prairie meadows

This casino is well situated off I-80, I-35 and Hwy 6. Its also next door to an amusement park and waterpark. This place also has horse racing and big name entertainment as well. The food is excellent and the gaming is first class. They offer many table games and slots of all types. The only two drawbacks here is that it is a smoking permitted casino and I didn't win anything.Their staff is friendly and helpful and attentive and I saw many people cleaning the game room floor and bathrooms. They are open 24 hours a day and offer many promotions if you get a card to play there. There is also a brand new hotel there that offers many features you would find at other upscale resort towns. Very clean and gracious. Parking is available and there are many local eating places nearby as well as gas stations.This place is just a few miles from the state capital of Iowa.

Overall the casino is good. The one thing I dislike is the massive smoke odor. The casinos in Vegas don't stink half this bad. In fact it was hard to tell people were smoking in Vegas unless you were sitting next to somone blowing it in your face and believe me they were smoking all over the place. Everywhere we went people were smoking. They need to look at a new/better ventilation system at Prairie Meadows. It is like you're sitting in a cloud of smoke. AJ's Steakhouse was phenomenal! I had the De Burgo Trio and my husband had the surf and turf. We both had the lobster bisque soup - TO DIE FOR! The chocolate cake and the molten lava cake were also both fabulous. Our group tried just about every appetizer, but I can only comment on the onion rings, and the beef tips because those were all I tried, and I have to tell you the beef tips were outstanding!! The gambling is ok. I just play the slots and generally stick to the nickels. I have one a jackpot once for a little of $240. We don't gamble all that often and if we do, we usually spend only about $40 so you can't expect to win much if 1) you don't go and 2) you don't put much in.

You win 15 free games, win 0. Win 10 games may win .26 cents. You want us back we need to see some pay back. We go to Tama and Waterloo. Always seem to bring money home. Just came Riverside. Nice play. We may add that to trips and stop PM. Wi ll going to Jefferson soon. If you don't open up the slots we will or return.

I hate going to a casino and just feeding money into the machines. That is what my husband and I both were doing. I realize that by the nature of the casino you probably aren't going to get rich but at least give a person something to play on. The word gamble means a gamble for me AND the house.

I don't gamble, so I can't really contribute much as far as gaming experience. The smoking inside is a huge turn off for me. The non-smoking area is tiny in comparison to the rest of the place.

No Glass glasses for wine.No AM room serviceEverything else was wonderful. A very comfortable room.

The casino was just recently updated and is now very modern and nice. They have tons of slots so plenty to choose from. They have smoking and non-smoking sections and a very nice horse track which is fun in the summer. The drink prices are a little steep compared to other local bars.

I guess I've been spoiled by Vegas but this place is smoke filled and the gamblers are very rude. They hover over you if they want to play the same machine or table game after you. It was hard to take. Most of the people there actually think they're going to hit it big rather than going for some fun entertainment. Oh well.

This place has it all, Event Center, Casino, and a hotel with bar build into it. The Casino has blackjack tables and texas hold em and more, Up to date Machines to gamble on also. Also nice that they have a location for smokers only.

We stayed here in Jan. 2013, and although we loved the hotel, we were not as happy with the casino that time. This time we stayed on a Sat. night while traveling through, and again the hotel was wonderful. (kudos to Steve at the front desk who was great!) although it was over $200, the king suite was worth it, after a long drive. (we were upgraded for my birthday, which was very nice) The casino was paying out better this time, and the non smoking area was smoke free, but it was smokey in the smoking area as the night went on. (wish it were all smoke free) We ate at the buffet and it was a good value for the money, it was a typical casino buffet though. We love the fact that there is a Starbucks on sight! We felt very safe staying here. When we travel this way again, we will definitely stay and play again.

My husband and I love going to play games at Prairie Meadows, but the problem is if you go on a busy night, it is so smokey that we can't stay very long. I appreciate that they have expanded the non-smoking sections and improved the airflow, but it drifts in from the chain smokers. Also, the newest and best games are never in the non-smoking section. I wish they would contain all the smoking section to one side(half) of the place and keep the non-smoking on the other side so there isn't so much drift. We have also gone to a horse race and bet a few $ on that, but we didn't really know what we were doing, so that didn't last long. We've never eaten at the buffet because its is so expensive. Overall, fun except for the smoke, so we try to go at off peak times.

It's a great Hotel. It's about 100.00 give or take what's happening in Des Moines and surrounding areas but worth the money. It's more an adult hotel than a kid hotel as its connected to the casino

This was a very pleasant surprise. We went for the quarter horse races. Myths track is very nice. We had a table and enjoyed the buffet. It was good food and a great value. We then went into the casino that was also very nice, we will definitely be back. It was an extremely enjoyable evening on all fronts.

Nicely done for a smaller casino. The staff is wonderful! Nice place for a quick gamble. Just need more tables games open.

I played at Prairie Meadows for about 2 years while I lived in Iowa and found it to be a fun place to play! If you are ever in Iowa, it is worth a trip for a number of reasons.1) The variety of games offered is quite eclectic, with most tables offering 5$ minimums. It is easy to have fun without spending too much! 2) the staff here are great, for the most part. They make you feel welcome and sometimes even root you on as you are playing. This includes the poker dealers: more on that in a bit...3) The buffet downstairs is really good and quite cheap (10$ for lunch). There are also other restaurants, including an awesome steakhouse downstairs.4) For poker fans, the room features 11 tables, with a variety of no-limit and limit hold em games on offer. The dealers are very professional and many are friendly. Jim, Souk, Lance and Audrey are the best! Alcohol not included, but not too expensive either.5) Big horse track for horse racing fans, with some places to eat alongside. Overall, a fun time! Bring your family and friends for an experience you will remember! Prairie Meadows, expect to see my face again!