Casino Camping for Non-Gamblers

When we first started fulltiming, about 5 years ago, I was surprised to learn that some people who camp or park at casinos never gamble.  Gambling had been a hobby of ours for many years so it seemed odd to us, but since then we’ve met many RVers who do this.  Why do they visit casinos?  They tell me it’s all about the free parking, and free or low cost camping.  Not all casino camping is free or low cost, but much of it is.  Here are a few examples, from some locations that I’ve recently updated or added to our list: Isle of Capri, Lake Charles, LA has both free overnight parking without hookups and $10/night with electric Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino, Sunland Park, NM offers RV sites with water and electric for $10/night and has a dump station on site. Win-River Casino, Redding, CA gives you 3 nights free dry parking. Sometimes casinos require play to receive discounts in their RV parks, and rates change too, so if you see a low price advertised it’s good to inquire before you start your trip.  We’ve also seen the opposite, where a casino gives you “free play” or a cash rebate in return for staying in their campground. This is often as much as 50% off the price of camping.  Their intention of course is to get you into the casino.  Free play has to be run through a machine before you can cash it out.  If they give you $10 free play pick a machine, then figure how many hands you have to play to equal $10.  Play exactly... Read more

Top Midwest Casino RV Parks (Part 2)

Midwest Gaming and Travel magazine runs an annual survey of readers called the “Reader’s Choice Awards” to find out which casinos are their favorites in various categories.  Along with asking which casinos have the best video poker, best lounge, friendliest staff, etc. they also ask about the best RV park.  Read more  Read More →

Top Midwest Casino RV Parks

Midwest Gaming and Travel magazine runs an annual survey of readers to find out which casinos are their favorites in various categories.  It’s called the “Reader’s Choice Awards”.   Along with asking which casinos have the best video poker, best lounge, friendliest staff, etc. they also ask about the best RV park. The ratings are separated into two categories; commercial casinos, and Native American casinos.  You may find the results of all these surveys to be useful for planning your casino based travels, especially if you haven’t visited the area before.  This week I’ll share with you the Readers Choice Awards 2009 for the commercial casinos with the best RV parks: Read more  Read More →

New Policy at Thunder Valley Casino, CA

Good news for once… Casinos change their RV parking policy from time to time and for various reasons.  Construction projects sometimes take up too much space and RV’s are out.  Local ordinances occasionally get in the way, and we all remember the battles over Laughlin.  Once in a while the “bad apple” spoils it for everyone by abusing the casino’s hospitality and trying to make a residence - along with unsightly litter and other problem behavior.  Thankfully this last situation is very rare, although it gets a lot of publicity. But today it’s good news that I bring to you!  After several years of inconsistant policy, mostly disallowing any RV parking day or night, the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, CA has a new policy called “Park and Play”.  The short version is; you can park there for up to 3 days while enjoying the casino.  The casino’s website explains it, and also gives more details about the policy. Thunder Valley is conveniently located near Rocklin about 8 miles from I-80.  By the way, one of our favorite Camping World stores is located in Rocklin! Happy travels, and good luck in the casinos! Mac www.CasinoCamper.com  Read More →

Update: Reno Overnight RV Parking Ban, Enforcement Eases Up

As of February 11, 2009, the city council has decided not to actively enforce an ordinance that prohibits sleeping overnight in an RV unless you’re in an approved campground.  Instead, they will only respond to specific complaints.  This clears the way for business owners (Casinos, big-box stores, etc.) to decide whether to allow RVers to park overnight on their property, but allows the city to step in when necessary to respond to legitimate problems.   Read more  Read More →

Casino RV Resort Receives Woodall’s 5 Stars

The Casino Campers are back on the road! Chris and I have left our winter haunts in Florida and are traveling west.  Today we’re at the IP in Biloxi, MS and plan to be at the Hollywood, Bay St. Louis tomorrow.  From there we’ll make a family stop in Texas, then head out for three seasons of casino fun and other RV adventures.  Now that we’re back on the road you can count on more frequent posts from me — hopefully each weekend. In previous posts I’ve told you that casinos offer a great variety of RV accommodations ranging from simple blacktop boondocking to resort level RV parks.  Yesterday, a friend of mine at Midwest Gaming and Travel sent me a press release from Grand Casino, Hinckley MN, announcing that their RV resort just received a Woodall’s 5 star rating.  The press release is reprinted below:   Read more  Read More →

Casino Travel Planning

We’re in Tampa, enjoying a mild winter and planning our 2009 travels.  In the continuum of planning styles we fall somewhere around the middle.  We know some people who never plan at all and just decide where to go when it’s time to break camp.  At the other extreme, I met a guy who plans meticulously knowing 12 to 18 months in advance where they will spend each night. We have a general plan for the year, with anchor points that we commit to ahead of time.  Everything in between these anchor points is set in Jell-O.  We often stay longer, leave early, and change destinations as we go.  This holds true for our casino-based travels too.  We have long range plans for where we want to be; “Las Vegas”, “Gulf Coast”, “Midwest” for example, but we usually wait to make specific plans until we receive all our casino mail and offers for the month. Read more  Read More →

Free and Low Cost RV Parking and Camping

We’re not just talking about Wally-docking and casino camping.  There are many free and low cost camping opportunities in places far away from a paved parking lot.  As part of our “Ways to Save” week I’ve collected a list of links that will help you find parking and camping opportunities all across the country.  I’m sure I’ve left out many good resources, so if you know of one that I haven’t listed please share it with us all in the comments area at the bottom. Read more  Read More →

Casino Camping Location Report – Southern Indiana

If you’ve been following my posts we’ve taken a quick trip through the central Midwest, stopping at casinos in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.  We’re traveling with a schedule to keep, so we had to skip some RV friendly places, but we’ll catch those next time.  Our last stop in Indiana was on the Ohio River at the Horseshoe Casino in Elizabeth.  Read more  Read More →

Casino Camping Location Reports – Joliet, IL and Michigan City, IN

Lately I’ve been writing about casino camping locations across the Midwest.  Last week I told you about the Quad Cities area of Iowa/Illinois.  After that stop we headed east, visiting the Empress Casino in Joliet, IL and the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, IN.  Read more  Read More →

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