Horseshoe Sweetens Up Its Jackpots

Every once in a while a casino comes up with a promotion that's worthy of special mention. Recently it was the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin for its ongoing "Craps for Cash" program whereby shooters at the dice tables can collect a bonus of $4,000 cash for making all six points on the same hand.

Now, Jack Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Hammond has come up with a similar no-strings-attached cash bonus for slot players. The promotion is called "Jack'd Up Jackpots". Just like "Craps for Cash", it's not a "carrot on a stick" gimmick. It's a way of rewarding players just for winning.

Every Thursday between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., everyone who hits a max-coin jackpot in excess of $1,199 on a nickel, quarter, fifty-cent or dollar slot machine at the Horseshoe will receive a scratch-and-win card guaranteed to be worth $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or $5,000.

All that's required for the jackpot winner to qualify for the bonus is to have their Winner's Circle player's club card inserted in the machine. The bonus does not apply to jackpots won on the Horseshoe's video poker machines.

The Horseshoe, which will become part of the Harrah's Entertainment casino empire later this year, is celebrating its status as the Chicago area's most successful casino operation by finishing first among all properties, both in Illinois and Indiana, in combined slot and table game revenue for the last two months.

Player-friendly promotions like "Jack'd Up Jackpots" make the difference. Anytime a gambler can make money for winning more, rather than getting caught up into chasing perks by playing more, is an opportunity that's well worth taking advantage of.

"We want to continue raising the bar in the Chicago area with casino offers," said Phil Juliano, Horseshoe's vice-president of marketing. "We believe the more winners there are, the more players there are. 'Jack'd Up Jackpots' is our way of creating more winning opportunities."

CASINO NEWS: Playback, the only casino industry trade newsletter written by players, is looking for submissions. The featured topic is "The Slots People Play". Playback would like to know which games you like and why, and if there are any new games that have captured you attention. They'd also like to know which games you don't like and why.

This is a great opportunity for average players to make their voices heard by thousands of members of casino management teams nationwide. Feature-length contributors to Playback are even compensated if their contribution is printed,

Just send along your thoughts about slot games, or any other casino experience you'd like to share with casino executives, to Playback@mgci.com.

Chicago-area video poker connoisseur Phil Komada sent an e-mail advising this column about the solid quarter machines that are available at the Trump Casino & Hotel in Gary. He reports there are a lot of 9/6 Double-Double Bonus and 9/5 Triple-Double Bonus machines included in the property's inventory of video poker, pay tables for quarters that are common in Las Vegas but as rare as royal flushes in these parts.

In other news from the Trump, the property recently held the grand opening for its new live poker room. In attendance at the ribbon cutting were several luminaries from the world of competitive poker, the phenomenon that is taking the place of reality shows as the new darling of TV.