More About the "Boat In A Moat"

Casino Queen in East St.Louis has one of the prettiest and most popular casino RV Parks in the Midwest. Situated right alongside the Mississippi River and directly across from the City of St. Louis, RVs parked in the pull-through sites get a spectacular view of the famed Gateway Arch and the St. Louis skyline. The new "boat in a moat" casino will be closer to the RV Park than the old river boat is. This RV Park is also a great base camp for touring the city. A Metro Train station is nearby and it takes tourists across the river, with the Gateway Arch as the first stop.

Free shuttle service is provided from the RV Park to and from the casino. This RV Park also gives incentive coupons, but they're only given once (upon check-in), $5 matchplay for the driver, $5 matchplay for the navigator, 2-for-one breakfast and 35% off at the gift shop.

A Boat In A Moat

Up until this year, casinos in Illinois had been traditional riverboat style boats permanently docked on a river. This summer Casino Queen in East St. Louis, IL will become the state's first gaming facility not actually on a river. Situated 686 feet from the Mississippi River, the new 120,000 square-foot casino is a building atop a barge sitting in water about 10 feet deep -- a casino style known as a "boat in a moat." We stopped at Casino Queen last month and found construction on the new, larger casino to be progressing. They expect the grand opening of the new casino to be in August...and the folks at the casino promise that the air quality will be far superior than it is on the old riverboat. Meanwhile, the old boat is still open for business and is very busy, as usual.

A Good Buy In Central CA

Many RVers like casinos for the free overnight parking they offer. But some RV gaming fans don't like to do the "dry camping in the parking lot" thing. Where available, we prefer the casinos that have an RV Park because of the added convenience and security. We'll end up staying a few days longer at a casino if it has an RV Park. In many cases, RV Parks at casinos offer incentive coupons that will offset the camping fee.

In central California there's a pretty 43-space KOA RV Park at Feather Falls Casino in Oroville that gives incentives. We stayed at this park last year shortly after it opened and we were delighted not only with the comfortable site, but with the casino coupons we received. Every day they give each RV guest a $20 coupon for casino play plus a discount meal coupon. That's coupons every day for every RV guest. So, for us, we got two sets of coupons each day. This RV Park is still relatively new...if you haven't heard about it by now, it's worth a trip into Oroville for a few days of relaxation and gaming.

Casino Camping Blog Launch

Welcome to the Casino Camping Blog. What a great time to launch a blog designed for RVing gaming enthusiasts! It's the season when many of us are planning 2007 summer travels. Is a "casino-hopping" stop part of your plan for this year? Jack and I are full-time travelers, so we "brake for casinos" frequently. This year I hope we'll be able to work in a visit to the Mother Ship -- Las Vegas.

I look forward to sharing casino camping information that you may find of interest and value...and I welcome your comments, questions and suggestions.