It was a wonderful out-of-town trip for Brad and me! First, a flight to Atlanta to visit family and see Asher, our new great-grandbaby in Columbus, GA, and then a drive north to the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. We had hoped we could see some beautiful fall foliage, but this first weekend in October was just a week or two early for prime viewing of the color changes. However, we drank in the beauty of the green forested mountains we miss in the desert of Las Vegas.
We had the luxury of private drivers, daughter Angela and her hubby Steve, who were able to get off work and enjoy with us our 7-Star visit to Harrah’s Cherokee. This is one of the prettiest settings for a casino we have ever visited and the beautifully designed casino and hotel blended right into the natural surroundings. There was even a stream flowing through the grounds where we saw fishermen trying to “get lucky” just outside the casino! When Angela and Steve were out scouting for a good spot in the area for Steve to do some fly fishing, they saw an elk who was hogging up a good position that Steve liked!
In the hotel we were given adjoining rooms. Brad and I took the mini-suite with a small sitting area. We gave the other to Angela and Steve, a well-appointed corner suite with a Jacuzzi in the bedroom/bath area. It also had a large living area that could be accessed from both bedrooms and a small dining area where the four of us could enjoy a room-service breakfast while admiring the mountain scenery outside the wrap-around windows. The hotel has both an outside and inside pool – the weather was a bit cool so we enjoyed the one inside that was heated.
There was no lack of places to use our $500 food folio, from snacks and drinks at Starbucks to Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Our favorite choices were the food court, with a Johnny Rockets, pizza, and a great deli – and the excellent buffet. Prices are fairly high, so even without having any meals at the steak house, no alcohol, and only two room service orders, the food bill for the 4 of us for 3 days used almost all of the $500. ( No alcohol can be comped in this casino – a fact that is true in most – all? – Native American casinos. ) Contrary to previous reports from other players, we were told by several hosts that we could use the $500 to cover “any room charges, including spa and gift shops.” We did not test this out since we had no balance left after food bill was settled. So I would recommend that anyone going there on their 7 Star trip verify this when they arrive. (I was so dubious that I asked SIX people in authority, including hosts and supervisors.)
There is a very spacious combination Diamond/Seven Star Lounge, with a special section and extra service for the Seven Stars. Always available is a large variety of cold snacking items (veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, sweets) and one or two hot selections during selected hours. There are limits to how many times you can check into the lounge per day and how many guests you can have, depending on your play level. You just have to ask – there is no printed list of “rules.”
Stay tuned for details about the casino gambling in Part 2.
When Cherokee first opened, it quickly acquired a reputation as one of the tightest casinos for VP in the entire US. Checking VPFree2, nothing seems to have changed in that regard, unless you go up to the $5 level. Odd that there are a couple of awful .25 games mentioned but nothing at all in $1 and $2–even at worse than 98%.
It’s no surprise that everything there is expensive. “Captive audience” casinos, especially with no nearby competition, have no incentive to give you any kind of break. By captive audience, I mean those in an isolated location that is hard to get to.
You mention the beauty of the surrounding area, and that recalls a reflection I’ve made in the past many times. Vegas is a scorched, barren, ugly wasteland, but many casinos elsewhere are in beautiful and/or interesting surroundings. I remember playing one bright summer day at Harrah’s Tahoe and thinking to myself, “There’s a beautiful lake outside and it’s 77 degrees, so what am I doing in HERE???” Similarly, if I found myself in New Orleans, I wouldn’t spend any time in a casino! If I was in AC and the weather was decent, I’d spend my time on the beach.
My point is that even if you get treated like royalty, I’m wondering if being in a casino when the surroundings are so beautiful results in a net decrease in enjoyment. You don’t get all those perks for free anyway–in order to maintain Plutonium status or whatever it takes, you have to dump in tens and probably hundreds of thousands into the machines. These days, you’re lucky if you get 0.1% ($10 coin-in=1 RC) for playing decent VP at Harrah’s properties. Ten hours of $5 play at 800 hands/hr. (a reasonable amount of play for a weekend) would be $200,000 coin-in. Assuming perfect play on FP JOB, that’ll cost you $920. You get $200 worth of RCs (again, assuming you do get the full 0.1%). So your “free” gambling junket costs $720–and you get $500 worth of overpriced food, plus room comps. Net result: basically break-even. (And yes, I realize you can cut your theoretical loss roughly in half by playing NSUD at that location.) But you spent time and money getting there, and most of the time, you were just banging away at a VP machine, not driving around looking at the gorgeous fall colors. Everything you do in life has an opportunity cost. Also–not an inconsiderable item–you have to keep a huge bankroll reserved to be able to keep up your VIP-level play. If you’re going to play 200K a weekend, that bankroll would have to be a million dollars or more. Is enabling oneself to play high-roller VP the best and highest use of that money? (I personally would give most of it away and stay at Motel 6, but that’s just me.)
Personally, I’m thinking life’s too short. To each his own, of course.
You wrote:
> No alcohol can be comped in this casino – a fact
> that is true in most – all? – Native American
> casinos.
On a recent trip to Cherokee I was informed that the casino is in a dry county and rec’d. either local or state gov’t. permission, if they were to open a casino to be able to sell alcohol. x