My wife and I live north of Houston, Texas. We have been going to Louisiana casinos about twice a year for many years.
The closest casinos are the “river boats” in the Lake Charles area. These are nice, but we usually go to Coushatta in Kinder Louisiana. It takes about 30 more minutes to arrive but we like it much more. (This is about a 3 hour drive from the Houston area to Kinder.)
Coushatta is land-based and significantly larger than the so-called river boats. Usually there are not that many people and we think that slot machines are more liberal. We like to try new slot machines and they seem to get updated more frequently than the Lake Charles resorts.
This week we went with a deal for a $ 29 room and a free $ 20 slot game. There are three levels of rooms. The most luxurious (and most expensive) is the Grand Hotel, the average price is the Grand Inn, and our $ 29 got us a room at Pines Lodge Monday through Thursday. If you’re not too picky, that’s good enough for a night’s sleep. However, our room had a broken air conditioner and the temperature was in the 90s. The employee said there were no rooms available for the exchange, but they would send the repairman. The service technician said the hotel had neglected to clean the units and was not replacing the air filters, leading to breakdowns. At around midnight he gave up on repairs and said the unit needed to be replaced. We called the reservations line for help and they found us another room at Pines Lodge to move in. That room had a great air conditioning unit, but it was a smoking room with a horrible smell and double beds instead of the single bed room we booked. This probably won’t happen to him, but I wonder if Pines has an effective manager. Wouldn’t management 101 service the air conditioning units, especially in a southern climate? And maybe do something to control the smell of smoking rooms (think sleeping in a large ashtray)?
Other negatives of the Coushatta included the buffet. It might just be me, but I’ve been to a lot of casino buffets and this is one of my favorites. There is a lot to choose from, but there are too many Cajun items for my taste.
The maintenance in the play area seems to be slipping, for example, the carpet repaired with duct tape.
Drink service in the playground is adequate and the staff are mostly well-trained and friendly. Game points are a bit stingy but equal to or better than Lake Charles area programs.
All things considered, this is still my favorite Los Angeles casino, and I will be back. If you go, here are some suggestions.
- Get a bonus card. You will earn rewards and special offers will be sent to you in the mail.
- Go to their website and look for promotions that you like. This can be entertainment, tournaments, accommodation deals, free slots, or cash gifts.
- Watch out for speed traps on the road leading to the casino! These are noticeable and are generally where the speed suddenly slows down for one of the small towns along the way.
- Don’t bet more than you can comfortably afford to lose. The Indians usually win!
