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.

We have played in the Harrah's managed Prairie Band casino near Topeka and, on limited experience, can see no difference in machine performance. We had some pretty decent wins; no royals but a couple straight flushes and plenty of quads.