For those that don't know, Winstar has probably tripled in size, and
is now a much more pleasant place to play. The expansion was done by
removing the old theater/showroom, turning it into an extension of the
existing Palace casino, and then adding an enormous extension to the
building, with four more lightly "themed" casinos in a row. There is
also a large hotel in the construction phase at the end of the new
extension.
Unfortunately, with all the new floor space available, very little was
devoted to VP. However, there are some additions, and one playable
bank of machines. Here are the additions, playable and otherwise. I'm
reporting all games at the $1 level, as this is the only level where
playable options exist.
Palace extension: A bank of 22 machines at the circular bar just
inside the new area. All machines are MG/MD IGT at .25, .50, and 1.00.
These machines only have three games:
JOB at 9-5, 98.45%
DDB at 9-5, 97.87%
Deuces at 25-15-9-4-4, 98.91%
The DDB game is progressive for the RF, 4 Aces with kicker, 4 Twos
with kicker, 4 Aces, and 4 twos, threes, or fours.
Beijing casino: No VP
Rome Casino: Circular bar at the center of the casino is entirely
devoted to VP. Here's the only playable VP in the entire casino
(except the two machines in the old High Limit area):
Inner ring, around the bar itself: about 25 MG/MD IGT machines with
.25/.50/1.00. All games are progressive on the RF.
Deuces at 25-16-10-4-4, 99.73% (NSU Deuces)
JOB at 9-6, 99.54%
BP at 8-5, 99.17%
DB at 9-7-5, 99.11%
DDB at 9-6, 98.98%
Outer Ring, facing away from the bar: 25 MG/MD Game Maker machines
with .25/.50/1.00. The games I'm familiar with on these machines
aren't playable, but here's what's there:
Deuces at 25-12-9-4-4 98.91%
JOB at 9-5 98.45%
DB at 9-6-4 96.37%
DDB at 9-6 98.98%
These machines also have two games I'm not familiar with:
Four Play with a paytable of 250-50-80-8-6-4-3-2-1
Triple Trouble, which looks like it might be a version of Triple
Double Bonus with a 9-5 paytable. If it is, that's worth 97.02%
Madrid Casino: No VP
London Casino: This casino, at the very end of the new wing, is not
entirely up and running yet. There is a circular bar at the end of the
casino that will probably have VP on it from the looks of things.
However, that bar has not been open when I've been there, so I can't
report on what games are available.
As mentioned above, the new addition is a pleasant place to play.
Because it's so large, and the machines are not crowded together the
way they were in the old casino, you're not bothered much by smokers.
There are quite a few cashier stations, and many new Ticket pay/Bill
Breaker/ATM machines. The gift shop/snack shop has been moved to the
inside corner of the "L" where the new casino rooms join the old.
Strangely, with the huge increase in size, there's only one new eating
option: A fast food Mongolian Barbecue in the Beijing casino near the
card tables. However, it looks like construction may be in progress on
two additional fast food places in the Madrid and London casinos. Even
so, the Winstar operators should think about adding some more
alternative dining options. Maybe the new hotel will help that when
it's done.
As previously mentioned, Winstar has a new player card, with cashback
and food comps tied in. We're also getting a few mailer offers since
we started using the new card, and the money offers are electronically
tied to your card - no need to bring a coupon.
It's a real shame that with all the new floor spaces available (and
this place is HUGE), they couldn't have devoted a little more of it to VP.