Dec 28, 2017  Many are the same slots and Games Kings found in Las Vegas. Table games like craps, roulette, blackjack, Three Card Poker and Mississippi Stud are also there. There are some machines that are rare outside the North Carolina Harrah’s casinos. These are Pot O’ Gold devices. Most are video poker and keno games with bad pay tables.

1. Harrahs Free Poker

By John Grochowski

More than any other casino company, Harrah’s Entertainment has long been all about imprinting its brand on the consciousness of the nation’s gamblers. Not every Harrah’s is identical, of course. Local conditions call for adaptation. But when you go to a Harrah’s casino, you know you’re going to get the multi-tiered Total Rewards players club, décor that emphasizes the purple in the Harrah’s logo, an expansive and solid buffet, and employees who are well-trained in customer service.

Harrah's Casino Resort in Joliet, Illinois

You’re not necessarily going to get the best games in town. It’s deeply ingrained in the Harrah’s philosophy that a smile-on-the-face entertainment experience will keep more customers coming back than an extra few tenths of a percent for the player in the blackjack rules or video poker pay tables.
So it goes at Harrah’s in Joliet, Illinois, right in the downtown area of this growing city of 146,000, located 40 miles SW of Chicago. It’s bright, lively, and has plenty of Harrah’s purple. The full Total Rewards package is in place here, with its Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Seven Stars levels bringing extra rewards depending on your play.

Upcoming Casino Regulation and Expected ChangesOhio has not had any efforts to legalize internet gambling. If a minor has been playing at a table, the dealer may even face charges for allowing the play to continue. The penalties can be anything from a fine, charged with a misdemeanor, community service or potentially even have drivers license postponed or revoked. If the parents of the minor were aware they were gambling, they could also be charged similar penalties. Online ohio casinos with real money slots.

Harrahs Free Poker

Food service options include a Flavors buffet which offers a wide variety of cuisine including Brazilian BBQ, house-made deep dish pizza, and build-your-own stir fry. Restaurants are on the casino side of the turnstile, so there’s no taking the kids to dinner here. Harrah’s is a steadfastly adult experience. In addition to the buffet, there’s the elegant steakhouse, The Reserve. And if you just want to grab a burger or a dog on the run, you’ll find the Cross Street Grill on the casino floor.
Harrah’s was one of the first generation of riverboat casinos in the Midwest, opening in the spring of 1993 aboard its first boat, the Northern Star. When a second boat, Southern Star, opened the following year and later replaced by the roomier Southern Star II, it enabled Harrah’s to offer the full 1,200 gaming positions allowed under Illinois law. The early boats were small, cramped and smoky, with games on three levels, requiring a lot of stair-climbing for players to see all on the boats.
Illinois required its casinos to cruise at the time, with each Harrah’s gaming session consisting of a half-hour boarding period, an hour on the Des Plaines River and a half hour disembarking session.
When Illinois ended its cruise requirements in 1999, Harrah’s took full advantage, first bringing Northern Star and Southern Star II dockside, connected by a ramp so players could wander between boats, then constructing a dockside barge that opened in 2001. The barge put all games on a single level, enabling Harrah’s to offer as close to a large, land-based casino as it can get under Illinois restrictions.
The biggest clues that this isn’t Vegas are the turnstiles that players must pass through to get to the casino area. Once you’re through the turnstiles, you are immediately in a large, open casino that places a heavy emphasis on slot machines. Harrah’s uses the vast majority of its allotted gaming positions on electronic gaming devices, which include slots, video poker, video blackjack and video keno. There are more than 900 electronic games and this is a very slots-oriented casino.
That doesn’t mean there are no tables at all. One of the quirks in Illinois regulations is that a slot machine isn’t defined as one gaming position --- it’s nine-tenths of a gaming position. The intent is that no more than 1,200 customers be playing at any one time, so taking into consideration that at any given time some customers are walking to a different game or taking time out for a meal or a bathroom break, the Illinois Gaming Board ruled long ago that more than 1,200 seats were needed to actually have 1,200 people playing.
So in addition to those slot machines, Harrah’s Joliet offers 31 table games. Fifteen are blackjack tables with middle-of-the-road rules. At $10 and $15 tables, the dealer hits soft 17, the player is allowed to double down after splitting pairs and to resplit Aces. House edge against a basic strategy player is 0.59 percent. At $25 and $50 tables, the dealer stands on all 17s, with all other rules being the same. That lowers the house edge to 0.36 percent.
The other 15 tables are a mix of craps, roulette, mini-baccarat, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker and Mississippi Stud.
In keeping with national trends and player preferences, Harrah’s has gone for flashy, low-denomination slots with free spins and bonus events in a big way. Higher-level play is strong enough that penny games have taken over the Harrah’s slot floor. One-cent games rule the roost and the next-most-common denomination is two-cent games. Expect to find a wide variety of bonusing games, with IGT, WMS, Bally and Aristocrat slots taking up most of the floor.
One thing you won’t find here are big-money wide-area progressive slots such as Megabucks. Games that link jackpots in multiple casinos are illegal in Illinois, so you’re not going to find any million-dollar bonanzas.
Video poker players who seek the best pay tables won’t find a lot here. Quarter games are all reduced pay tables, mostly in the 97-percent range. Harrah’s Joliet’s standout game is at the dollar level, 9-6 Double Double Bonus Poker with a progressive jackpot on the royal flush. It’s a 98.98-percent game with expert play at the rollover level of $4,000 for a royal with five coins wagered, and larger royal payoffs sometimes take the game into positive territory. Another pupular game you will find here is dollar Illinois Deuces, a game which returns 98.91 percent with perfect play.
For overnight stays, Harrah’s has one of the most comfortable casino hotels in the Chicago area. With 200 upscale rooms, the hotel opened in 2000, and has an elegant feel --- the hotel and restaurants make for a nice little getaway. The hotel area has its own valet parking, then it’s just a short walk inside to the turnstiles, the restaurants and the games.

Huge high limit slot wins. A Standard Hotel Room at Harrah's Joliet

Harrah’s Joliet might not satisfy a picky blackjack or video poker player. But those looking for a resort feel, lively atmosphere, solid restaurants, comfortable hotel and lots of slots will find it here.
Harrah’s Joliet is located at 151 N. Joliet Street in Joliet. Call (815) 740-7800 or (800) HARRAHS or visit www.caesars.com.

John Grochowski writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column on gambling,
and is author of the 'Casino Answer Book' series from Bonus Books.

Nearly all Las Vegas casinos of any significance spread three Card Poker. The minimum bets range from $2 at Joker’s Wild to $15 at Aria. Players will need double the Ante bet to play, meaning that the true minimum bet is double the posted amount. This does not include the Pair Plus side bet, which may be bet by itself without an accompanying Ante wager.

The game’s appeal is its simplicity. While it has a small element of skill, it is easy to learn. The house edge is reasonable to most players. It is typically a friendly crowd at the tables.

How to Play Three Card Poker

Three Card Poker is one of the simplest table games in Las Vegas to learn. There is only one rule related to skill to understand.

#2: Raise or Fold – Players and the dealer are dealt three cards face down. Players look at their three cards and decide whether to raise. If the player has queen-six-four or higher, the player should raise. The Raise bet is equal to the amount of the Ante. If the player does not raise, he folds. The dealer then looks at the house hand and compares it to each player.

• If the dealer beats the player, the Raise loses.
• The Ante loses if the player has less than a straight, keeping in mind that a straight ranks higher than a flush in Three Card Poker.
• Antes push if the dealer does not make at least queen-high.

Flush or Higher Payouts

If the player makes a flush or higher, the Ante is paid based on the following chart, regardless of whether the player wins or loses:

• Straight Flush: 5-1
• Three of a Kind: 4-1
• Straight: 1-1

Pair Plus Payouts

The Pair Plus is paid whether the player wins or loses. It pays based on the following:

• Straight Flush: 40-1
• Three of a Kind: 30-1
• Straight: 6-1
• Flush: Either 4-1 or 3-1
• Any Pair: 1-1

If you are not in Las Vegas, you can still play Three Card Poker against a live dealer and get a Vegas experience.

Playing Three Card Poker at Las Vegas Casinos in 2018