Review of the Grand Casino Coushatta in Kinder, LA.

Review of the Grand Casino Coushatta in Kinder, LA.

This past weekend I was able to take a look at the Grand
Casino Coushatta
in Kinder, LA.

When you live in Texas there are very few choices for gambling. More to the
point its hard to find great places to gamble. Well there is a jewel in the
desert just a short drive past the boats. Here you can find a lone casino that
would make you think of Las Vegas.

Before I get into details I want to thank Paula over at the Grand Casino for
all her help in setting this review up.

When I go to gamble I like a place that is comfortable, offers a lot of
games, and is visually appealing.

The Casino:

As you walk in to the Grand Casino you may want to walk back out and be sure you are not in Las Vegas.
Inside the neon, carpet, and layout are very reminiscent of the fabulous Vegas
strip. The ceilings are vaulted with bright neon lights traveling up the walls
and signs that point you in the right direction. Entering through any door will
quickly have you on the floor in a matter of steps. First thing you might notice
is the large number of slots and video poker machines. Not only do they have
plenty of games but they also have several denominations from nickels to the
high roller slots of $100 bucks a pull. The casino also has some of the newest
games like the multi-denomination slots that allow you to play quarters through
dollars. They also offer a wide variety of slots with secondary games (my
favorite). A quick note on the slot club “”Our Grand Advantage Players Club
members are our favorite folks! Every month we feature a promotional giveaway
based on play. Slot players who earn 250 points in one day receive the item
free; table players whose play is rated at $15 average bet for one hour receive
the item free. This month (March) is a great set of travel bags. Otherwise, like
to get a comp meal at the buffet: Â slot players earn 200-250 points; table
players play $15 avg. bet for 4-5 hours””(GCC). Beyond the slots are of
course table games, Craps, Blackjack, Roulette, Pai Gow, Let It Ride, Caribbean
stud, and Three Card Poker, are all available to play. Most of the time you can
find tables with a $5 minimum, however Saturday nights those minimums go up to
at least $10 at most of the tables and $15 at some of them. Even at its most
crowded point, there were at least three $5 craps tables open. Roulette goes up
to $15 dollars min. inside or outside bet, however they have perhaps the only
single zero wheel in all of Louisiana. Why is this such a big deal? Well I play a lot
of roulette, and a single zero wheel gives you better odds against the house. If
you like to play larger dollar amount table games, then with a $50 minimum bet
you can go into the Salon, a high roller area set apart from the noise of the
slot floor. The room is easy to find, with very artistic glass to give a glimpse
of the room and at the same time hinder on lookers. The poker room is a little
hard to find even with the signs, but just look for the circus big top and you
can not miss it. Located of to one side is an older section of the casino that
is all slots except for a small poker room even further back. There are ten
tables running several different games, 3-6-12 Texas Hold’em, 10-20 Texas
Hold’em, 20-40 Seven Card Stud, and 10-20 Omaha are the games available. There
are a lot of locals who bring a fair amount of competition, but there are also a
lot of first time players and players who just do not take the time to think
before they bet. No matter what your game the wait is small, fifteen minutes was
the most I had to wait for a 3-6-12 table. Cashing in or out is made very easy
since the poker room has its own cashier window. Don’t miss the weekend
poker tournaments, every Friday and Saturday
. Play just a short while using
your players club card and get a $5 meal credit, that’s one of the best poker
room deals I have seen let.

The Food:

In Louisiana you will most likely find river boat
gambling, this means a walk from the casino floor to the dining area of your
choice. The Grand Casino Coushatta being a land based casino is able to spread out and offer several places to eat,
so you can get back to gambling asap. They offer 2 small cafe type places, with
short order food and sandwiches, one is on the main floor just a few steps away
from the slots, if they line is long enough you can even play a few spins. The
other quick order cafe is located right next to the poker room, this is a great
idea, because poker players do not like to stop playing because of a little
thing like hunger. The Grand Casino also offers a fine dining steak house, the
prices were right about what an average meal at Outback would cost. A fine
Italian food restaurant and a coffee shop also are on the property. The
Seven Tribes buffet (where I ate all my meals, and lets face it, if you are
going to a casino then you have to eat at the buffet.) is easy to find located
in the rear of the casino with great prices. Breakfast runs $7.25, Lunch will
run $10, and Dinner is $13 weekdays; Fri-Sat dinner features seafood buffet for
$17. At any given time there are about 100 people getting off buses, so the line
for the buffet can get very long, so jump in rather than waiting till you are
starving. So what about the food? Amazing, for the breakfast buffet were several
fruit selections, waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, and an awesome omelet buffet
that include among the selections crawfish, and shrimp. The lunch buffet can
only be described as vast, the selections are too many to list here, but the
high lights are peel yourself (crawfish and shrimp) several Chinese food
selections, pork tenderloin, a few Italian dishes, and remember we are in Cajun
country so there is plenty of down home bayou favorites, like blackened crab,
red beans and rice, boudin balls, and crawfish etouffee. Skipping to desert, is
an ice cream bar with eight flavors to choose from, the highlight of the ice
cream bar is the chocolate fountain. This fountain is special, its Magic Shell
chocolate ice cream topping, if you do not remember, magic shell is the syrup
like topping that hardens when poured on top of ice cream forming a
“”shell””. There are also several selections of pies, cakes, and
cookies. I did not get a chance to eat dinner, however one regular said the
dinner was excellent and encouraged me to try it, but at the time I had just
eaten lunch and was still full at midnight.

The Accommodations:

The Grand Casino is located in the small town of Kinder,
you will not find a huge selection of places to stay, but there are a few hotel
and motel chains near by. We stayed at the Coushatta
Grand Inn
, located about 200 yards from the casino. They offer a shuttle too
and from the inn to the casino, but I found the short walk to be a nice break in
the action. The walk way is a nice cobble stone path lined with different
plants, many of the plants have signs to tell you what kind of plant it is. This
is a nice little addition since many of us should take the time and smell the
roses or read the plant sign. Back to the Inn, check-in is at 4pm, and check out
is noon. Walking in you would think of a fine hotel rather than an Inn, they is
a baby grand piano, sitting area and fresh flowers to greet you. Check-in was
very easy and even with four people ahead of me, the wait was not long. In the
room, two very comfortable beds and cold blowing air conditioner. The cold a/c
is almost of must during the muggy bayou summer. The beds are very comfortable
and the tv has cable including two movie channels. The bathroom is spacious with
plenty of room for two people to make ready in front of the large mirror. In the
bathroom you will find a hair dryer, coffee maker (and 2 coffee packets with
everything to make a cup or two), hand soap, hand lotion, as well as a large
bath bar and a conditioning shampoo bottle. The tub/shower combo has plenty of
room, however be careful the water can get really hot with just a small turn of
the dial. A big plus about the bathroom is the second roll of toilet paper, this
is often over looked by other hotels and I wish I knew why, especially if you
have 4 people in a room, more than one roll is needed. Some notes on the hotel
and inn, “”Our room rates are based on availability. In general, a good rule
of thumb is Weekday specials for our Grand Advantage Players Club members start
at (Sun-Thurs) $29 at Coushatta Inn; $49 at Coushatta Hotel. Otherwise, rates
begin at $79 weekday for the Inn; $109 at the Hotel. Weekends: Â Inn $99; Hotel
$129. Chalets
start at $69 weekdays; $99 weekends. These rates are based on
availability.”” (GCC)

The downsides:

Ventilation in the main casino is excellent, but the poker
room and big top area are in serious need of more exhaust. Around 11pm on
Saturday the smoke was billowing around the lights and a cloud was suspended
overhead. On the other hand the drink service in the poker room was on the spot,
in contrast getting a drink in the main casino was near imposable at times. At
one point I timed it as one hour from a drink server coming by one of the craps
tables till the time they came by again. The casino is packed during Saturday
night and as such the wait staff could use an increase during this time. While a
few of the other guys were playing blackjack, I sat at a near by slot machine
(just around the corner of the waitress/waiter drink station) as a server was on
her way to the station, I asked for a drink, she sharply informed me this was
not her section. Well as I sat there it turns out that no one has that section
at the same time the guys at the blackjack table were just as out of luck as I,
so there is a whole section of tables and a few slots where it seems no one was
taking orders. I also understand that some people can have a bad night, but a
few of the drink servers and dealers must have been way off, as they were very
short on courtesy and quick to raise their voice. Want to avoid this? Be nice to
your drink person and dealer. Dealers and drinker severs, don’t carry your anger
on the floor with you or keep it from the customers altogether.

Overall:

Aside from a few small things that are easily corrected,
the Grand Casino Coushatta is a great
place to visit, well worth the drive past Lake Charles. The rooms are affordable
and very nice, with several amenities not to mention nice staff. The casino
offers several different table games to choose from along with a high roller
room if you would not like people rubber necking at your black chip bets. There
are a number of slots to choose from and even at the busiest time there were
slots open and do not forget the high roller room here as well. The poker room
although small is not cramped at all, there is plenty of room to move in and out
and the drinks come quickly. If you are a slower paced person, the weekend is
not for you, I would suggest going on Sunday or during the week. Food is available
at several places depending on your taste and budget, although I highly
recommend the buffet for selection and the magic shell fountain. No matter what
your preferences are when it comes to gambling the Grand Casino is able to accommodate
you and with the players club card, you can earn points while you play, for free
gifts, food, or rooms. (depending on play)

Good luck and happy gambling.

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