Chicago Sun-Times: Boats making use of a convenient link

The court case that has plans up in the air for a new casino in Rosemont also has operators of existing casinos in Illinois on hold.

Nearly all have plans for expanded facilities on barges that will be built if the law gets through the courts intact. However, the same law that opened the possibility of a casino in Cook County also legalized dockside gaming. If the law is declared unconstitutional over the Rosemont issue, it could mean the return of cruise requirements to Illinois casinos. That would shelve hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contruction projects.

Still, operators have to maximize the opportunity raised by dockside gaming. The latest to step toward giving customers one big casino instead of separate boats is Hollywood Casino in Aurora.

Hollywood has opened a link barge, connecting its City of Lights I and City of Lights II riverboats. Hollywood customers who wish to move from one boat to another no longer have to exit into the pavilion and walk to a second boarding ramp. Now, once they board, customers may simply cross a corridor to switch boats.

"The customer reaction has been great," says Pat Medchill, Hollywood's executive vice president and general manager."We have a new promotions booth right on the barge. There's another cashier's cage for better slot service. There's a sitdown bar that's not open yet-we didn't have a sitdown bar on either boat. It adds to the overall gaming experience."

Medchill says the link barge is an intermediate step that was in the works ever since Hollywood drew up plans for a permanent barge in the event dockside gaming was approved.

"We always thought we'd go this direction," he says. "We just decided to move ahead. City of Lights II (the smaller of the two boats) never did the business City of Lights I did. This will make it easier to walk between the two."

Harrah's Joliet moved its boats around last year to enable customers to cross from one to the other without exiting back into the pavilion, and at Empress Joliet, customers can easily cross a corridor at the end of the boarding ramp from Empress I to Empress II.

No such moves have been necessary at Grand Victoria in Elgin, which has its legal allotment of 1,200 gaming positions on one boat.

MAJESTIC BLACKJACK PROMOTION: Most casino promotions that cross my desk are targeted at slot players-after all, slots are the bread and butter of the gaming industry. But Majestic Star in Gary has launched one that I recognize as an old favorite from local casinos in Las Vegas. Called "Beat the House Blackjack," the monthlong promotion gives players a shot at 21 consecutive no-lose hands of blackjack.

Players earn entries with buy-ins of $500 at blackjack or Spanish 21, or by being dealt any two-card 21, a 21 consisting of five cards or more or a 21 consisting of three sevens.

Each Thursday starting next week, seven entries will be drawn to play 21 hands of blackjack with a $50 bet provided by the house. After each hand, the player keeps any winnings and the $50 bet stays on the table for the next hand. After the 21st hand the player keeps the bet as well as any winnings.

RARE FIND? Several readers have asked recently why there are so few slot tournaments in the Chicago area. Tournaments are among the most popular slot promotions in most gaming jurisdictions.

You can find them close to home, but you'll have to check the schedules at Indiana casinos. Empress Hammond, for one, keeps up an active schedule of well-run tournaments. Tournaments aren't as strong a marketing tool for Illinois casinos because the Illinois Gaming Board requires play to be for live money.

In Indiana, and most gaming states, the only risk in slot tournaments is the entry fee. Tournament play is for points, not for cash, and machines are equipped with souped-up tournament chips, which brings players bigger, more frequent winning combinations that they normally would see.

Note to regulators: The Indiana way is better.

BOOK BEAT: Just out from Bonus Books is 109 Ways to Beat the Casinos, edited by Walter Thomason. I have a hand in this one, contributing short tips on how to get the most for your gaming dollar to go with tips by Thomason, Frank Scoblete, Henry Tamburin, Alene Paone and Fred Renzey.

The cover price is $13.95, but Running Count Press, Box 1488, Elmhurst, IL 60126, is carrying it for $12.95, shipping included. It's also available in packages with my Answer Books-The Casino Answer Book, The Slot Machine Answer Book and The Video Poker Answer Book-with any two books for $23, three for $33 or all four for $43.

Sunday in Real Life: Slot basics.

E-mail John Grochowski at BetKol@aol.com