Paragon Casino

Our final destination on our recent trip was Paragon Casino in Marksville, LA. For specific info on this casino, you can also consult the American Casino Guide.

I had been curious about this casino for many years, and the VPFree Video Poker page indicated that the casino had decent video poker at the quarter level. However, the last update of that info was about 2 years ago, so I was a bit skeptical as most casinos have been downgrading their video poker pay tables in recent years. I really was not hopeful that we would find such good games. Also, while playing video poker at the 'Shoe, we struck up an acquaintance with another retired couple, who also had been in education, and they warned us about how smoky the casino was. So, as we drove to Paragon, I was not that enthusiastic.

Front of Paragon Casino

Hotel at Paragon

Upon arrival, we parked in the garage, which is our habit. We prefer parking in a garage to protect our car from the elements. As we approached the automatic doors of the south entrance, anytime they slid open, we could smell a strong smoke odor emanate from the casino. Well, our Horseshoe friends were correct about that.

After joining the player's club, we headed to registration to get our room. Check in was relatively easy. One elevator was not working, but that was not really an issue, even though it was never repaired during our 2-night stay. I wonder how long it had been out of order prior to our arrival, and is it still out of order?

Hotel lobby tries to recreate the environment of this part of Louisiana. Pretty nice!

This shot reminds me a little of Sam's Town in Vegas.

Residents of the faux swamp in the hotel lobby.

The room was adequate, at best. The sliding door on the shower did not want to slide, the water in the tub was difficult to turn off, and there was very little pressure in the shower. I could nitpick all the little things wrong with the room, but I would be here all day, so I won't. We've certainly stayed in worse rooms during our 41 years of marriage, but we expect better from the casinos we frequent. We also noticed debris strewn about the halls, and I watched as hotel personnel passed by frequently without picking any of it up. There was one water bottle on the floor outside a neighboring room. I could have picked it up, but I wanted to see how long it would stay there. It remained there for over 24 hours.

The casino was a bit messy, too, mostly as a result of smokers who feel entitled to dump ashes on machines. The far south end of the casino does have a small non-smoking area, and we played there awhile. However, most of the machines there that we were interested in did not work properly. For example, most had keys that would stick, but many had monitors with visual issues.  In fact, this was a problem throughout the entire casino. In the course of our 2-night stay, if I found a machine that worked well, I tended to stay with it a long time.

Video poker area of the casino. I wonder why no one is playing? Pay tables are poor!

Area with slot machines in the casino. Again, even the slots were not being played much during our stay.

Here are the table games. Guess what? Hardly anyone here, either.

And how about their games? Were there any of the 99.54% VP games I was interested in? Nope, those were long gone. I saw no good games with a return of 98% or above for low rollers. I only checked the dollar or higher level on a couple of machines, and saw nothing there I could recommend.

We ate only 1 meal at the casino, and that was shortly after our arrival. We ate at Roxy's Diner, and neither of us was impressed with the quality of the food or the service. Cleanliness was also lacking there. On our first morning at the casino, we walked next door to the McDonald's for breakfast. For lunch on the second day, we went to a local restaurant which I will report about later.

We did drive through the RV park. There does seem to be shuttle service from the RV park to the casino. In fact, as we were walking back from McDonald's, the shuttle driver offered us a ride, which we declined. I do not know what the rates at the RV park are, but it looks like a very pleasant place. Occupancy was very low, though; I would estimate that only 10% or fewer of the sites were occupied. There are also some cabins.

Section of the RV park. Where are the RVs? Well, I see some way in the back. The sites look nice, so why is it so empty?

Another view of the almost empty park. Along the back you can see a row of cabins.

Cabins along the perimeter of the RV park.

So, we are done with Paragon. "Been there, done that!" as they say. It did afford us an opportunity to see some of Louisiana we are not familiar with, but there is no incentive to return. Now, if they had good video poker, I would gladly return and play and put up with the other shortcomings, but I doubt that will ever happen.