Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino — Attraction in Louisiana

I really wish I could convey the feeling of disappointment and sheer aggravation I experienced during my visit. The first contact at the hotel was waiting nearly 15 minutes for someone to even greet us and check us in when I finally did see the guy, he had a dirty plunger in his hand. After a few minutes of talking to this guy who was rude in a very 'smile and flip you the bird' kind of way, we got our key cards...3rd floor...at the end of the hall (this is important to remember). We walked down the hall, stepping over towels and bedding the teenagers that we had to share the floor with and left lying around. My gut told me to leave but we persevered. We got settled into the room and decided to hit the casino floor, as we made our way back down the length of the hall to the connecting door between the casino area and the hotel, let me tell you the 3rd floor looked and smelled like a Grateful Dead concert but hey, it's a cultural thing I suppose. Being my wife's birthday and all, I wanted her to have some fun, we overlooked the hotel knowing we would not be in the room until much later so we bet that they would be passed out by the time we were ready for bed...more on that later. We wanted a quick bite to eat so to The Spotted Horse we went. $51 later...mealy shrimp cocktail but pretty decent crab cakes and 2 drinks. Of to the slots we went pretty loose slots after 9pm but virtually non-existent floor service. At 9:30 we decided to have dinner...my bad...THE WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE OF MY ADULT LIFE...not only did The Spotted Horse kitchen staff send out cold food, it was cold,bad and days old then reheated said food in the microwave and told us it was new...problem was, wife had put black pepper on her food before sending it back...THE SAME A LA CARTE ASPARAGUS CAME BACK...ON THE SAME PLATE...we called the manager, she comped everything and arranged dinner at the cafe...which served us cold food as well. This manager was just as good. We gave up on trying to eat and wanted to go back to the room for a few min. Walking down the hall, I felt unsafe not to mention the amount of weed smoke we had to wade through to get to our room. After a few minutes, back to the casino area...back through the weed again...by now I have a contact buzz and do not care. We played the slots for a few hours and won a decent bit. Finally, after 2:30am we head to the room, to bed. The hall was a damn zoo. We actually went back to the first floor to try to bypass our hall and use a different elevator...more pot smoke next to the indoor pool. Finally make it to the room and the kids decide to use the fire exit directly across from our door as a snag cabin and smoke house...it was so bad, we had to stuff a towel under our door to keep the smell out. When they finally stopped yelling and banging around, it was 5:30am. We asked for a late check out and were told that they do not allow late checkout. Check out was smooth at 11:00am. Decided to try the buffet for lunch because who can screw up a casino buffet...THEY CAN. It was damn near inedible. Not only did they not refresh the food. When they did, it was raw...raw fried chicken, ran out of fish, literally hard Boston cream pie. This manager was great as well. Best part of the weekend, getting home and laughing. About the disaster while we counted the money we won. To sum up...play the slots, enjoy the music but bring a lunch and sleep...

. Since Boyd gaming took over this casino has gone down to near nothing and that's a fact.Many many high rollers I use to play with no longer go there,jackpots are way to far in between and everything is completely out of wack.I decided to go for a couples night out,food just wasn't what I though it would be for the price.Slots just plain horrible,you could not hit a dime.I spoke to a good bit of people playing,they were saying that things were going down for some time now and no one was hitting anything it was like donating your money at the door and go home.I did see one lady hit 1200 dollars and I told her congratulations,she said she put 650 dollars into the machine to hit 1200..wow..Another lady in the high limits hit 1600 dollars but she also said she had put a good bit of money into the machine to hit that.All in all there wasn't very many people there from what we saw,especially for a friday night.Sad to say but if people don't win a little they won't go back and that seems to be what's going on.They use to have music in the center bar,that's gone.There general manager is gone,maybe due to all the improvements that took place why no one is going.Look folks people want entertainment,some good music,food a day play some slots.Thry know that if they can play for awhile they will come back,but if slots are so tight they can't hit enough to atleast play for a little while.They will go somewhere else,in this case that's what's happening.I was a big fan of evangline but not too much these days,can't afford to go.Whether hope they can revamp what's been changed and get back to business.....Update 3/09/2019..slots have improved some but still not that great since boyd took over.The buffet seems to be improved also but still not worth the money.This casino is not a high hollering casino,its local and that's what this casino banks on that people will come because there close.But after a while people will find another place to play instead of just throwing money away.HEY EVANGELINE CASINO,IF YALL DO NOT LET PEOPLE WIN SOME TO BE ENTERTAINED THEY WON'T COME BACK...O AND THANKS FOR THE MUSIC BEING BROUGHT BACK.NOW WORK ON...

It appears that the Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino is issuing generic and impersonal responses to customers who have voiced their discontent with the casino's lack of quality customer service. It would be beneficial for the casino staff to address patrons' concerns directly, such as rude and absent wait staff, as well as the refusal to serve drinks to those deemed non-gamblers. These actions seem like a calculated tactic to force guests to purchase drinks, which is not a fair or ethical practice.

Another issue that is often mentioned is winning at slots. Although it is understood that not everyone will win when they visit a casino, continually losing money on each trip is discouraging and may drive visitors away.

EDRC may want to consider how it can improve the guest experience and retain its patrons. One solution would be to offer additional amenities that will keep guests engaged longer, resulting in greater revenue for the establishment.

Instead of sending the same message to every customer with a complaint, EDRC should invest in renovation, offer loyal customers promotional perks, and prioritize resolving the issues previously mentioned. By doing so, EDRC can demonstrate its commitment to quality customer service and fulfill its aim of being a preferred entertainment destination...