It is a small casino with only machine. There is a small racetrack it nice and clean. The staff is really friendly. Buffet is OK but a bit expensive.
Prices at the buffet are getting more expensive as are the cocktails at the bars. You will not get anymore, just pay more. We usually meet a few local couples and go once a week for "dinner" and play the machines. If you want just the salad bar section, like me, you ought to go on one of the cheap nights (M, T, W). If you are a food gorger then you will can certainly consume until you burst. I have never tried the desserts but I see several people with multiples, so they must be okay. Service staff are always friendly and on top of the empty plates and drink refills.As noted by several people, the machines all seem to be paying less and less.This combined with the drink prices and the buffet prices have many of us thinking about going to a local restaurant where you can get a Fantastic Prime Rib dinner for less than the buffet. Drinks are less expensive and a bit more generous and we don't lose our money at the machines!If your bottom line is hurting, raising the prices WILL NOT help. Tioga Downs does not offer enough quality for the price. We will go less often and spend our money elsewhere.
went to tioga downs the other sunday and was pleasantly surprised. had seen bad reviews and expected the worst, but found the opposite. the gaming floor was small compared to nearby pennsylvania casinos but the property is nonsmoking which for us is a plus! the staff from the players club reps to the great bartender at coasters (eric) were all friendly and eager to help. a tip: valet park...it"s only $3. and mike the valet will take good care of you. we found the slots payout to be the same as eveywhere else, by state law they must return 92%. we"ll be back.
Played the slot machines and had their buffet dinner. Excellent! Not crowded. Watched the harness racing. Very satisfied with this casino.
This place has gone downhill. While I don't go to a casino looking to get rich, I go to have fun. Or at least try. Tioga being a half an hour away. It is not fun when you are constantly down. $2.50 bet on colossal, 12 spins 3x, $14.55 win. $2.00 quick hit, 25 games 3x, $9.80 win. $2.50 bet pretty kitty, 10 spins, $11.12 win. $2.00 bet lucky fountain, 15 free games, $4.88 win. Four total bonuses in three hours playing is good for Tioga. I find that when I go up there these days, it isn't really to play slots, but to get my daily dose of laxative in the forum of the over priced buffet. Save your hard earned cash!
The machines are very tight and payouts very low. There was a time when you did win a little money, not any more. I think they should stay the way they are and move the real Casino to the Binghamton area.
I have had my ups and downs at this casino. Sometime you can go in an play for hours, sometimes you cannot open any bonus, and you leave discouraged. They have a lot of different machines, they change them fairly frequently. Staff is very nice, wish they would put in ticket redemption machine, so you don't always have to go to the cashier if and when you might win. they do now announce winners like other casino's do, so you really just don't know if anyone is winning. We go because it is the closest to our home.
When New York racetracks were failing the NY legislature approved the addition of casinos to racetracks hence the nickname racinos. It certainly has paid off particularly the Tioga Downs Casino has increased consumer participation. At one point the racetrack was closed because of lack of participation but since a casino was added, profits have increased to the point where the casino is expanding, a high rise garage is being built and a hotel is being added. The racetrack is still operating and includes trotters only. Each year my wife and I travel to the Finger Lakes for a short vacation and always stop at Tioga Downs on the way for a few hours of "fun" depending on whether we win or not. It is a small casino. Restaurants are at a minimum and include a Subway, a bar with sandwich specials, and an all you can eat buffet. There are no "table" games available (Blackjack, poker, roullet, etc.) only slot machines. The payback on the machines is only average but is worth a visit.
Slots only, no table games. Trotters in season. Long walk to the parking lot....although there is a shuttle and valet parking. Food in the bar and buffet is OK, but nothing special. Good size casino for a local place in the middle of nowhere. It gets mobbed, almost claustrophobic, on weekends. Great spot for the local retired grey haired set who have a few bucks to spend (ie: lose) and don't want to travel far.We go there mostly for the cheap but good shows and we stay to eat the OK food and donate a few bucks to the machines. Many of the shows are only $10 with open seating. Some we've been to were great. Some were better than shows I've seen for $100 a ticket. Some were just OK. How good does a show have to be to be a bargin for 10 bucks??? The reserved seat shows cost more and get better acts.......but no one will ever beat Bill Haley and the Comets.....what a hoot, and only ten bucks a seat!Disregard all of the above if they get a permit for table games and build an auditorium and hotel. Then, we'll see.
My family, friends enjoy going to the races here. It is and inexpensive way to have something to do on the weekends when it is nice. There is no admission cost and you don't have to bet if you don't want to and bets are as low as 2 dollars. It is just a fun time.