You don’t have to be a professional player or a gambling addict to enjoy what casinos have to offer. Even the most casual player can find plenty to entertain them in a casino.
You’ve probably seen one of those bumper stickers that say, “I wasn’t born in [name of state]But I got here as fast as I could! “Well that’s how I feel about WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma; I wasn’t born there, but … well, you get the idea. I don’t have any personal interest in WinStar; I have an interest, but it’s not! a personal interest!
There is something about casinos, besides games, that keeps people coming back. Consider casinos as a form of entertainment. Many are now “resorts” with an adjoining hotel for nearby lodging and all the accompanying amenities. Depending on their size, in addition to various types of games, casinos can offer:
• Renowned entertainment
• A sports hall (with televisions showing all kinds of sporting events)
• Many places to eat (from fancy restaurants to snack bars)
• A pool
• Gym and spa
• Golf
In most states, casinos are on Indian reservation property because that is the only way they are legal. According to the Gaming Tribe Report from the National Indian Gaming Commission, as of July 2011, there were 460 Indian gaming operations in the United States. Thirty-six states (maybe more now) have Indian casinos, and that doesn’t count Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
As for the fact that they may be Indian casinos, it is only fair that the tribes are trying to recover some of what was taken from them for more than 200 years. According to Brett D. Fromso in his book, “Hitting the Jackpot,” the Foxwoods Casino Pequot tribe was, at one point, “the richest Indian tribe in history.”
Honestly, from Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, to Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, Oregon, I have never met a casino that I didn’t like. And I have put many of them. We have traveled by motorhome through the 48 continental states and have visited casinos in all the states that have them. It is a form of entertainment for us that brings us a lot of pleasure. It happens that we live in a state that has a single casino that is not very useful, so we go to a contiguous state with one that is.
Excuse me, but I think it’s time for us to go to the casino.