Biloxi - more than just gambling

Playing blackjack for .00 at the Imperial Palace

Quick Tips:

If you are looking for a fun weekend and one with a great price then checkout the slots tournaments that are held by many of the casinos.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you are planning to go between casinos, then the best thing is by driving.

This resort features 370 oversized rooms with great views of the water (if you are lucky enough to get the right room). There is also a fitness center and an outdoor pool. There are also three restaurants, Farradday's, Calypso's and the Tradewinds Marketplace. There is also a 32,000 square foot casino with a no-smoking section and a mezzanine level, featuring penny only slots. I can't say enough about the accomodations at this resort. This room had it all - nice size, king size bed, chair with ottoman, desk, 25 inch television plus a balcony overlooking the Mississippi Sound. When we arrived in Biloxi we had no idea we would be spending our last night at the Isle of Capri Crowne Plaza. Driving around Biloxi on Sunday afternoon we decided to stop in and check it out - mainly because the Crowne Plaza is the only resort hotel with casino that gives airline miles. Leaving our car for the valet to park (free valet parking) we entered the hotel and before heading up the escalator to the hotel desk my wife said 'let's join the slots club.' Later this was to prove one of the best things we ever did.

Going up to the desk we inquired about a reservation for the following night but were told they were filled up but we could go check by calling reservations on the house phone.

Once again we were disappointed when reservations said there were no rooms for the following night. But this is when Mary entered the picture.

She was working the VIP desk, where the phone was located, and told us she had overheard our conversation and she would be glad to see if she could help us if we were members of the slots club. Oh how glad we were that we had taken the couple of minutes to register.

After a few minutes Mary told us she had found us a room for the following night.

Arriving around noon the following day we were told our room was not ready. We decided to eat at the hotel's buffett (more about that in the places to eat section) and then go down to the casino.

The Isle of Capri is one of the few casinos where you do not have to go through the casino to get to the restaurant. Also the Isle of Capri casino has windows. I sat and played video poker while watching the shrimp boats pass by. A couple of hours later we returned to the check in desk but were once again told our room wasn't ready but Shanon the clerk said the room she was holding for us would be worth the wait.

We decided to just sit in the lobby and read the newspaper while waiting. In just a few minutes Shanon told us our room was ready and she would have the bellman meet us at our room.

After walking in the room and seeing the view from our ninth floor balcony my wife began making our return trip plans.

A 1086-room, 30-story hotel, located on the back bay of Biloxi, the Imperial Palace is a very nice hotel with great views of the back bay and the beach. The rate you pay for your room will depend on when you visit. Rates are always higher on the weekends.

Although the hotel has 1086 rooms it is often completely booked on weekends so it is best to make reservations as far in advance as possible. The rooms we have stayed in have been very nice with a king size bed. The room also had a table with two chairs and an extra dresser against the bathroom wall. The bathroom, while not overly spacious, comes with a walk-in shower and not a bathtub. This works out fine for my wife and I since we are shower people but if you are a bath person you better ask when you make reservations.

My biggest complaint about the room is the television. It is a very small size and has a limited amount of channels. One of the channels it does not get is ESPN and with me being a sports fan it is hard for me to do without my ESPN. I know what they say, you come to a casino to gamble and not to watch television. I did find a bar in the hotel that did have ESPN so all was not lost. Another thing I like is the security guard stationed by the elevators on weekends checking room keys. Gives one an extra added sense of security.

One of the things I really dislike is the lack of furniture in the lobby making it very inconvenient if you are waiting for someone. Also like many other hotel-casinos, to get to restaurants one has to go through the casino.

If you are looking for a really great deal on a room and food - check out the hotel's slot tournaments. They are held about four times a year and offer really good deals.

This is an almost brand new hotel that opened last year. The hotel features suites and home office rooms along with a free continental breakfast. Each room, in addition to the usual amenities of television, hair dryer, clock radio, and hair dryer, comes with a microwave and a refrigerator along with a dataport with high speed internet access. The hotel also offers a shuttle service to the casinos that are located about a mile away.

The Teahouse is one of the 10 restaurants located in the Imperial Palace Hotel. The Teahouse is located in what the hotel calls its dining plaza. Also located in the plaza are Salsa's, Ming Terrace, Seahouse and Morrelli's. Several times we came to the dining plaza with the intent of eating at one of the other restaurants besides the Teahouse, but had to eat at the Teahouse because the others were not open. Our biggest complaint about the Teahouse is the slow service. The three or four times we have eaten there - the waitress has had to come and apologize for the time it was taking to prepare our order. When we did get our order the food has always been good with very large portions.

The Emperor's Buffet is one of ten restaurants located in the Imperial Palace. While the buffet is nothing to call home about it is a lot better than others I have tried.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and also for something called the Graveshift Grill - where between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m. one may purchase a buffet complete with cooked to order steak and eggs for only $3.49 It is too bad they don't offer the cooked to order egg station during their regular breakfast buffet, although there is a pre-cooked ham and cheese omelet and vegetarian omelet available on the serving line. There is also eggs Benedict and scrambled eggs.

Lunch offered a wide variety of entrees although that night at dinner my wife thought some of the vegetables were warmed over from the lunch that day. The seafood buffet on Friday night offered a wide variety of seafood selections to choose from.

The only drawback to this buffet is one must serve themselves everything, including drinks. The only thing the help does is bring you extra napkins and clean off your table when you are finished.

If you find yourself at the Grand Casino at lunchtime like we did and you don't feel like a heavy meal from the buffet then head to Roxy's Diner.

Decorated in the style of a 1950's diner, complete with old advertising signs on the walls, Roxy's offers a wide variety of sandwiches and blue plate specials.

When I am on the coast I eat seafood at almost every meal and Roxy's fried crab claws were some of the best I have ever eaten. Some friends of mine ordered the house salad to go along with their order of catfish. We all agreed when the salads arrived that they were a meal in themselves.

The service was also fast and friendly with our waitress making sure everyone had plenty of refills on ice tea and cold drinks.

One of the best buffets I have ever encountered. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the dinner buffet includes all you can eat crab legs every night of the week. And I mean all you can eat.

We were staying at the Imperial Palace last year when a slots tournament was being held. After talking to some of the players and finding out how much fun it was we put our names on the casino's email list to let us know when the next one would be. Due to other commitments we were not able to participate in one until this past August. Actually it was my wife who participated in the tournament but I got to come along and enjoy the benefits.

For $300 we were given three nights accomodations, lunch and dinner, including a banquet the final night of the tourney, an open bar, and a free t-shirt, along with a chance to walk away with $25,000. We flew in a day early so she was among the first to register, allowing her a good choice at the hours she wished to gamble.

The way the tournament works is twice a day for two days, the participant goes to the slots tournament area and chooses a machine that is already loaded and then proceeds for the next 15 minutes to try and see how many points he/she can accumulate. At the end of the two days the one with the most points goes home with $25,000. My wife chose the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. due to the fact we were meeting friends for lunch at various restaurants around Biloxi during our stay. Lunch and dinner is served buffet style and the food was very good, especially the seafood served for dinner the final night.

Located just off the I-110 ramp on Caillavet Street, Desporte and Sons Seafood Inc. is a convenient place to stop and pick up some good seafood before leaving Biloxi.

In business for over 100 years, Desported and Sons specializes in Gulf seafood. They carry fresh and frozen shrimp in all sizes, live and boiled crabs, fresh crabmeat, oysters, red snapper, speckled trout, flounder, lobster, and stuffed crab, just to name a few of the items they carry.

In addition, they will pack all seafood items for travel for free.

On our last trip we flew and Artie packed up two boxes of seafood for us to carry home with us. They even sell the ice chests if you forget yours. They also will ship seafood.

Desporte and Sons opens daily at 7 a.m. Call 435-2175 and ask for Artie.