housed in doesn?t equate to whether I?m getting a good gamble for my money. I look at the video poker, blackjack, poker room and craps tables.
Before Katrina, the Copa could easily lay claim to some of the best gambling in the country, outside Nevada. Even though the evil 6-to-5 single-deck blackjack game had grown like a cancer in the rest of southern Mississippi, the Copa still had the righteous 3-to-2 version. But no more.
And video poker: the Copa was famous for its Full Pay Deuces Wild, Full Pay Joker Poker and 10/7 Double Bonus, which in this player?s humble opinion actually bootstrapped the Copa out of its old fire-trap cruise ship into a modern gaming barge. All long gone.
And I loved the Copa?s poker room. I understand there are plans for a poker room in the casino?s expanded version for spring of 2007, so we?ll see.
Cashback for video poker has turned into free play and has plummeted from .25 percent to .13 percent.
Also long gone is the database where gobs of accumulated comp dollars entitled one to free meals. Of course the database with the mailing list is still there, so where are the comp dollars? The present owner-entity claims that those comp dollars were gifted from the previous owners, not the present owners. Not good for public relations.
But who can blame the Island View? It no longer has competition from Grand Gulfport next door and has a beautiful facility with a nice hotel. It?s the only casino in Gulfport, so why should it offer more than the bare minimum?
Katrina washed away more than the beach and beachfront buildings. She also washed away some of the best gambling in Mississippi.
Of all the casinos that have returned here to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Island View is perhaps the biggest disappointment. I don?t mean the facility itself. The property was purchased from Harrah?s, and the former Grand Casino?s Oasis Hotel was renovated to house both the casino and hotel. The owners did an excellent job, much better than Harrah?s did with the Grand in Biloxi. But to me, the building that a casino is housed in doesn?t equate to whether I?m getting a good gamble for my money. I look at the video poker, blackjack, poker room and craps tables.
Before Katrina, the Copa could easily lay claim to some of the best gambling in the country, outside Nevada. Even though the evil 6-to-5 single-deck blackjack game had grown like a cancer in the rest of southern Mississippi, the Copa still had the righteous 3-to-2 version. But no more.
And video poker: the Copa was famous for its Full Pay Deuces Wild, Full Pay Joker Poker and 10/7 Double Bonus, which in this player?s humble opinion actually bootstrapped the Copa out of its old fire-trap cruise ship into a modern gaming barge. All long gone.
And I loved the Copa?s poker room. I understand there are plans for a poker room in the casino?s expanded version for spring of 2007, so we?ll see.
Cashback for video poker has turned into free play and has plummeted from .25 percent to .13 percent.
Also long gone is the database where gobs of accumulated comp dollars entitled one to free meals. Of course the database with the mailing list is still there, so where are the comp dollars? The present owner-entity claims that those comp dollars were gifted from the previous owners, not the present owners. Not good for public relations.
But who can blame the Island View? It no longer has competition from Grand Gulfport next door and has a beautiful facility with a nice hotel. It?s the only casino in Gulfport, so why should it offer more than the bare minimum?
Katrina washed away more than the beach and beachfront buildings. She also washed away some of the best gambling in Mississippi.
S
SFBob
2 reviews