Finally went to CasinoRama

My husband and I had to go up to Sudbury and Gore Bay (on Manitoulin Island) to visit my bonus inlaws (my husband was adopted at birth but has a relationship with his birth father and his family). His half bio sister is fighting cancer right now. Not the same kind as my husband had last year but much more serious with a rough treatment schedule. We went up to take a turn driving her from the island into Sudbury and back as she spends Monday to Friday at the Daffodil Terrace Lodge.

On our way home yesterday we stopped at CasinoRama. Not much to say about the place, it's clean. They've made an effort. I can't comment on the hotel portion because we didn't stay there. We signed up for player's cards and got $10 freeplay each. Lunch at the buffet was $33 tax included for the 2 of us. So, we basically paid $13 for lunch. It's a nice room, the food was decent. Not a huge variety. But, as I always say "we didn't die". My husband managed to turn his own $10 after losing the freeplay (does anybody win on freeplays?) into $260.

There are 3 gift shops so I was able to get the vital fridge magnet. Since it was opening day of deer season (for guns, not cross bows) I got the deer one. I also got a nice painted glass magnet because it looked like my old departed kitty Oscar. They had a lot of nice native crafts and artwork etc.

I wouldn't make a special trip for it. But, if you have to go up around there and you have the time, it's worth stopping in.

 

Not sure how many people on here know Gore Bay and Sudbury but, I spent the first 20 in the home of the big nickel! Been to Manitoulin many times - gods country. I know the cancer centre there is top knotch so your half sil is in good care.

I have never had any luck on the reserve. Once in a while going home, I will pop in and make a donation. They have had some decent entertainment over the years with the usual casino touring acts.

 

I was born in Sudbury. Lived in Hanmer the first 8 years of my life. It was pretty crazy finding out my husband was originally from up there. It was an unwed teen pregnancy situation back in the old days when such things were shameful. The mother of my husband's mother was legally entitled to call the shots, and she did. She sent her knocked up daughter to southern Ontario to sit out the pregnancy and have the kid. Then she was sent away for a while. His father wanted to get married and keep the baby. The grandmother was having none of that nonsense. It was hardcore. If things had been left alone he would have been born in the same maternity ward as me but we probably would have never met. I think it worked out for the best. And, I'm not telling you anything I haven't said to my bonus father in law (I call his bio's his bonus family) I would have sent my daughter to one of the bases on Antarctica if it meant keeping them away from him at that time. He was quite a handful in those days. Didn't settle down for a good while. He's still a handful to be honest with you. But, he's a respectable business owner and they're good people, really awesome family. But, at 17? Hell no. I think it worked out for the best. My in laws are also good people. I wish he had more of a relationship with his bio mother's kids, but they never really connected. His bio mother passed away about 9 years before we got his birth info. I really wish she could have met him.

And the Dafodil Lodge is awesome. Wonderful people. I know she's in good hands, getting the best care.

 

Nice to see that Rama is clean now, I went only once in May 2006 from an outing from a conference at Horseshoe Resort, at that time could still smoke in the casino so maybe thats why it seemed kind of dirty, yet I was smoking then too. Maybe I'll give it another shot. Was your freeplay limited to certain machines, as it was back when I went?

 

The freeplay was any machine. But, you had to do the whole freeplay on the same machine. No moving around.

 

No smoking rules apply to all casinos in Ontario for number of years now - so pretty clean and air is much better than Vegas casinos . . . . now when you step outside .. . not much choice of things to do (as compared to Vegas)

 

My sister lived in Hanmer for some time. I was in the city (lockerby) then moved down to the Hammer for school, then the big smoke before recently settling in NOTL. Summers were fabulous and I didn't even mind skating on the rink outdoors at -30 in January...well at least that is what my fading memory is telling me now years later.....

 

Yeah, it was a dry cold. You didn't get soaked in the snow. I remember my mother brushing off our snow suits with a broom and we were still dry. As long as your skin was covered, you were good. I remember the sound of the snow crunching under my "moon boots". Basically winter boots that looked like the astronaut's moon boots. You know they sent the Apollo astronauts to Sudbury to train because they figured it looked like the moon. True story. Look it up.

I miss the lack of humidity, the beauty, the people are absolutely solid and the freedom. I miss the bilingual-ness and being around people with my background. But, I don't miss the bugs. I just can't deal with the bugs.

I really appreciate that all our indoor spaces in Ontario are smoke free. I think it makes a big difference in the cleanliness of the facilities. But, most importantly, the people inside. Not the guests, the staff. I remember the manager of the coffee shop at the Orleans way back in 2004 telling me he was a lifelong non smoker, nobody in his family smokes and his personal life insurance and medical insurance rated him as a 2 pack a day smoker because of his job. If you look at the rates of smoking related illnesses of the non smoking casino floor employees in Vegas, it's staggering. I really hope one day Nevada gets their head out of their ass and makes some compromises to make it safer for their staff.

 

My grandfather had a cottage in North Bay. We spent many summers as a kid up at the cottage swimming in the lake. He told us the story of a funeral at a Catholic Church years and years ago in Sudbury. If I remember the story correctly, there was a funeral for a person who passed away. The ushers had to carry the casket down stairs to go to the burial. Apparently the casket wasn't strong enough, and the deceased went through the front of the casket, and down the stairs like she (I think it was a female) was walking down the stairs. I guess a few of the ushers spent some time in the bar afterwards. I am not sure to the truth of this story, as it was told to us kids over 35 years ago.

 

I don't have anybody left alive to ask. But, I think I know which church has those kinds of steep stairs. And I've seen some cheap caskets in my day. I think it could have happened pretty much anywhere though. And who cares if it's true or not? An awesome story is an awesome story.

 

It was a pretty awesome story! That story was told on our way to/from the Dionne Museum over many summers.