Visitors’ two cents on Rivers Casino

Visitors leaving the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines shared their first impressions about the state’s newest casino on opening day Monday.

“It was pretty nice. It’s crowded right now. It probably won’t be like that for long. But we won, so that’s good. Right now, you really can’t tell. I’ll stick to Horseshoe (Hammond, Ind.). It’s bigger and we know our way around.”

— Hilda Estrada of Palatine, who played slots for $12 and won $385 in 20 minutes

“We were on River Road for an hour and a half before we could get into this entrance. It’s pandemonium in there right now. The only thing you didn’t have to wait in line for was the bathroom. Parking sucked. Spent almost two hours there. I broke about even.”

—Ester Booko of Schaumburg, who gambled $145.

“We liked the craps tables. It was $10 and all of a sudden they changed it to $25. That I didn’t like. Minimum bets are too high.”

—Joe Booko of Schaumburg, who lost $300

“I think it’s beautiful. I like the location. It could have been more organized. People are fighting for slot machines. My favorite is the Four Winds in Michigan. You gotta give it time. This is only the first day.”

—Nerida Morales of Chicago, who got there at 7 a.m. and was seventh in line to get in. She left nearly nine hours later having lost $400.

“The technology of the machines, the lounge seems really nice. Just not enough (slot) machines for everybody. People were fighting over the machines.”

—Mariela Aparicio, 24, of Des Plaines, who mostly played slots and won $50.

“We had a hard time finding parking. People were very rude. There was no service. I played some penny machine, spent close to $150 and I didn’t win nothing. It just ate my money. I was a little disappointed. Being the first day, I expected the machines to be a little loose.”

—Eva Serowski of Chicago

“I loved it. It was real fun. We’ll come back tonight. We just want to try and get to the slot machines. It’s here. It’s closer.”

—Kristin Smith, 23, of River Grove