Yes, the payout here is pretty bad! My mother and a couple of my friends, and even me on occasion, play the slots. I always hear from them that they lost like 150 dollars, or 80 dollars, or whatever. I lost 80 in one night there, was betting 20 and 30 cent bets, and didn't even hit once. Terrible. This is a little better then Wheeling in payout, but not that much. My mom just got back tonight. She blew 80. Didn't hit anything. This is my favorite casino in terms of atmosphere and even the area it's in, however the payout has been bad ever since the new casino opened in 09. Wish they had soda machines, that would be a big plus. Beers are kinda expensive. Decent dining here. Hey what should I expect, right? A casino is a casino. They all rob you. Overall, very nice place to visit and relax. The slots have good variety, atmosphere is something definitely to be desired, Pacers is great to sit at(through the week, when it's not jammed), bands are usually really good, much easier to get in and out of then The Rivers, beautiful area around the casino! Casino itself 9/10. Payout 3/10.
We live in Cleveland so it's a couple hour drive to any casino we go to, so in the end we want to make sure we go to a place where we have the best chances at bringing something back. We've tried the other western PA & WV casinos & had no luck on the slots at all; if we came out $20 ahead it was a good day. We've been to The Meadows about six times this year & though my husband has a losing record I've come out several hundred dollars ahead 4 out of 5 times. The slots machines seem newer than most places & the staff is friendly. I'm very impressed with the variety, and the fact that they have a lot of penny slots. The customers seem a step above what you sometimes deal with at other casinos. My biggest complaint is that trying to get a drink is impossible. I wish they would at least have self-serve soda machines, though ideally it would be great to have more servers on hand. I've only been asked twice if I wanted something to drink, and that's during at least 30 hours of slot play. The long lines at the bar are annoying & the bar staff seem slow, though for the most part prices seem more reasonable than other places we've been. The food court is a good "cheap meal" option. The non-smoking section isn't anything to brag about. The Player's Club is ok, though I think it could use some improvement regarding rewards. Right now this is our casino of choice; I am no longer wasting time at the others. It's not Vegas, but it's a good alternative.
I walked away from the meadows about 10 months ago. The reason why,I just wasn't having fun anymore. I'm not an idiot,I understand that a casino has to take in a lot more than they pay out in order to stay a float. But at the same time, us hard working people are not trying to make you owners multi-millionaires with out us receiving some types of rewards. Now I was going to the meadows pretty steady since it opened. And the first few months,I enjoyed myself. I had some bad days,but I also had some good days. And most important,it seemed as if I could play my money for a few hours. Then all the sudden,I was losing 300.00 dollars within an hour. And for months it seemed to become a routine. I was betting my average of a 1.50 to 2.00 spins. I remember clearly, on 2 days a week for about 2& a half months,my biggest hit was 44 dollars. For most people,they know that's horrible. I've seen multiple people betting .30 or .40 cent hit for that or more. Anyways, I figured to give the rivers a try. Well within the first week I had a very nice win. And I was impressed that they had a self serve on the beverages. But that's the only thing good I can say about the rivers. The staff they have working there may be the worst that I've encountered in any establishment anywhere. The rivers is over crowded with too many foul mouth,low life, hoodlums. I have to say the meadows patrons are a much,much,greater classy bunch of people. not to mention, any winnings there came to a screeching halt. so I decided to give the meadows another try. I've been back since December,and I haven't struck it rich,but I have been doing some winning and finding occasionally my money has been lasting some what longer. not sure if the meadows has changed their only take money policy. but if things can stay close to this status, I will be happy to continue my visiting your establishment. one things for sure, I will not be making any more stops to the rivers casino.
I think the Meadows had a few rough months through 2010 & have had SEVERAL complaints, however, I personally think they've taken notice of those and are trying to change things a bit. I was invited to a round table discussion concerning the casino with several other people & all aspects of the casino were discussed...good & bad. Almost every complaint that I heard, concerning comps, food, drinks, multiplier points & more, have been addressed (according to the monthly calender mail I received). So I at least give them credit for LISTENING to their customers!
Whether slots are loose or tight, I believe, depends on the person playing. I DO agree that if you're gambling several hundred or thousand(s) of dollars, you do expect to at least win a little...enough to keep you playing a while. You do not expect to load a machine with that much money and not hit something once in a while...not necessarily the jackpot, but enough to keep you going. The last 2 of 3 times I went through late Dec/Jan, I have hit jackpots. Of course I think that's wonderful, but the guy next to me who lost, had a bad experience! I only play in the high roller room, so this is where my experience is. I don't play smaller machines (less money) and I don't play table games... I only rated tables because I had to. There is no hotel associated with the Meadows, so that's why the rating on it...again I had to.
Meadows is the place I gamble locally...by far the better place to go in these parts. West Virginia casinos are a JOKE...they're rundown & do not hit AT ALL. Again, MY experience through the years. The Rivers was horrible, but I think is coming around as of the last couple months. I much prefer the "feel" of the Meadows, over the Rivers though.
The hosts at the Meadows are, by far, the best I've encountered at ANY casino. I am almost always offered free drinks/food. And, again, when I had complaints, they were heard & dealt with.
The slot attendants are friendly & helpful.
The one complaint I would say I have is the waitresses...there simply isn't enough of them all the time. They're friendly enough, but at times I've waited a very long time without seeing one.
All in all, I believe the Meadows is the best place to go if you want a chance to win.
Just got back from The Meadows. Ridiculous is the only word that accurately represents how tight the slots were. I brought my mother here to celebrate her 75th birthday...what a mistake. $600 spent between us and neither of us had a win over $25. I have been to casinos everywhere and I do not expect to win, but, I at least have a reasonable expectation of having some fun while I'm losing. I did not. Neither did she. Did I mention the $600 was gone in under 2 hours? They never even kissed me. Once I realized how unbelievably tight the slots were I started talking to people and watching the payouts on the machines around me. Guess what? NOBODY was hitting anything bigger than $25 and hits of ANY size were few and far between. Big surprise, huh? The slots manager needs to seriously re-think the business model. Nice looking place but then it ought to be the way they fleece you. Never...I repeat, NEVER...going back there and I absolutely cannot in good conscience ever recommend it to anyone. Mountaineer and Wheeling are only a short drive away so why bother?
