[peggydavis]

Originally Posted by jessaka

Tahlequah has Indian casinos. they don't sell alcohol in them. seems they don't serve food either, but I am not sure. I have heard from people that it is hard to win money at an Indian casino (at least that is what I heard about the ones in California), so these people go to Las Vegas. Like Peggy I don't gamble myself; don't even buy lottery tickets.

I don't think any of the casinos in OK serve alcohol, but maybe the bigger ones do now. I have heard that the Firelake Casino near Shawnee and the Golden Pony in Okemah have good food, but my hubby doesn't even want to see gambling machines, so I haven't been there to try it.

I went to the Thunderbird casino east of Norman on Highway 9 a few years ago. That was before they got the better games and card games, but my son and I thought it was boring. You had to wait in line to play a machine (they had about 200 of them). I put in a dollar and played until I had won $2.25, then I cashed out and we left. Now I read in the paper that Thunderbird is having financial difficulty because of the competition from Riverwind and Firelake. Maybe we have reached the saturation point on new casinos.

The scratch off state of Oklahoma games are dumb. The odds are like 500 to 1 that you will win $250 on a 2 dollar ticket. That does not sound like good odds to me, so I have never bought one of those.

[Bobby H]

Some of the larger casinos do serve alcohol, at least in the same building. I can't remember which ones would actually serve beer and other drinks on the gaming floor itself.

I visited the Cherokee Casino on the east side of Tulsa recently (to attend a sign industry convention being held there). They catered our Friday night dinner and served drinks as well. The food was really pretty good. There's a bar called "Twisters" down next to the main gaming floor. Overall the Cherokee Casino is pretty nice. I also like the custom built motorcycle they have on display in the lobby -built by Orange County Choppers. I suppose the Covington Brothers here in Oklahoma could have built the thing if they had their own TV series.

On the subject of gambling itself -I don't have a positive opinion of it.

Some of the revenue may go into improving or maintaining buildings, infrastructure and services on tribe-owned lands. However, most of it just goes elsewhere (typically to some business interests out of state).

The general public on the whole has only so much money they can spend to buy "stuff" after paying their bills. Buying "stuff" accounts for 70% of our nation's economy. Gambling can do a lot to interrupt that. I know people who've blown what it takes to buy a HDTV in one night at a casino -and these people aren't rich either. Once they're in the hole like that, they're not buying much of anything for awhile.

And then you have the spectre of gambling addiction. There are people who will choose pulling a slot machine handle over buying food and clothes for their kids. Lots of people living near or below the poverty line are gambling addicts as well. I don't know where they get the money to play. Nevertheless, when I drive by some of the largest casinos in my part of the state their parking lots are usually filled -even mid day during the week when you figure most people would be at work in their day job.

[Jammie]

Bobby, that's pretty much how I feel about gambling, too. Not sure it's a very good thing because there are always people who will become gambling addicts and it's bad for them, their families, and society in general.

So is the one you saw on the east side of Tulsa actually in Catoosa? We drove past that one and it looked really nice.

[Bobby H]

Well, yeah, Cherokee Casino is technically a lot closer to Catoosa than it is to central Tulsa. Basically you're taking the next to last free exit on I-44 before the Will Rogers Turnpike begins.

Now, I will weigh in and mention the fact a good number of my relatives are Cherokee. I'm not on the charters and consider myself "white." Still, I think it is pretty freaking offensive that so many Native American Tribes are plunging headlong into this casino business and allowing all the native North American tribes to get stereotyped with gambling business.

Reparations? Sheesh. At what cost? The culture's reputation for the long term? Not very good from my point of view.

[Mattie Jo]

i feel the same as bobby. and as for peggy's husband, i can't stand to see machines but i really hate the noise, so eating there isn't pleasant to me even if the food is great.

[ukyankee]

The Citizen Pottawatomie have opened a new casino called Firelake Grand Casino. The hotel is still being built, but they have good parking with free valet service. It is about 8 miles from Shawnee and 35 from Oklahoma City, but there is reasonable costing housing available. Also the crime rate is not as bad as Tunica.

[Goodpasture]

Originally Posted by Bobby H

Well, yeah, Cherokee Casino is technically a lot closer to Catoosa than it is to central Tulsa...

The Cherokee Casino is in Catoosa, about half a mile from Catoosa High School. It offers a great buffet (The Wild Potato) with both smoking and non-smoking areas. It is very quiet in there. You cannot hear the slots at all. The price is reasonable. I went to the lunch buffet last Thursday and had more than I needed, and the two of us spent about $15.00. There is a steak house off the casino floor and several cafes. They have a full service hotel and a 18 hole golf course. They are making it a full destination resort and conference center. There are hundreds of electronic slots that make those annoying noises, but there are several large rooms devoted to various card games and other non-electronic games.

As an aside, on the main street in front of the Cherokee Casino is a cafish buffet that is great. Two kinds of catfish (southern and cajun) fried chicken, lots of side dishes, for about $5.00 for lunch. Food is good and the price is great. The place is called Paulines, and is NOT a part of the Casino.

Catoosa has good schools (there are some in the area that are better, but some that are also a lot worse), in the northwest and north east parts of Catoosa (in Rogers County) there are really nice quiet neighborhoods of modest to expensive houses. Catoosa is also the most inland ocean port in the US. The terminus is the port of Catoosa and there is a large thriving industrial park at the terminus of the Canal system.

Although there is Indian preferences in hiring, skilled people are in tremendous demand. With the Million Dollar Elm (Osage) in Sand Springs, and the new destination resort hotel/casino being constructed in Jenks (Creek Nation Casino) the demand for dealers and other professionals is going to be incredible.

Miami has two or three casinos that are mostly slots with minimal cards or other games.

[peggydavis]

Clint Black, country music legend, will be at Firelake Grand Casino near Shawnee on Sept. 16.

[MajorHart]

Thanks to Peggy and all of you for the information. It's been a long time since I was in a casino in LasVegas but the food was cheap and very, very good. The storyline was that if you feed the people good food cheaply, they will spend more on gambling.

We ate good and spent a little.

Thanks for the information.

[nmnita]

Major, do not expect the food to be cheap as in the old Vegas days. We do go to them about once every month or so. We will go for lunch and gamble for a few hours or gamble and stay for dinner, either buffet or dining room. expect to pay $15 to $20 for a good dinner buffet and more for a sit down dinner. Alcohol is served in most of the larger casinos, but not free. You can buy a drink and take it onto the floor in some of them...

Nita