Shooting Star, Mahnomen, MN
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:57 pm
The Shooting Star Casino on the White Earth Reservation in Mahnomen, MN is a pleasant enough place to lose your money. A wide variety of machines from penny to dollar denominations are well laid out on a compact, but not claustrophobic, floor. $5 and up players have a smaller selection of machines in their own private room with a "players only" sign. Service is quick and courteous; I got a fast fill on my nickel machine when I needed one, which tells me the management knows the value of keeping the machines going.
Given the returns on VP I can't blame them. The best, or at least most interesting, game for nickels and/or quarters I found was Bonus Triple Play (800/50/80/40/25/10/8/5/3/1/1) on an Action Gaming machine, returning around 94.1%. Payoffs may be better for dollars. Perhaps shadowman or another intrepid traveler knows where the OEJ machines are but I couldn't locate any.
Table games include blackjack and the usual suspects. The minimum for the Let It Ride table I passed was $2; given typical house edges ranging from 3-3.7% on that game it might be a relatively good deal. The Shooting Star has a remarkably active poker room for its remote location. All the tables were active during our Friday night visit. The cheapest Hold 'Em game was $2-$10 spread, three-raise limit, so if you have the stones and/or the back to lay a potential $160 on a hand of cards that may be the game for you. The poker host told me he hadn't laid a $2-$4 game in over a year. Spread limit's hard on short rolls.
The casino has a comfortable bar with live entertainment, a snack bar, table service restaurant and a good-looking buffet. The Beach Boys were scheduled to play later in the week.
Given the returns on VP I can't blame them. The best, or at least most interesting, game for nickels and/or quarters I found was Bonus Triple Play (800/50/80/40/25/10/8/5/3/1/1) on an Action Gaming machine, returning around 94.1%. Payoffs may be better for dollars. Perhaps shadowman or another intrepid traveler knows where the OEJ machines are but I couldn't locate any.
Table games include blackjack and the usual suspects. The minimum for the Let It Ride table I passed was $2; given typical house edges ranging from 3-3.7% on that game it might be a relatively good deal. The Shooting Star has a remarkably active poker room for its remote location. All the tables were active during our Friday night visit. The cheapest Hold 'Em game was $2-$10 spread, three-raise limit, so if you have the stones and/or the back to lay a potential $160 on a hand of cards that may be the game for you. The poker host told me he hadn't laid a $2-$4 game in over a year. Spread limit's hard on short rolls.
The casino has a comfortable bar with live entertainment, a snack bar, table service restaurant and a good-looking buffet. The Beach Boys were scheduled to play later in the week.