The Road Gambler

The Horseshoe Casino and Resort in Bossier City, Louisiana is one of my favorite casinos outside of Las Vegas. 

Bossier City, Lousianna is located near Shreveport, Lousianna, a pair of connected cities in the northwest corner of Lousianna. Nowadays, most visitors to Bossier City and Shreveport just refer to the entire area as ‘Shreveport/Bossier City’.

There are several casinos in the Shreveport/Bossier City area, with the Horseshoe being the nicest and cleanest casino, and not coincidentally, the busiest.

Originally, the Horseshoe was owned by Jack Binion, son of legendary casino owner Benny Binion. The Horseshoe, when it was owned by JB, had some crazy good games, such as the only blackjack game in the US where the players had the advantage over the house. 

JB’s comp policies were also extremely loose. I remember betting $5 a hand at blackjack and getting comps to their fine steakhouse.

Later, JB would sell the Horseshoe to Harrahs, which is now Caesars Entertainment (CET). When Harrahs bought the Horseshoe, they immediately pulled the player advantage blackjack game and the loose comp policies.

Today, the Horseshoe is still owned by CET, and while some of the old ways that JB did business is gone, CET retains some of JB’s philosophies. Out of all the CET properties, the Horseshoe is still probably the best gambling deal. At certain  times, players will find $5 minimum limits on games, 100x odds on craps, better pay tables compared to Las Vegas, and looser comp policies than most other CET properties. They’re retaining a little bit of JB’s policies. Just a little.

Every time I go to the Horseshoe, it seems like 90% of the gamblers and hotel guests are from Texas. One of the benefits of driving in from Texas is that Texas has these giant convenience stores named Buc-ee’s Convenience Stores, which are just massive. The average Buc-ees has 60 gas pumps, if that gives you an idea of how big it is. My favorite part of Buc-ees is the beef jerky they sell. The beef jerky makes the drive almost worth it.

Upon arriving at the Horseshoe, this is what you see…a giant Golden colored building that sticks out like a sore thumb in the rather subdued twin cities of Shreveport/Bossier City.

Parking at the Horseshoe is always free. Valet is also free. If it’s your first time to Shreveport, and you want to see what the rest of the city might be like, I encourage you to park in the garage. You’ll see a significant number of beat up cars. I always wonder to myself, ‘should that person really be gambling?’

Hotel check-in is relatively quick. I’ve never waited more than 10 minutes to check into my room. Comps to the hotel rooms are very easy to obtain. In all the years I’ve been going to the Horseshoe, not once have I ever paid for a room, even when I was a low roller. CET is much looser with their room comp policy at the Horseshoe than they are with their room comps in Las Vegas.

The casino area, itself, is on a permanently docked riverboat that is attached to the hotel building. You can walk outside and see the the casino is an actual river boat.

As you make your way from the hotel to the casino area, you’ll see the famous Million dollar wall and other paraphernalia related to the Binion family.

If you start gambling in the mornings, you will find $5 tables, even at a packed craps game. The tables will stay at $5 until the casino becomes packed, which usually happens around 6-10pm, depending on the day.

Every time I’ve ever been to the Horseshoe, they’ve always at least had $10 minimum tables. It’s never been the case that limits were higher.

On this particular trip, almost all my gambling was at craps. I spent maybe $2000 on baccarat, losing half of that $2000 when the banker, my bet of choice at baccarat, hit a cold streak. I spent another $400 on slots, losing all of it. I still don’t understand why I play slots.

The casino has $10 minimum blackjack from a shoe and $25 double deck blackjack. 

Other games include Mississippi Stud, Three Card Poker, High Card Flush, and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em at $5 a game. They do not have Pai Gow poker, despite regular requests from players.

The Horseshoe has three roulette tables, and all three are double zero. At least one of the roulette tables is $10 minimum. I have never seen a $5 roulette table at the Horseshoe.

Baccarat is the Big and midi version where the players handle the cards, rather than the mini version, where the dealers handle the cards. This midi version of baracat plays like big baccarat, where the players are allowed to damage or even destroy the cards, so long as the cards can still be read for their value. I’ve seen a player tear the cards into six pieces, with the dealer just watching and keeping track of each of the six pieces.

I prefer the version where the players handle the cards because the game moves slower. Slower game means slower losses, since the casino will grind away your bankroll, if you play too fast. Some of the rituals players do to the cards can be hilarious and entertaining.

The Horseshoe also has a secret room for high roller baccarat players, where they also hold free baccarat tournaments. I often get invited to these tournaments, and I’ve played them several times, and have never won anything. To play these tournaments, your host has to invite you to play. 

After about a day and a half of gambling, buying in at $40,000, I cash out for around $65,000.

That was the end of the weekend gambling trip. I hope you enjoyed this review and report of my trip to the Horseshoe. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below. I’ll do a review of the food the Horseshoe in my next post.

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