Par-a-Dice Casino

The Par-a-Dice casino and Hotel can be found at 21 Blackjack Boulevard in East Peoria, Illinois, 61611-2011. It is a river boat casino and a land-based hotel, all on one site.

Though you might trip over the name at first, the hotel is considered one of the finest in the state, and the casino managers try to keep your gaming experiences fresh and exciting with some of the most exciting slots options around. Like so many other Midwestern casinos, you can't play Texas Holdem at their casino, but just about everything else is on the table.

Table Gaming

The table games Par A Dice offers are craps, roulette, blackjack, 3 Card and Caribbean stud poker, and Let It Ride. The Caribbean stud jackpot alone has inched towards a quarter of a million dollars.

While you're playing, you can watch sporting events on the casino's state of the art plasma televisions.

Slot Machine Gaming

Par A Dice has a wider selection of slot machine than many of the Illinois casinos. Though its total number, at 1,100 gaming machines, isn't any larger than its competitors, its management has tried to include a significant variety of progressive slots (150) and high dollar slots, including a $100 per spin slot. There are also multiple $25 and $10 slots.

Of course, most of the gaming machines are quarter and dollar slots, which is what most people prefer to play. There are a couple of hundred nickel slots, a favorite of many people. I even found around two dozen $2 slots.

Par-a-Dice also offers over 125 video poker machines, as well as a few dozen video keno games. This is a rarity in the Midwest.

The Par-A-Dice Hotel

The hotel offers over two hundred different rooms, with a healthy percentage of those rooms being suites. It is considered one of the best hotels in the Midwest, with easy access to the river boat casino.

Hotel rooms offer wireless internet connections, while guests at the hotel get special comps on their gambling sessions.

The hotel offers banquet halls, gathering and seminar rooms and a ballroom. Events are taking place all the time, so it is a treat to hang out in the casino.

For reservations at the hotel, call 309-699-9317. For out-of-towners, call toll free at 1-800-547-0711.

Dining Experiences

The Par-a-Dice Buffet meets all your dining needs. The buffet includes soup and salads, desserts and (of course) a variety of entrees. The buffet runs from 8:00 in the morning on Sunday and Monday, but only opens in the afternoon the rest of the week. It closes between 9:30 to 10:30, which are hard times to remember, I must admit.

If you want a quick meal, you can buy burgers, sandwiches and salads at Nelson's Deli. It is open 22 hours a day, from 8am to 6am daily. This is a big bonus when you want to gamble all night, and get the munchies.

If you want to be waited on, you might try Boyd's Steakhouse. It is considered a top notch steak house, with an interesting selection of alcohol and spirits. It is open after 4pm. By the way, reservations at Boyd's can be arranged at 309-694-5950.

Bourbon's Lounge is another sit down option. It is an evening dining experience, with a newly remodeled interior. This is the classic evening lounge.