Greektown Trip Report 16Aug2008

So Mrs. Casino Reviewer and I made a visit down to Greektown Casino on Saturday evening and were pleasantly surprised to find a casino in transition with a very enjoyable vibe. The Tigers had a home game this evening we knew that it would be busy, so we were anticipating a very crowded casino. We had yet to visit since they opened the new parking structure so didn't know what to expect, but hit the jackpot in the parking lottery and found a space on the 5th floor. With the Casino Entrance on the 3rd floor this made for very quick entry. The new entrance was very airy open and brightly lit (in contrast to the other portions of the casino). As customary, we ordered a round of Coors Light's at the first open bar and were very quickly served by the bar staff.

A quick tangent, if I may... One of the reasons why Mrs. Casino Reviewer prefers Greektown is the fact that the bars and lounges are not overly crowded. When we've been to MGM & MotorCity, we've routinely had to wait in excess of 5 minutes for a drink. With our limited availability of time (we only go for a 2-3 hours) and waiting 15 minutes for drinks does not constitute an enjoyable customer experience. Now back to the review...

Since we entered on the second level, we did a loop and walked around to a check out any new gaming areas. The newest area was the slot expansion on the south side of the building. It was the same motif as the other areas but with a more modern feel. There were $1, 0.25, and 0.05 slots all around. The $15 table minimums for this night were much lower than I would have expected. As I have stated in previous posts, we like to play cards, but the $25/hand at MGM & MotorCity is a bit excessive in my book (especially when we're both playing). While it did tempt us to sit down for some Blackjack, only single seats were available and we like to play together if possible.

After playing some $1 slots for a while, we wandered downstairs and bounced from slot to slot for a bit. Mrs. Casino Review found a new slot machine she REALLY likes called 'Nothing but Sixes'. It's a standard slot, but with a modified bonus game. It was pretty slick if you ask me and even as an observer it was fun to watch. We continued to wander downstairs and then the Tiger game wrapped up and the crowd noticeably increased. The decor of downstairs has not changed one bit since the casino opened in 2000. The only major change is that that the High Roller area has shifted downstairs in the short term until construction is complete.

We headed back upstairs and meandered around from machine to machine and called it an early night at around 11pm- midnight. There was a fair amount of residual traffic following the baseball game but nothing out of the ordinary.

Despite all of Greektown's most recent struggles, I do feel that the property is at the top of my list from a customer service perspective. While MGM & MotorCity are luxurious and flashy, Greektown wins when it comes to providing the most enduring and enjoyable experience to the customer.