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Ho-Chunk Casino
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
12 reviews for Ho-Chunk Casino
i'm tempted to give ho-chunk a 5 star review for the guy stopping me at the door demanding to know how old i was. (i'm 31!)
the food was worse than i thought it would be, but everything else lived up to my expectations. elderly wisconsinites and vaguely trucker-looking dudes smoking like chimneys throwing money into slots.
the chiming machines, blinking lights, and smokey haze lulled me into wasting $20 on slots.
to be fair though, a co-worker or mine just won $12,000 playing a keno machine, so people DO win sometimes.
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The clouds of smoke in this place really get to me after a few hours. There are only two craps tables (both were playing $5 bets around midnight on a Friday), a handful of $5 Blackjack tables, more $10 Blackjack and other card games going on, two Roulette tables, and lots and lots of slots.
I played poker here a year ago, but didn't make it there this past trip and it was OK.
The physical decor and such of the place isn't bad, the buffet was pretty gross when I last had it, but what do you expect when you're in Wisconsin Dells?
I've been going to Ho-chunk for a few years for the Wednesday night seafood buffet (and then playing some 21 afterwards). The king crab legs, which are the highlight of this buffet and the only justification for the price they charge, were always inconsistent in terms of quality. They would use ridiculous tactics, like over-salting some batches or only putting out the claws, to stop people from eating them so much. Fine, I was there for the quantity not quality.
But now, they are doing snow crab legs instead of king crab, yet charging the same price. I felt deceived, because they clearly did not make much of an effort to let their customers know about the menu change, and I didn't find out until I actually started eating. When I complained, they told me it was the "best decision for their business." I can understand that, but I'm pretty sure deceiving your customers is a bad business strategy. I could have gotten the same mediocre quality seafood at any run-of-the-mill Chinese buffet for $10!
Nonetheless, taking the king crab away really took away all the incentive to go to this dingy casino with moody dealers and pit bosses staring you down every time you make some money. Aren't buffets just a marketing scheme anyway, to get more people to come to the casino? I'll throw my money away somewhere else.
So we check into our hotel (The Atlantis, which was equally bad) and come to the Ho Chunk Casino. I wanted to spend a weekend in Vegas, but we didn't have the funds so we decided to come here to the Dells instead.
First of all, the casino is just slots. There were very few table games and I hate slots. The poker room was okay. I played for a couple hours and wound up breaking even while my wife played bingo. The poker room is separate from the hotel and you have to drive there or take their shuttle which is absurd.
The buffet in this place was god awful. I had been told what a great buffet this was by some co workers. Boy were they wrong. Basically, the buffet at Circus Circus in Las Vegas makes this joint look like a freaking 5 star gourmet restaurant.
Save your money and go 2 hours the other way if you live in Chicago to the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, MI.
Call ahead poker reservation.
Most table games with tons of slots, bingo, and horse betting.
Steak house was very good. The bone in rib eye good, however not as good as Flemming's. Only place in Wisconson I saw girls that were under a size 8.
We have only eatten Wed Seafood buffet. But you eatten there and you are a seafood fan,watch out!! so much food to pick out from. The crab legs are just so yummy and worth the drive and all that cracking you have to do. But don't worry,they hand you a handy little tool for cracking those crab legs. A family member loves frog legs and she gets her fill there. And all kinds of shrimps,even Bubaa in Forest Gump would be proud. And the good thing is,even though it's seafood buffet,they still serve up some awesome juicy prime rib and chicken too.
Just make sure to sign up for thier Reward Card before you head upstairs, so you can get some discount.
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WOW. The worst food experience I have ever had! The food tasted like it had been sitting out for days. The seafood was not fresh and its foulness cut through despite being deep fried. The cheesecake had a hardened shell around it from sitting out so long. Everything was stale, the place was dirty, and it was one of the most awful and depressing eating experiences of my life. At 15 bucks per person, I at least wanted to eat one thing that wasn't stale or overcooked, but that did not happen. Afterwards, my boyfriend and I both felt sick and it was positively the worst money ever spent on food.
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Man, do I feel old! I wasn't even carded coming in. :p
Typical casino for the Midwest. Lots of crappy slot machines and some card tables. We played Blackjack which was fun. I might get some flack here but I wish they'd go smoke-free. I had to take a shower after getting back to my hotel because I smelled so awful. The on-site restaurant choices didn't thrill me either.
Ho-Chunk was my first casino experience, back when you could still get in at the age of 18 (its now 21 to enter). Plenty of slot machines (from penny to dollar) and table games to choose from. During really busy times (Christmas Day apparently is a busy time) it can be hard to get a seat at a $5 blackjack table but is a lot of fun once you do--especially since you never know who else is sitting at the table--could be a couple traveling from Florida in their Airstream, or someone who went to school with your aunts.
There is a very good restaurant in the hotel/convention center--steaks and seafood with what I thought was a slightly Italian/euro-eclectic influence.
Overall very clean but some of the slot aisles are cramped and hard to maneuver--especially when the oxygen-tank set is in full force.
Pretty large casino full of swollen, elderly smokers pumping dollars into slots. The kind of casino you might see in Vegas back in beginning. Except replace the mobsters with rural Wisconsinites. No fancy shows, or theme casino here, just good old fashion red carpet, and various other colors that make your eyes hurt after hours. The game tables are nice but the poker tent is like 190 degrees. You don't get free alcohol so don't go if that is what you are into. All in all a good casino experience.
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I typically will not patronize Indian casinos, not because I have anything against indians, but because they are notorious for having very tight slots due to lack of competition. I would much rather go to Vegas and try my hand at the looser slots on Fremont Street. But in the middle of Wisconsin where Vegas is only a flight of the imagination, you go here when you want to gamble, and how can you pass up a place with this name anyhow? I'm naturally apprehensive when we get there, but like a cat checking out a dripping faucet, I'm nervous, yet irresistably drawn. Well it turns out my theory was either flawed or I'm an anomoly because third quarter in, I hit a 125 dollar jackpot. So now I love indian casinos (so long as they're named Ho-Chunk and in Wisconsin).
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If you are ever in the area and you are a casino fan than be sure to stop by here. There are some big differences between this casino and the casinos in the Chicago area. There is a large selection of low minimum tables and the majority of the machines are low minimum too. It is much easier to stretch your dollar here than it is in any Chicago area casino. Many of the people here of from Chicago who are on vacation. It is a pretty big casino and while there is always a good size crowd here it never gets uncomfortably packed. I always have fun here but I always lose. I have never won a dime here and I usually win something whenever I go to a casino around Chicago.
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