We arrived at Harrah's Cherokee casino in North Carolina at about 430 pm and were done and back on the road by 530. This should tell you all you need to know about this, our final casino on the tour.
The casino did not feature table games, even though they say they do. They have tables that people sit around and play something they call "Live, Digital Blackjack." The only discernible difference between live, digital blackjack and video blackjack is that there is a casino employee who pushes the buttons to deal, hit, etc. and then gathers up the chips. The entire casino is dark and very dingy probably because of all the video screens at the live, digital tables.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Tunica
Tunica MS had been recommended by some of Mel's relatives and by a player Mel encountered in Davenport during a work session. We had had some poor experiences since the Potowatami's second casino in Mayetta KS, because of "state rules" such as the maximum bet in CO and the tax per hand in OK, so we were looking forward to Tunica.
It turned out to be better than advertised.
The Grand Casino was a large sprawling resort on the road (US 61) to Tunica from Memphis. It had a casino, hotel, housing units and a golf course. The casino offered many low limit tables and a friendly crew. Owned by Harrah's it took the staff a while to find our accounts but they persisted and gave us cards. At one point the dealer was winning too many hands so the pit boss, a woman, came over and offered an incantation over the cards left in the shoe and sure enough the table won the next hand. We both left winning and the pit boss returned and comped us breakfast at their buffet.
We left after a fine meal and went to Casino Way Blvd where there are three casinos, the Horseshoe, Sheraton, and Gold Strike. The Horseshoe was recommended by Dorie's sister-in-law, so we started there. I did well at the table and Mel finished even. We walked over to the Sheraton since we had not been to a Sheraton casino before. Once entering we realized that Sheraton was now owned by Harrah's, so we were home again. Mel started playing and a pit boss offered him to comp him to lunch at the buffet. I played a while at the table to get free food too but instead of getting a comp of my own they offered to give Mel two lunches. He shared. The food was good but not as large a buffet as at the Grand Casino.
We left winning some of Harrah's money, eating lots of good food, and deciding that the trip to Memphis/Tunica might be a better choice than the long flight to Las Vegas.
It turned out to be better than advertised.
The Grand Casino was a large sprawling resort on the road (US 61) to Tunica from Memphis. It had a casino, hotel, housing units and a golf course. The casino offered many low limit tables and a friendly crew. Owned by Harrah's it took the staff a while to find our accounts but they persisted and gave us cards. At one point the dealer was winning too many hands so the pit boss, a woman, came over and offered an incantation over the cards left in the shoe and sure enough the table won the next hand. We both left winning and the pit boss returned and comped us breakfast at their buffet.
We left after a fine meal and went to Casino Way Blvd where there are three casinos, the Horseshoe, Sheraton, and Gold Strike. The Horseshoe was recommended by Dorie's sister-in-law, so we started there. I did well at the table and Mel finished even. We walked over to the Sheraton since we had not been to a Sheraton casino before. Once entering we realized that Sheraton was now owned by Harrah's, so we were home again. Mel started playing and a pit boss offered him to comp him to lunch at the buffet. I played a while at the table to get free food too but instead of getting a comp of my own they offered to give Mel two lunches. He shared. The food was good but not as large a buffet as at the Grand Casino.
We left winning some of Harrah's money, eating lots of good food, and deciding that the trip to Memphis/Tunica might be a better choice than the long flight to Las Vegas.
Motels are not all created equal.
We stopped in Jackson TN after a terrific work session in Tunica Mississippi (that will be reported separately). The stop was necessitated by intermittent thunderstorms that we encountered on I 40. The rain was the second we encountered in the trip and the first which was really affecting our driving.
Lured by a low price we stayed over night at the Old Hickory Inn. Possibly the worst motel I have stayed at in years. The air conditioning took forever to chill a room no bigger than most bedrooms, the fire alarm chirped all night, there was only one set of towels and it took several hours to get a second set, the water was tepid to cool, the tv remote control batteries were dead and the lounge was closed due to a "card game". We had stuck to low cost, national, chains for the trip and will return to them again. They vary a little in offerings but at least the things they offer work.
Lured by a low price we stayed over night at the Old Hickory Inn. Possibly the worst motel I have stayed at in years. The air conditioning took forever to chill a room no bigger than most bedrooms, the fire alarm chirped all night, there was only one set of towels and it took several hours to get a second set, the water was tepid to cool, the tv remote control batteries were dead and the lounge was closed due to a "card game". We had stuck to low cost, national, chains for the trip and will return to them again. They vary a little in offerings but at least the things they offer work.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Who Knew For Oklahoma
Unfortunately our plan to visit in Dallas Fort Worth was not to be. Unexpected events prevented the visit, but I get way ahead of myself.
We left Denver, with a much improved route provided by Den's oldest son, roaring down I 25. Out of the corner of Den's eye he caught the Shepler's sign on the left. As we pulled off we saw a good price Phillips 66, fueled, coffeed, and soda'd ( I'm the soda or is that pop in CO?) Our adventure at finding Shepler's turned to a real comedy of errors. See in CO, it is mostly impossible to back track along the outer roads. We just could not locate Shepler's. So having found I25 south again we roared back south. But wait ... we see (both of us) Shepler's (did I mention Shepler's is a Western wear shop?) and this time are successful at locating Shepler's. But wait ... it is 9AM CO time and Shepler's opens at 10AM.
On the road again, south on I 25 passing through Trinidad CO continuing to Raton NM. There was a lure to turn right and go to Taos NM and visit a casino there. That would have added at least 2, maybe 3, hours to the day. The decision, a hard one, was to turn left on US 64 & 87 East towards Amarillo TX. We did stop at Pappa's for lunch, soup and a prime roast beef sandwich, we did fuel up, and buy a trinket or 2 for the brides waiting so patiently at home.
We found the $39.99 Travelodge with our reservations. The clerk recommended a place called Macaroni Joe's for dinner that turned out to be very good. Chicken marsallis over pasta and lasagna with Italian sausage, all very good. We returned to our cheap motel and settled in for the night. Of all the places we've stayed, this qualifies at the bottom. We wanted to get to bed early because we assumed a long trip on Tuesday due to plan changes. We had decided to run along I 40, cutting out Natchez, and going directly to Tunica MS, so the reason for the Headline.
Look at the map, see how I 40 runs through the pan handle of Texas directly into Oklahoma (look left to right)? After a while on I 40 in OK we spot casino signs, grab our trusty Casino's of the World book circa 2005, but the ones on the signs are not mentioned. The stars aligned just right, we pass through Oklahoma City and about a half hour East of the city is a brand new one called Firelake Grand Casino, it is about 12:30. We pull in. If you sign up for the players card your given a $10 credit on slots and $5.00 off the buffet. The catch is, to play blackjack, you must ante $0.50 per hand. I joined a table that was just beginning and the shoe was HOT. Before the end of the shoe I had doubled my money. I colored up and we went to lunch for less than $10.00 total for both of us.
We passed several additional casino's along I40 but did not stop, we were winners for the day. We stopped for the night in Little Rock, Arkansas, had a lite pizza at Shotgun Dan's, across from Don's Weapons, a fine repast. Our waitress had prison tats, go figure.
Mel
We left Denver, with a much improved route provided by Den's oldest son, roaring down I 25. Out of the corner of Den's eye he caught the Shepler's sign on the left. As we pulled off we saw a good price Phillips 66, fueled, coffeed, and soda'd ( I'm the soda or is that pop in CO?) Our adventure at finding Shepler's turned to a real comedy of errors. See in CO, it is mostly impossible to back track along the outer roads. We just could not locate Shepler's. So having found I25 south again we roared back south. But wait ... we see (both of us) Shepler's (did I mention Shepler's is a Western wear shop?) and this time are successful at locating Shepler's. But wait ... it is 9AM CO time and Shepler's opens at 10AM.
On the road again, south on I 25 passing through Trinidad CO continuing to Raton NM. There was a lure to turn right and go to Taos NM and visit a casino there. That would have added at least 2, maybe 3, hours to the day. The decision, a hard one, was to turn left on US 64 & 87 East towards Amarillo TX. We did stop at Pappa's for lunch, soup and a prime roast beef sandwich, we did fuel up, and buy a trinket or 2 for the brides waiting so patiently at home.
We found the $39.99 Travelodge with our reservations. The clerk recommended a place called Macaroni Joe's for dinner that turned out to be very good. Chicken marsallis over pasta and lasagna with Italian sausage, all very good. We returned to our cheap motel and settled in for the night. Of all the places we've stayed, this qualifies at the bottom. We wanted to get to bed early because we assumed a long trip on Tuesday due to plan changes. We had decided to run along I 40, cutting out Natchez, and going directly to Tunica MS, so the reason for the Headline.
Look at the map, see how I 40 runs through the pan handle of Texas directly into Oklahoma (look left to right)? After a while on I 40 in OK we spot casino signs, grab our trusty Casino's of the World book circa 2005, but the ones on the signs are not mentioned. The stars aligned just right, we pass through Oklahoma City and about a half hour East of the city is a brand new one called Firelake Grand Casino, it is about 12:30. We pull in. If you sign up for the players card your given a $10 credit on slots and $5.00 off the buffet. The catch is, to play blackjack, you must ante $0.50 per hand. I joined a table that was just beginning and the shoe was HOT. Before the end of the shoe I had doubled my money. I colored up and we went to lunch for less than $10.00 total for both of us.
We passed several additional casino's along I40 but did not stop, we were winners for the day. We stopped for the night in Little Rock, Arkansas, had a lite pizza at Shotgun Dan's, across from Don's Weapons, a fine repast. Our waitress had prison tats, go figure.
Mel
Sunday in Denver
After recovering from the birthday party, Mark and Den ventured forth to play a round of golf against two pros from Denver, locally known as Doug and TR. The opening nine saw the locals take an enormous lead of 4 skins but M&D knew it was just a lack of practice that was holding them back. On the back nine M&D came back and tied; forcing a tie breaker: closest to the pin from about 100 yards out. Unfortunately for our heros, TR nailed it dropping the ball 9 feet from the pin.
After the round of golf, Mel, Julie, Mark and Den went to the Rockies/Dodgers baseball game. We were not alone, in fact we became (and, in truth, may have caused) the largest walk up crowd in Rockies history. Over 6000 people decided to come to the stadium to watch the game that day. My feeling though is that the Rockies built their stadium a little too close to the sun. It was very hot in the seats and we took a couple of rests to walk around the stadium and drink lots of water. The Rockies won, so everything worked out.
After the round of golf, Mel, Julie, Mark and Den went to the Rockies/Dodgers baseball game. We were not alone, in fact we became (and, in truth, may have caused) the largest walk up crowd in Rockies history. Over 6000 people decided to come to the stadium to watch the game that day. My feeling though is that the Rockies built their stadium a little too close to the sun. It was very hot in the seats and we took a couple of rests to walk around the stadium and drink lots of water. The Rockies won, so everything worked out.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Mark's Birthday Party
Saturday saw a flurry of activity at Mark and Melissa's. The birthday party was imminent with hundreds of their closest friends, neighbors, work mates, and offspring expected to attend.
Three important tasks remained: a birthday cake had to be made, the back patio and landscaping needed to be sodded, and all important a trip to Applejacks, the largest retail liquor store West of the Mississippi had to be visited.
Melissa did a terrific job on the cake, inspired by the Ace of Cakes show, it was a complex arrangement of yellow and chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting and a signature design of interwoven green and blue icings. All of the work did not prevent it from being consumed.
Mark and Melissa have transformed their backyard into a party throwing patio and the workers completed the task at 1 pm in plenty of time for the party. Julie helped wash and install pads onto lawn chairs and chaise lounges for the guests.
Mark handled the trip to Applejacks, where among other bargains we saw a forty year old bottle of Glenfiddich available for the low low price of $2,400. It seemed high so we passed.
The fine party food consisted of barbeque from Bennets, a transplant from Texas, go figure.
BTW if someone in Denver offers you dirty water, it's okay, apparently that's what they call Scotch.
Three important tasks remained: a birthday cake had to be made, the back patio and landscaping needed to be sodded, and all important a trip to Applejacks, the largest retail liquor store West of the Mississippi had to be visited.
Melissa did a terrific job on the cake, inspired by the Ace of Cakes show, it was a complex arrangement of yellow and chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting and a signature design of interwoven green and blue icings. All of the work did not prevent it from being consumed.
Mark and Melissa have transformed their backyard into a party throwing patio and the workers completed the task at 1 pm in plenty of time for the party. Julie helped wash and install pads onto lawn chairs and chaise lounges for the guests.
Mark handled the trip to Applejacks, where among other bargains we saw a forty year old bottle of Glenfiddich available for the low low price of $2,400. It seemed high so we passed.
The fine party food consisted of barbeque from Bennets, a transplant from Texas, go figure.
BTW if someone in Denver offers you dirty water, it's okay, apparently that's what they call Scotch.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
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