Easy Transportation to Chicago Casinos

[centja1]

I'm in town on business for a few days and don't have a car. Is there any way to get out to the casinos in East Chicago w/o paying $50 for a cab ride? I understand that East Chicago isn't the best area of town, so I was hoping to avoid using the bus or the trains.

thanks

[phuc]

Depending on where you are staying, there is a shuttle bus that takes you from downtown Chicago to Resorts (the bigger of the two poker rooms). Not sure about the Trump bus. I'll take a look to see if I can find some more detailed info.

[phuc]

Ahh, here's the schedule with costs.

http://www.resortseastchicago.com/transportation.shtml

It says that you need a valid "R card" and ID to get the bonus dollars back when you arrive at the casino, but it's been my experience (back when it was Harrah's) that you could get on the bus with your ID and get a membership card when you got there to get your bonus money back.

[centja1]

have you ever done this? it kind of sucks that i'd have to get out of there by 11:15, but i can't be choosy.

are you saying that you get $12 in chips or something when you get there?

[phuc]

I used to do this back when I was in college and didn't have a car...but it was also Harrah's back then. I don't think things have changed that much though. In any case, I think you pay $12 upfront, and when you arrive, they give you a voucher (probably $10) that you can cash in at the cage for cash or chips. So far, I haven't seen "play-only tokens" or anything. I'd guess you would be able to just cash the voucher in at a cage for real money. Either way, even if you end up paying $12 for the ride, it's a cheap fare. Driving in a car will cost you $3.00 in tolls to get there anyway unless you go the long way.

The other thing that sucks about it is that you have to be fairly rigid with your timing. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time between getting up from the table to cash out and getting out to the bus depot.

[centja1]

thanks, i really appreciate the info

[phuc]

To be honest, I'm not sure I understand the schedule on the Resorts website. I'm assuming you'd ride from one of the hotels in the loop. The column detailing "Package Information" says $12, but below it says that it's $11 per person and you get $10 back in tokens. Not sure. My guess is you can call the number to find out:

Coach USA 773-254-6400 ext. 2054

[centja1]

just to let everyone know, the trip was $12 round trip from the Sheraton on North Water Street downtown and I received $10 back once at the casino.

I'm still not sure the trip was worth it as I was led to believe that there were no stops other than the two downtown stops that were mentioned but we made about 8 stops on the south side and other locations on the way back. The return trip seriously took about 50 minutes.

The poker room (Resorts) seemed very nice, but there was a lengthy waiting list and several empty tables. I signed up for 5/10 and was about 10th on the list while there were at least 6 tables not in action. At the same time, there were two half-full 7-stud games going. More of a complaint about dealer scheduling than anything. Also was at least mildly surprised that 5/10 LHE is the lowest limit offered. I haven't been in a live cardroom that size that didn't offer 3/6 or 4/8. No big deal, but still somewhat of a surprise.

I only got to play for about an hour and a half before having to get back on the bus at 11:15. Overall so-so experience although I'm sure my transportation situation had something to do with it.

[SheridanCat]

I'm surprised about all the stops on the way back. It must depend up on the driver a bit. I took that bus to Resorts yesterday - from the Hilton, but same bus - and it went directly to Resorts and directly back from Resorts later.

For lower limit action, or decent no-limit action, you need to play at Trump rather than Resorts.

Regards,

T

Next time, catch the Bus at the Cermak-Chinatown Red Line stop. The latest return trip from the casino is much later - 5:15 a.m.