Comps have been reduced by 500%. In the past you use to get 1 point for every 20.00 you ran throught a slot machine, now it is 1 point or less. I gambled for 8 hours one day and probably played over 1,000.00 through the machines of my cash, ( 500.00 ) and my winnings as I won over (600.00). I left that day with 125.00 of my 500.00. But my comp balance was $5.03. How pathetic is that. If I were in Atlantic City and did that I would get free rooms for 2 nights, free buffet, and 50.00 free slot play not to mention 40.00 in comps. Charlestown sucks when it comes to what you get for your money.
Not a bad casino. Don't be put off by the reviews by blue hairs who just want to sit in front of a slot machine all day with their $200 social security check. If you are into having real fun at a casino at table games or horse racing this place is worth the trip. Especially if it's closer to you than Atlantic city. The limits are a little high, but that's to be expected when you are the only game in town. Hopefully the limits will come down a little as more clowns pour into the faux-casino low rent slot parlors MD is building everywhere.
First, for all the naysayers, let me state ardently that I do not work for CT, nor have I ever. I’m also not a regular player. Indeed, before our trip to CT, it had been three years since our last gambling venture (in Vegas). And while CT is no Vegas, we still enjoyed ourselves very much. Why? Because we don’t gamble expecting to win. We hope to do so, but we know it’s highly unlikely regardless of where you play. So we go expecting to lose. We set our limit, play it, go a little beyond it, laugh at ourselves, and then leave.
For our kind of player, CT is just fine. My husband and I spent 24 hours there after July 4th and had a delightful time. We only played the slots and bet the races. We played conservatively—5¢ slots, $2 on a horse—to make our money last longer. On our second day, just about the time we’d hit our final limit, my husband’s 5¢ machine paid $232. That wasn’t enough to cover all our spending, but it sure brought the cost of the trip way down. So, we feel like we came away as winners.
As for the casino, it’s nice enough. It’s clean and sparkly, with a suitably helpful staff. A couple of cocktail waitresses were especially nice and responsive. Food and drink prices were higher, but that’s the norm. We thought about going to the steakhouse restaurant until one man told us the steaks’ prices ran from $34 to $85 and everything was a la carte. We preferred to gamble our money instead of eating it.
The races were just okay, but that was probably due largely to the excessive heat. We could have sat inside, but the thrill is in feeling the hoofbeats as they thunder across the finish line. The horses appeared to be handling the weather well. I’m extremely sensitive about the treatment of animals, and I felt comfortable with the way the horses looked and behaved.
We stayed at the Hampton Inn, which was very nice—especially the beds and the breakfast. The cost was about $10 less than a comparable room at the casino hotel. The shuttle to the casino goes to both hotels, plus the Holiday Inn.
As for the "gaming atmosphere," I find all casinos have a mildly depressing aura. Maybe it's because too many people are expecting to win and are being disappointed. Maybe it's the disappointment that permeates the air. On the other hand, we managed to maintain our own festive feelings and are very much looking forward to visiting again.
My first trip to CT was in Dec 2010, an overnight stay at the Inn with business in DC after. The hotel room was fine, we didn't have the racetrack view but didn't spend much time there anyway. Split the room with 2 others so the cost was minimal. The shuttle was nice, driver friendly. Wasn't too crowded on a weekday afternoon. I played for about 8 hrs, $5 min craps and taking breaks at various quarter slots. I was up $900 when I left, mostly from grinding at the craps table. I gave some back at the slots but finished up ahead slightly. I'm not sure but believe the craps min rose to $10 as the evening wore on.
Second trip was the end of May 2012, took the motorcycle to DC for Rolling Thunder. CT was less than an hr away, so arrived around 6pm on Sat night. Free parking in the deck adjacent to the casino. Quite a crowd! The table area was packed, there were no open seats that I could see at the blackjack tables, but I managed to squeeze in at the craps table. Four tables running, 25/min at two of them and I was surprised to see two at a $10 min. The table staff and management were all friendly. Craps odds were 3x for 6 and 8, not sure if it was higher on the others. After an hr, they raised both $10 tables to $25 min. I played craps for a few hrs, then slots for an hr... repeated until I left at midnight. There were 8 players per table. Despite losing a hundred here and there during the rolls, I still managed to color up ahead $100-150 each session. I mostly played $1 slots, winning here and there and moving around. Up several hundred, I decided to try a $5 slot. On the third spin, I hit for a hand pay of $1200, cashed out and left up $2100. On the way out, I asked the pit boss for a food court comp, which he happily gave me. Overall, great experiences, of course winning made it even better! The casino was smokey, no worse than ones in AC or Vegas though. I can't speak for the other slot players, I didn't see any big jackpots but it was fairly crowded at all the machines. Apparently CT has a tight reputation, but you can win.
Charlestown has turned its focus for the past several years to tables, higher table limits, only because they continue to act like they are the only game in town! And to boot, they have
given up on slots, driving slots customers away.
Hey Charlestown, have you forgotten the basic rule for casinos, slots are the biggest money makers. You have gone from 5000 slots to 3400 slots, and gained the reputation of having the tightest slots anywhere.
This is good news for MD, as MD Live opens, 30,000 people standing in line, just to get in.
I have been going to Charlestown for years, never had to stand in line to get in!
In fact, recently, it feels like you are the only one there playing slots.
People have gotten the message, loud and clear!
