Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Slowly I turn . . .

While in Buffalo, Saint Jerome and I went to the Falls. We drove in the car with Junie, his 84 year old sister, while Jill went with Jacqueline and Michael. We got to Goat Island, parked for $10 and went down to the Horse Shoe Falls. Niagara Falls is truly magnificent. A lot of wind, a lot of spray, extremely refreshing in the hot, humid weather. I actually like the American side better than the Canadian. You are much closer and it's still very wild in an uncultivated way near the Bridal Veil Fall. It's like you are there a thousand years ago except with more tourists. We didn't go down to dip our toes near the Bridal Veil Fall though. Junie's and Jacqueline's hair deflated in the spray and anyway, this was just a pit stop on the way to the CASINO! Yes, I went to a casino for the first time in my life.


The Seneca Niagara Casino is a neon-coated, glitzy oasis in the middle of desert that is downtown Niagara Falls, NY. It was wonderfully air-conditioned and smokey as hell (NY State smoking laws need not apply, coughcoughcough).

First we ate. The Three Sisters Cafe had good food, good service and was decently priced. We savored the eating portion of our trip (I had roast beef on kimmelweck with au jus and horseradish plus fries — it was divine) and entered The Casino. Oh my lord! What sensory overload! Bright blinking lights from thousands of machines, loud music, bells, whistles — you name it it was there assaulting us from all sides.

Saint Jerome's twin sister Jill was the expert in our group having worked in the casinos in Tahoe. She showed us the ropes. I played $5, won up to $23 on the 5¢ machine then cashed out. But the bug had bitten. I played another $15 which I lost on the same machine so I pretty much came out even. Saint Jerome also played $5 on a 5¢ machine, also won $23, also cashed out but remained imuned to the lure of the lights and the promise of a possible chance to win. The people around us though . . . They were glued to the machines like their life's blood pumped through them and back into their veins.

Most of them were elderly, a lot obese and infirm. Wheelchairs, walkers, canes abounded. I even saw an ancient woman with a seeing eye dog. A lot of smokers glued to their seat, cigarettes burning down to ash. There was one old woman in particular, sitting close to us at the 5¢ machine who was particularly fascinating to Saint Jerome. She had a big helmet of iron gray hair, took drags incessantly from the cigarette in her left hand while pressing the "re-spin" button incessantly with her right.

The thing that disappointed me, though, was the fact that all of these slot machines are now computerize and no longer take coins and no longer have the levers so they are no longer "one-armed bandits". The romance was gone for me. At least you don't run the risk of developing elbow trouble or spraining your bicep muscle.

I can see how people become addicted to gambling though. The slot machines hypnotize you and each time you press the re-spin button you're thinking, "Maybe I'll win big this time!" while the whole while you're losing another 5¢ or more.

Winning!

and losing . . .

1 comment:

  1. LOL. That casino sounds so hellish. I like playing Blackjack. Better odds, more interaction and if you pick the right table interesting stories...plus the old and infirm people tend to stay away! *ALERT THE AARP. Elvira just said she didn't like being around old people!*

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