*** MIA -

*** MIA - *** (7) $1 8/5 SDDB bartops @ at the main bar next to the cashier.

*** MIA - *** (4) 25c Game Maker 40/8 AA slant-tops next to the emergency near poker room.

All All-American video poker is now completely gone. NOTHING PLAYABLE at the quarter level. The $ super double double bonus VP remains at the bar.

There are 7 SDDB (99.69%) $ machines at the main bar next to the cashier. With .1% cash back and another .1% at Elite renewal + coupons, it gets close to 100% for $ players.

The (3) $1 AA Game Makers slant-tops in the alcove beside the poker room have been downgraded. The (7) 25c games remain intact.

Prairie Band eliminated two more $1 AA and only three remain and they're consistently busy.

Harrah's Prairie Band is now Prairie Band Casino & Resort. The slot club has switched from Total Rewards but is keeping $5/point for slots and $10/point for VP. 100 points = $1 for 0.1% CB. 4X CB on Sundays in July.

*** MIA - *** (5) 25c AA Game Maker bartops at the bar. (5) $1 AA Game Maker bartops at the bar. (3) $1 PKM Game Makers @ the "smokey" bar.

Spent the weekend at Prairie Band and thought I would report on some items. First, all staff we encountered were so friendly and helpful that my wife & I could not stop talking about it. This includes valet parking, bellmen, hotel clerks, waiters, bartenders, dealers, etc. I mean everyone was very nice. This casino is also gambler friendly, imo. They have more promotions, offer coupons on their website, more mailers, reasonable room rates, reasonable restaurant & bar pricing that even a low roller like myself feels like they are wanted. The KC area casinos are not near as inviting (btw, the last 2 offers I tried to redeem at Harrah's NKC never happened, one being a cash email offer and the other a multi-point day mailing). Before getting to the vp, imo the rooms are clean & comfortable and the restaurants are good (not great) with the buffet being my least favorite (I'm not much of a buffet person). As far as vp goes, I did not see any AA or Pickem in bartops. They have all been replaced with newer machines like at the new casino bar. It appears all the AA Gamemakers along the wall opposite the bars are still intact, although I never got a chance to play them as they were always full. When I walked by scanning the machines, I did not see anyone playing AA. There are also 2 slant-top machines, I believe they are Gamemakers, south of the Buffet that have .25 AA on them. One other item that was of some interest if it is true is a bartender advised us that as of January 1, 2008 Harrah's will no longer be running the Prairie Band. Some of you may already know this but it was news to me and as of hearing this, I have mixed feelings regarding whether that will be good or bad.

HPB still has 3 $ PKM games at the "smokey" bar.

The 25c and $1 AA are still alive and well.

Harrah's Prairie Band: there are 12 Gamemakers along a wall, 6 quarter and 6 dollar, of which 3 of the quarter and 5 of the dollar machines have AA. In addition, there are 5 quarter and at least 5 dollar Gamemakers with AA at the bartop. These machines tend not to be as busy. Hardly anyone was playing dollars while I was there; the quarter machines were getting lots of play, but I didn't see a single other person playing AA. FWIW, while I lost money, the machines "felt" honest. The hotel and the steak house were nice, and I found the staff to be friendly but not very knowledgeable. Their web page sometimes has coupon offers (e.g. $5 match play, $15 off steakhouse, 2 for 1 buffet, etc.).

A couple days ago we visited the Prairie Band casino north of Topeka, owned by the Pottawatomi tribe and managed by Harrah's. They recently made extensive renovations and added a new hotel section and RV park. We drove our motorhome and when I checked in at the RV park, the clerk asked for my Harrah's players card. As I showed my Diamond card I asked if it was good for a discount and he replied it was and Diamond players stayed for free. Well, this is getting off to a good start. The park was, in fact, new and in great shape. It seemed to me all the renovations went to hotel, conference rooms, Diamond lounge, lobby, etc, and nothing for the actual casino. It is the same old crowded, smoky casino I remembered from the last visit. The VP pay schedules were dismal -- as in 6/5 for JoB -- with the exception of a half dozen AA machines in 25 cents and another six or so in $1. We had a couple pretty good runs on each denomination and walked away with some of their money. The new Diamond lounge was very nice, one of the nicest we have seen. However, it wasn't getting much use and probably will sit empty most of the time. Why? They charge their customers for food (hefty full restaurant prices) and have no alcoholic beverages. We have been in Diamond lounges in KC, Las Vegas (Harrah's and Rio), Laughlin, Tunica, and Phoenix and this is the first only one that charges customers for food or drink. When we mentioned this to the manager, she said people were coming in from Kansas City and Topeka and eating up all the food. She then proceeded to gripe about the snacks (pretzels, etc) that were being consumed. In fact food was quite expensive period. I paid $7.50 for a simple turkey sandwich, no sides. I also got the impression they don't see very many Diamond players -- another reason the lounge will sit empty. When we paid for a buffet lunch with comp points the clerk seemed quite impressed by Lucky Lucy having 20,000 points in her account. We intended to stay a couple days but one night was enough. Scratch this one off the list.

Harrah's Prairie Band isn't for everyone. First of all, there's the 90 mile drive each way from KC. (I happen to find long drives with the CD player full of tunes very relaxing, so I don't mind.) Also, it's a small casino with the usual limitations that brings (e.g., buffet is good, but doesn't have a lot of selection). But please don't put this casino in the same category as other Indian casinos. This one is a full-fledged member of the Harrah's chain, and at least APPEARS TO ME to be run legitimately. It doesn't have the strange "off-brand" slot/VP machines you find in other Indian casinos. The machines are the same ones (IGT, Ballys, etc.) you find in Las Vegas which presumably means they can't be tampered with. Prairie Band also has the same silly promotions & contests other Harrah's casinos have. The staff is very friendly and the customer service excellent. They are currently undergoing renovation and new construction. The hotel is being tripled in size and they're adding a steak house** amongst other things.