If you have been to the Mardi Gras Gaming facility in Hallandale...chances are you have signed up for their 'Players Club'.  If you have, then I know you have gotten those promotions in the mail with a coupon for 'free play'.  Well here is a tip.  DON'T GO TO USE IT.  I tend to stop at this casino often...but keep reading on my experience there yesterday.

Recently, I received one promoting their 'Leap Year' party (February 29) and $25 in 'Free Play'.  The $25 was only good for this day only from 11 AM to 11 PM.  I didn't really want to go..but a friend of mine talked be into it (I had a long day at work and just wanted to relax).

The party promised a DJ for dancing, some money giveaways with show girls and guys on stilts.  They did deliver on all of that.  What they didn't say is that they would pack so many people into the place you couldn't get on a machine for hours.  I've NEVER seen this place so packed.  If you wanted to walk around the place?  Imagine the busiest happy hour bar in your town, plus about 50% more people.  You'd have to wait in 'line' if you saw a machine you wanted to play too.  That alone was a chance, since many people would play their credits out...then feed another $20 in.   I've also never seen so many rude customers in one place.  So many people pushed and shoved it.  You also had to be aggressive to get a machine...even if you were next in 'line'.  We had to make a comment when one woman cut in front and sat down.  She just about sat in my friend's lap before she realized it and said "Oh, sorry...were you next". 

One thing I do have to say is that the staff was very helpful and friendly.  To redeem your free play coupon, you needed to turn it in at the Players Club Counter.  Well, as you can imagine, the lines stretched so far...it reminded me of waiting for gas after Hurricane Wilma.  There was a savior though.  A Mardi Gras employee was collecting the coupons in line and telling everyone to wait 30 minutes and the money would appear on our cards.  We turned them in and 'presto'.  The money was there.  The only issue now was to find an open machine to use it on.

We finally got lucky and found a penny machine.  I ended up turning the $25 into $27.  Not too bad considering I really couldn't 'choose' which machine we played. 

So my tip...Mardi Gras can be a fun place...but I'd avoid them during their 'theme' nights.  You spend more time walking and squeezing through the people than you do playing.