casino gambling in your immediate community

[abner2xday]

This poll has to do with casino gambling in your immediate community. If you have it, do you like it and how does is affect your attitude about ‘going to Vegas’? If you don’t, would you like it and how might it affect your community? (good and bad) Vegas residents can chime in too!

In the State of Washington we have several Indian Casinos that have all the table games, slots, and poker. The state also allows cities to decide whether or not they will allow card rooms or mini-casinos. These casinos are limited to 15 tables (not including the poker tables they may have). They have blackjack, Let it Ride, 3 card poker, Pai Gao Poker, Spanish 21 etc. They can’t have slots, craps, or roulette (like the tribal casinos). They are limited to 20 hours a day of operation and $100 betting limits. The tribal casinos were just cleared be open 24 hours over Friday to Sunday only. Betting is capped at $5000 I believe.

I live just north of Seattle and have 8 of the mini-casinos within 5 to 10 minutes from my house and 4 of the large Tribal casinos 45-60 minutes away.

Overall, I do like it. I think there is less pressure for me to gamble since I didn’t invest in airfare, hotel etc. and I am not faced with a limited time before I go home and can’t gamble. It’s become one of many recreational activities my wife and I do, like going to the movies, playing golf etc. However, I do hear stories from dealers of people they see almost everyday who are definitely going beyond their means. I also get similar stories from friends and co-workers about people they know who gamble way too much. It’s nice to be able to gamble whenever you want, but it can be dangerous too.

[Dougie]

I have no gaming in my immediate area. The nearest tribal casino is 150 miles away. It only has machines and bingo. That will not lure me to Fort Hall. And I guess it's a good thing, since my kids have never had to catch their own food.

[Sonya]

I'm across the sound from you and we don't have as many as you do. I guess the two big ones are the Point No Point and the Clearwater Casino around here. I haven't even been inside the PNP one.

We went to the Clearwater when we first moved here about 3 years ago. Then it was in some quonset hut or something and had a muddy parking lot. Not fun in the drippy NW. smile.gif It seemed all slots at the time and not of much interest to me.

We visited the Muckleshoot about 6 months later. Again, not thrilled and didn't feel a lot of pressure to gamble there, but it's more of what I'm used to.

I like the layout and decor at the Tulalip Casino, but I've only been there once and that was after the remodel.

The Clearwater is better now that they've built the place up. They even have some crappy video poker so I have something to play there. smile.gif I still have probably only run $50 or so through the machines there. Not much.

We only did one gambling excursion here that included a Vegas level of play for us. That was out to the coast to the Quinault Beach Resort. I wasn't happy with the VP selection or the pay tables, but I was glad to be gambling that night. But we haven't been back. smile.gif That should tell you something.

I guess for me the whole gambling thing is part of an experience. A whole package with the lights and sounds and sights and gambling. It just doesn't feel the same to do it in Kitsap County. graemlins/laughing.gif

[HurricaneMikey]

When I was lived in Phoenix, my house was about 2 miles from Casino Arizona in Scottsdale. It has a huge poker room, which was a big draw, but I didn't play nearly as much poker then as I do now. (I played maybe once or twice a month).

It was all slot machines with crummy payouts and no table games at all, at the time. And no free booze, either. (They have since put in some blackjack tables)

But having an indian casino just up the road was basically like not having a casino around at all, as far as I was concerned. It doesn't even come *close* to comparing to Vegas. Besides, part of the attraction of Vegas is the people watching, and it seems that most of the folks I'd see at the indian casinos were either old folks or just really dirty down-and-out degenerate gamblers. Not a fun crowd.

Mikey

[SH0CK]

Originally posted by HurricaneMikey:
But having an indian casino just up the road was basically like not having a casino around at all, as far as I was concerned. It doesn't even come *close* to comparing to Vegas. Besides, part of the attraction of Vegas is the people watching, and it seems that most of the folks I'd see at the indian casinos were either old folks or just really dirty down-and-out degenerate gamblers. Not a fun crowd.Amen brother. All I have around here is "The Casino on the Other Side of the Mountain", Harrahs Cherokee. Everytime I go there, I get bored within 30 minutes. It's wall to wall computerized games (slots, video poker, and even computerized blackjack with a live dealer.)

Every once in a while, though, we forget how bad it is over there and make a trip over the mountain, only to remember how boring it is when we get there.

[LV Terry]

We have an Indian casino 15 minutes from us...when it opened, they were charging a one dollar fee on every hand of BJ. That was enough to make me never go there. They are just about to complete a renovation, and with the amount of poker I've been playing for the last couple of years, I think I may make a run. Talk about opening Pandora's Box! Live poker 15 minutes away? Yikes!!

[Heathcat]

The Passamoquoddy (sp?) tribe wanted to build a casino about 20 minutes from where I live here in Maine. Of course, people had a fit about "preserving the moral standards of Maine" and developed an anti-casino coalition. Last fall, many a car was donning the Casinos No! bumper sticker. Their voices were louder and definately heard, as voters voted a down a casino on election day. Personally, I would have welcomed it. Argue about the influx of traffic or the lack of living wage jobs from a casino if you want. But I draw the line at taking the so-called moral high ground by opposing casinos because they "corrupt society". Yes, there's good and bad with casinos. Yes, there are people out there who pawn the family car for a gambling fix. But I'm not one of them, and the casinos don't want or need that kind of business. Don't tell me I lack morals because I like to gamble, and that I'm contributing to the demise of American society!
Phew..okay, I've stepped down from the soapbox....My response to Casinos No! stickers was to make my own on my computer and slap it on my car:

"Casinos? You bet!"

[HurricaneMikey]

Hey Terry...

I remember back in the early days at Barona in San Diego, they tried to heist a quarter to a dollar per hand 'fee' at the blackjack tables. I stood there watching for a minute in complete shock that they would try to pull that shit.

They had a pit with like 6 tables then, and only one of them had players at it. That was my first visit to Barona and I vowed I'd never go back. Of course I went back a couple years later, after I'd heard they'd made some improvements, but compared to Vegas, Barona still sucks ass.

Basically, I really hate Indian casinos--for the most part they are truly a ripoff. Only the poker rooms are worth a visit.

Mikey

[ May 21, 2004, 09:01 AM: Message edited by: HurricaneMikey ]

[LV Terry]

Yep, when it comes to casinos, I'm a True Believer, so the Chumash Casino has never had any attraction for me. Why taint the Vegas legacy? That being said....I may partake in the poker room soon. A buddy of mine that has played there for years tells me there is a steady supply of college students who've watched Rounders one too many times. Of course, the problem with that, as witnessed on the MM trip, is that no matter how bad other players are, if you can't get a hand, you're not gonna win. I hate that. tongue.gif

[Heathcat]

As far as indian casinos go, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods are pretty nice- and for New Englanders it sure beats driving to AC! I've seen good blackjack rules there, but it's difficult to find a $5 craps table unless you're there midweek during the day. :rolleyes: (however, this is where I discovered craps for the first time- with the girls I'm going to Vegas with in June!)

It's been awhile since I've been there so I'm not sure about the VP selection.

[boxcars]

Hey Mikey...

I've been reading your trip reports the past few days (read three in one day... that's a lot!)

Anyways... I've enjoyed every bit of them. You are an excellent writer! Hopefully we can cross paths someday in Vegas! By the way... When is your next trip? I'm heading out in June.
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Here in North Dakota, we have several Indian casinos. The one south of Bismarck is decent, but no poker tables. The craps table is usually $2, so nice. If a concert or something is there, it's like $5. Still not bad. The only problem is the $60 max bet. BJ is $100 I think at the $5s, maybe $200 or higher on the $25s

We now have DIRECT flights to Vegas thanks to Allegiant Air. A major bonus for people like us not near a major airport where they have daily non-stops. ...Nothing compairs to Vegas.

[Whobeme]

We live about 90 miles from A/C, where we go at least once a month. I find we spend more on an overnight in A/C then in days in Vegas. A/C has a fair number of casinos but we never leave the one we're staying in, for us, A/C offers a break from home, comps are great, free room, free food and fair cash back, but there is realy nothing to do but gamble. There is nothing like the pulse of Vegas, from the moment your plane lands til you drag yourself back on the plane its like no place else.