Catfish Bend Casino — Attraction in Burlington

We are currently on vacation & doing some “casino hopping” on our Harley. 5 casinos in 6 days & 1500 miles. We checked in about 4pm & was at the tables by 6pm. When we 1st walked in the craps table was open & that’s the main game my husband plays. We played for 2 hours & during that time 2 or 3 other people joined the table. We went to go eat dinner at one of your restaurants & told them we’d be back within an hour to continue playing craps. During that hour they closed the table. It wasn’t even 9pm. We asked the pit boss if they would open the craps table again & he said nope & just walked away. He was incredibly rude. There were 4 tables that had dealers standing around with no players & at least 4 suits walking around the pit. So we asked again about it & he said no I’m not opening it I’d rather just send dealers home than reopen the craps table. During the time we did play craps we were up over $1200 & had tipped the dealers more than $200. My husband and I are both black card hosted players at our local casino in Dubuque Iowa. We each had $10,000 in our pocket to spend at your casino. The other 4 casinos we’ve been to this week: Lakeside Hotel & Casino in Osceola, IA on Saturday 8/10 so of course the craps table was open & we played craps & I played blackjack until 2am; River Band Casino in Mayetta, KS on Sunday 8/11. We asked them if they would open the craps table & they had no problem opening the table for just 2 people & we played until 2am; Kansas Crossing Casino in Pittsburgh, KS on Monday 8/12 & Tuesday 8/13 & they opened the craps table ON A MONDAY & TUESDAY for just 2 people & we played until they closed at midnight; Isle of Capri in Boonville, MO on Wednesday 8/14 & left their craps table open for us while we went to eat dinner AND also opened their double deck blackjack table for me & we played both back and forth until 3am; So now we come to your casino on Thursday 8/15. You closed the craps table before 9pm when you had play on it & we had asked that it stay open until we get back from eating. IT’S A THURSDAY night. Not like it was a Monday or Tuesday night but a THURSDAY. Your pit bosses were all rude as hell. I won a little over $2,000 & my husband won about $200 from your tables & got up & cashed out & walked away. Your casino had the potential to rake in $20k on a Thursday night from us. We left the casino floor by 10:30pm. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve ever left a casino that early & I play several times a week. My husband & I make a hell of a lot of money & blackjack, poker & craps is something we enjoy & do on a regular basis. Since we were on our Harley & it was storming bad we had no choice but to spend the night at your property. I can guarantee we will never return & will be letting everyone we know about our experience at your casino & encourage them to not even bother playing at your casino. All of the dealers were awesome & actually did inform us that this is a frequent situation that happens. Instead of opening a table people are requesting to play at & spend money at the pit boss would rather send dealers home because he’s too lazy to do a little work to open a table even...

I've been to a handful of casino's across the midwest and south including the worlds biggest casino Winstar. I have a love/hate relationship with Catfish Bend though with it being my local. The payouts can be nice, but here recently lucks not been on my side. First their point system for rewards isn't bad at all. Every dollar played is one point, and every 200 points is a dollar worth of free play. Lots of random drawings and giveaways for the price of 500 points per entry which stacks up quickly. A few casinos I've been to required 1500 points to even start earning free play. Which still equaled out to a dollar a point. Second their game selection isn't as big but they're constantly adding in new games. I would say a majority being the three reeled multi-denom slots, and the earlier 2000's video slots. They do have a good portion of new/popular slots like Ocean Magic, Scarab, Dancing Drums, 88 Fortunes, Quick Hits, etc. Third being drinks, they have a wrap around bar in the center of the casino. Also another hidden bar in the Pullmans lounge. They do have free soda fountains located in smoking and non - smoking. Fourth being they do not have a high limit room. They do have a few high denom slots, but it's not really as enjoyable as walking into a high limit room. Fifth they do have a ton of different table games, Craps, High lo, Fortune, Roulette, etc. As much as I love craps I do enjoy casinos that have virtual craps aswell, but this one does not. They have no virtual table games besides different kinds of poker, unlike some who have craps and roulette. Lastly they do offer alot of hotel options. 3 different hotels on property and plenty close by around town, Also there is a buffet and another restaurant on property aswell. An Arcade and a waterpark for...

Make sure and check the machine you’re playing doesn’t have a balance on it before you start. If not, you may be detained (while they check the security tapes) and accused of theft - which happened to me today.

Worst experience in any business ever. Unprofessional “security” and staff. After a large man got in my face & accosted me, telling me I owed him $20 he left on a machine I had played, I walked away and told him to get security but to leave me alone. He said he wouldn’t leave me alone and started aggressively pursing me across the casino. When I went to security I was told I would be thrown out (!!) if they found out I was lying — which, of course, I was not lying. The aggressive hostile man was never chastised. The casino staff coddled him & treated me like the problem. This behavior - following and harassing women - is apparently tolerated at catfish bend casino in Burlington, iowa.

If the casino has polices that you need to check the balance left on machines before playing, that policy should be posted for all to see. If they have an unwritten policy about how you leave your chair, and what that means about you returning (as this man claimed), that unwritten policy should be posted as well.

The way things were handled today - over $20 measly dollars - was abhorrent. I started coming to this casino with my grandma, who was friends with the owner. She would be rolling in her grave. This place is unprofessional - and, additionally, wreaks of smoke. It used to be half non-smoking, no more.

Note: I contacted catfish bend before posting this review asking to discuss my experience. No one has responded to me still - days later. Very poorly run...