The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Casino Camping

Back on October 17, 2007, on only our second night in our motorhome, we woke up in the Sudbury Casino parking lot. No, it's not because we drank too much, or because the engine wouldn't start. We had actually asked if we could overnight in their parking lot.

At the time, and even today, many RV'ers will overnight in parking lots if they're in transit. Walmart parking lots are somewhat famous for this activity, however we've always found that there are better options.

Casino camping is one such better option!

Most casinos have large parking areas, and they don't mind sharing some of that space with RV'ers who wish to stay overnight. Some even have full scale campgrounds actually on the casino property, and many are at a very reasonable price. For our needs though, we prefer free camping. We're totally self contained and self sufficient, so we don't see the need to pay for hookups. You just need to check with casino security and ask if there is a special place you should park and make sure that it's okay for you to stay overnight.

Also, when you're free parking in the casino parking lot instead of being cramped in at a campground, you can normally park far away from other vehicles so that you've got lots of space.

Our motorhome Sherman, parked up for free with lots of space.

Casino camping has become so popular, that there are now both hard copy and online resources for finding a suitable casino to park at. There's a very popular book available, and the most recent edition has only just come out...


And also, you can search online...



And of course the best part is being able to go inside for some inexpensive entertainment. Usually, you can sign up at the casino players club desk and get some free stuff. Sometimes, they even give you $5 or $10 to start you off with some free gambling or one of the other casino bonuses. So if you're careful, you could actually walk out of there ahead of the game. Free camping, and some cash to boot!

Casinos always have restaurants, and very often they will have buffet restaurant special deals. In the morning, you can check and see if there are any breakfast deals worth taking advantage of.

Casinos offer a great free secure place to overnight. They always have 24 hour security, and cameras. If that's the type of thing you like, casinos offer a decent parking lot camping experience and usually without nearly as many people as your friendly neighborhood Walmart.



12 comments:

  1. We have used casino parking lots for many years, though we have found not as many great deals for food and free slot play at a lot of them lately, but still a nice large secure parking lot to spend the night.

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    1. I think it depends on the casino. If you have already signed up for a casino that you may have stopped at before then chances are you won't get free slot play a second time. As for food we normally haven't found any great deals on meals either but there has been the occasional time.

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  2. I am amazed that Jane is still writing her Casino Guide, we met her about 12 years ago in Lo de Marcos. She rarely came outside of her RV, just kept working.

    Now that the girls are gone we will be able to use free casino camping. The pull of Walmart was that there was always somewhere for the girls to do their business.

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    1. I don't think we ever had a problem finding somewhere for Whiskey to pee at a casino, we maybe had to walk a little further to the grassy areas but otherwise never had a problem.

      She must have been busy writing her book when you met her.

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  3. Glad you got a good spot. First and only casino we used in Florence OR was more like a RV sales lot. Still better than Walmart though! At least there was no cart collection and leaf blowers at 3am in the morning!

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    1. Yep, we have seen some very busy casinos before with tons of RVs parked up. We have been lucky I guess because I don't think we have ever parked at one that full before. And, yes casino parking lots are normally quiet at night, except one we stayed at in Vancouver when it snowed overnight and they plowed the parking lot in the really not so bright hours of the morning!

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  4. The best deal we ever got at a casino was at the Dancing Eagle Casino on Hwy 40 in New Mexico. They had a sign on the highway offering full hookups for $10 per night (free parking also available). When we signed up for the RV park discount we were handed two coupons for $10 each discount on a fill-up at their gas station and two $5 coupons for their restaurant. They also handed us two coffee mugs with the Dancing Eagle logo on them.

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    1. Sounds like a great deal there. We will have to stop in this casino on our next visit through New Mexico, hopefully they will still be as generous!

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  5. Casino del Sol in Tucson. Electricity, $10 to play and two $19 buffet tickets. We had the Sunday buffet which was $4 extra. We stayed there two nights. Fantastic place.

    Your header picture made me road sick. I thought the Copper Canyon was one of our top five trips in all of Mexico. Fond memories.

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    1. Hmmm, we stayed there back in February 2015 for a couple of nights. We didn't get electricity and they didn't give us any free slot money or meal tickets. Maybe they have changed things since we were there. May have to check it out again. :-)

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  6. We've stopped overnight at a few casinos, and it's okay in a pinch. At one, the fellow behind us (parallel parking at a curb) ran his LOUD generator all night. At another, we were hard put to block the bright glare of security lights. But, as I said, it's okay in a pinch. :-)

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    1. Yep, we feel the same way about casinos too but they are still way better than a Walmart, at least in our opinion they are. Also we try to park well away from others and the lights. If the parking lot is too busy with RV's then we will move on and find somewhere else. As you said they will work in a pinch, we prefer to find somewhere in the middle of nowhere, all by our lonesome then we don't have to worry if the person close to us starts up their generator.

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