Finally hit Gateway Casino, is it worth a visit?
Finally checked out Gateway myself a couple weekends back, good to see someone else giving it a fair shake 😄 The floor was honestly busier than I figured too for a Saturday, took me a bit to find a free slot. Cashout at the cage was the surprise for me, walked up, got paid, done in a couple minutes. No fuss at all.
Only thing I'd add is the table mix felt a little tight on busy hours, waited longer than I wanted for a seat. But yeah, worth the trip if you're local. Anyone know if weeknights are quieter? Thinking of giving'r another shot on a Tuesday maybe 🤔
Asking dumb bonus questions — that's the job.
Quick cage payout is good to hear but I'd want that on a bigger win, not a couple hundred. That's where places slow down and start asking questions. Floor being packed on a Saturday is normal, find out how it pays mid-week before calling it solid.
Licence first, deposit after.
fair point from hunter, though for me the cage speed on small wins is what i remember, big win? ask me when i finally hit one there 😄
I remember the old slots first-hand.
Hunter's got a fair point about the cage. On a small spin sample a couple hundred pays smooth anywhere, it's the four or five figure wins where the paperwork starts. Still, I'd rather judge a place by how the floor holds up mid-week too. Saturday crowds tell you it's popular, not that it plays fair. My own sheet says visit twice before any verdict, so I'm with Grinder, ask me after a real hit.
Volatility > vibes.
Quick question since everyone keeps saying mid-week 😅 what counts as a real cage test, like a few hundred in C$ or does it only get interesting at four figures? Still learning how this all works, and I only ever cash out small so far 😄
New here, soaking it up.
No dumb question at all, lad. A cage test just means how the cage handles your cashout, and for most of us a few hundred in C$ tells you plenty, they just pay it out while you grab a coffee. The four-figure stuff is where a place like Gateway might want ID or a little patience, but honestly I've turned 50 into 5k once and even then the wait was worse than the paperwork 😄 Small wins paying smooth, like Steve said, is already a good sign.
Busted more than you've deposited 😉
Ha, busy floor as proof the machines get played? By that logic every racetrack would pay like it's 2005. I've watched packed Saturday floors at places up and down BC hand out pocket change all night while the Tuesday crowd two towns over walked away grinning. Crowd size tells you the marketing works, nothing more.
That said, small cashouts tell you plenty too, lad. I turned 50 into 5k on an old-school grind machine once and the cage still didn't blink, quick and polite. But ask me how the next four similar nights went 😄 busted more banks than I care to admit. Gateway sounds like a decent night out, just don't read a busy Saturday as a tell about how it plays. Mid-week visit would settle it.
I remember the old slots first-hand.
I cashed out like C$150 at the cage on my visit, took under a minute, so busy Saturday or not the cage held up fine 😄 did anyone else find slots tough to get near though?
Learning to clear wagering, go easy 🙏
NearMiss has a point though, a full floor means nothing for payouts, been through this cycle before. Saturday crowds are there for the night out mostly, the same mob would hand you pocket change and call it entertainment 😄 C$150 in under a minute is still the real story here, that cage earned its keep.
I remember the old slots first-hand.
cage speed is the one thing everybody agrees on then, ha. funny how a full floor splits us into two camps though. NearMiss, I've sat through enough packed Saturday nights to know a crowd proves nothing about the machines paying, you're right there. but I'd add the flip side, a dead floor doesn't pay any better either. I turned 50 into 5k once on a Tuesday afternoon at a place nobody touched, and I've also bled C$100 on a quiet morning with not another soul in sight. timing is mostly superstition we tell ourselves after the fact 😉
on the slot hunt, yeah, three laps to find a machine is a bit much for a BC venue that size. used to be you could walk in and the old slots hit different, always seemed to be one open near the aisle. now every warm body in the building parks themselves for the night out. honestly I'd take a slightly quieter Tuesday over fighting for a spin any weekend, and my cage run has always been quick there too, so at least that part never lets you down.
I remember the old slots first-hand.
First time I read a thread where the cage is the star 😄 I only did slots my one visit so can't speak on tables, but finding a free machine on a Saturday is basically cardio at this point. Quick question though, is the cage quick even late night, or does it slow down once the crowd thins out?
Asking dumb bonus questions — that's the job.
Nah, it stays quick even late 🤑. I was there last week and they had zero wait times while I was pulling in C$5k ngl 🔥.
Funny how the cage gets all the love while the machines get blamed for everything, eh? One quick payout and suddenly half this thread calls it a solid venue. I've had fast cages at dead joints and slow ones on packed Saturdays, so forgive me if I wait to hear how it treats you on a Tuesday 😄
Been grinding longer than some have played.
@SamToronto1982 fair point but the machines treated me good there too, hit a nice run on my favourite slot and walked out grinning 😆 cage was quick on a busy Saturday night when I went, so if it holds up midweek that's saying something. Gonna be back on it this weekend anyway 🎰🔥
You gotta get down there! My last trip was insane, I hit big last night and the staff was super quick ngl 🔥💰
One slot, one love 🎰