Shorelines Casino wins big in its first week

January 19, 2017 at 3:50 pm

Belleville’s newest hot spot to grab a bite, the Shorelines Casino buffet. Photo by Justin Medve, QNet News

BELLEVILLE – Shorelines Casino was booming for its first week in the friendly city.

Shorelines representative Andy LaCroix says the company is very pleased with the opening week. The casino opened last Wednesday.

“The first week was a great success,” LaCroix said. “(The) first few hours last Wednesday we were at capacity. We had an amazing weekend.” The community has been very supportive, he said.

Since the casino’s opening, the parking lot has been overflowing with customers eager to play the slots.

But LaCroix says the biggest attraction at the casino is, surprisingly, not the slots but the buffet. It offers breakfast and specials every day. The price for breakfast is $6.99, and at dinner the prices range from $9.99 to $19.99.

“The restaurant has been a huge success,” LaCroix said. “The buffet has delivered the quality of food we wanted to deliver.”

At some points the kitchen becomes overwhelmed with the demand from the horde of gamblers, he said.

“Saturday we had a steak special. I think we had 500 steaks and we ran short by the end of the night.” They substituted prime rib, “to nobody’s disappointment,” he said.

People have been playing the gaming tables until closing time, which is 3 a.m. Monday to Thursday and 4 a.m. on weekends, he said.

“All aspects have been very successful.”

Many people have been commenting on social media about the excitement of the new casino.

The security guard at the new Belleville casino just stopped me to say “my mascara is on fleek” why thank you it is new 💁🏼got come here more

— wendy wright (@wendykristen) January 15, 2017

Others have voiced concerns about some aspects of the casino.

The dealer’s at Belleville casino can’t count…. Seriously, I corrected them about 15 times

— Ricki Martin (@MrMassiveBlack) January 12, 2017

LacRoix said the casino hasn’t had any complaints thus far. However, he added that over time the employees will get more comfortable with what he called the “goings-on” of the casino.

There have been long lines for Axis cards, a loyalty program the casino offers, he said.

Many things are in store for the future, including live entertainment, LaCroix said.

“We have a beautiful stage, so once the spring and summer comes we can open it up to the back door. So there’s lots of things our guests and members of the community can look forward to in the near future.”

The casino is open