DiamondJacks is one of 5 casinos operating in the Shreveport/Bossier City areas. My review combines one recent stay at the hotel and three recent visits to the casino on separate days.

The hotel is decent - rooms are of ample size, clean, and tastefully furnished. The bathroom had a jacuzzi tub. a decemt selection of amenities, fluffy towels, and a coffee maker. The main bedroom had a comfortable bed, but there was no desk or other work area, other than an inconvenient table, that could be used as work space. Having stayed in this hotel on prior occasions, I know that some rooms do have a work desk, which I believe is essential in any upscale hotel. But this room didn't have one.

Check-in and check-out were both handled efficiently by a pleasant front desk person.

Now, about the casino...

The casino is nothing special. It is small, somewhat cramped, with only a handful of table games to choose from. The attitude of floor personnel varied from pleasant to standoffish. At crowded times, it's difficult to get a seat at the regular blackjack tables, because so few tables seem to be open at any one time, but perhaps the open more tables at times when I don't hapeen to be in the casino. I don't know. But what I do know is that most of the times that I've been to this casino, including the three most recent visits being reported on here, the games have been crowded. And given the economics of the game, I'm surprised that the casino doesn't keep more games open, particularly to attract people like me who don't like to sit at a full table, due to the slow pace that results when dealing to a full table.

Now, to the complaint. On my last visit to the casino, I brought along a friend of mine who had traveled out from Virginia to visit me for the weekend. He was stopped at the entrance to the casino by security, who wished to check his ID. That was not a problem, as he looks younger than his 33 years, but the person checking the ID would not accept it. He produced a Virginia driver's license with his picture, yet the staff claimed that the picture wasn't him. Now, sure, drivers license pictures aren't always the best, but the picture was not a bad resemblance, and the fact of the matter is that this ID has been used many times, in many places - other casinos, stores, passing through airport security, and the like - with no problems. Yet for some reason, the casino rejected it here with the claim that the picture didn't match.

Seems to me that if that were really true, my friend would have run into similar claims from time to time in situations requiring an ID. Indeed, for his air travel from Richmond, he passed thru TSA security with no problems. He was asked for his ID at all the other casinos we visited in Shreveport, but not one of them had an issue with the photograph. Now while it is within the rights of DiamondJacks to decide for themselves whether or not an ID is valid, they would do well to take a closer look at their procedures so that "false denials" become fewer and fewer. In this case, DJ's was the only time this ID has ever been challenged, let alone rejected. Had similar problems been run into elsewhere, my friend would have understood, but when an occurrance such as this is the only event of its kind, it creates hard feelings and harms their image with their customer. For whether or not DJ's believed it, my friend was who he said he was, and his ID told the truth.

I spoke to a supervisor to no avail about this. We just left and went back to Boomtown.