Is The Pearls' Take On Casinos Accurate?

[1004srs]

I have been to several local casinos and didn't have bad experiences. Most are smoke free.

Mostly retirees.

I don't think I'd take my kiddos. THere are other resturants I'd rather visit with them.

[annalena]

Well to me there's a vast difference between a real casino and a place with vending machines open 24/7.

Real casino's I've been to in Germany, the Bahamas and Austria, are really upscale places. Really upscale. Especially Austria. Have a dress code : no men without suit jackets. Ladies: At least cocktail dress. Man. Now I really want to go. :)

[Katiebug]

We live around 45 minutes from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun (the two big Connecticut casinos). We go to Mohegan at least 2-3 times a year and have stayed in the hotel there before. We've also been to Las Vegas and went to most of the casinos on the Strip. They're nothing like this description.

We have been to a tiny Indian casino (a converted bingo hall) in Michigan that was shockingly similar to the Pearls' description. You couldn't pay me to go back there.

We go to Mohegan Sun most often because I like it better than Foxwoods and it's really a pleasant environment. Yes, there are the little old ladies gambling away on the penny slots all.day.long but there are also outstanding restaurants, plenty of smoke free gaming, (overpriced) shopping, concerts, basketball games, etc.

We took Little Bug there on Mother's Day because we went to the aquarium as a family and needed to find a place to have lunch in that end of the state. She was far from the only baby in the casino that day! We had a nice meal at Michael Jordan's, got some ice cream from Ben & Jerry's, and did a little window shopping - we didn't gamble at all.

[changemanagement]

We've been going to Vegas for the past 20+ years and we have a few where I live. We've seen fabulous casinos and we've seen dives.

Each casino tends to have its own personality and who it caters to. You can almost bank (no pun intended) on the quality of the casino and who frequents it based on the price of its buffett. The cost of the buffet mentioned is pretty low for a seafood buffett.

And yeah, levers have been gone for at least 10 years. If a casino still has a lever, you better believe its a dump.

Here's a sample of the flavor of Vegas casinos..

Hard Rock - Young adults

The Palms - Young adults

The Orleans - Country and Western

Boulder Station - Local and family oriented (day care, theatre, bowling alley)

Bellagio, Venetian - upscale and touristy

El Cortez - Dive, across the street from the Greyhound station and the jail

Some of these casinos restaurants owned and operated by world class chefs. As with anything, everything isn't for everyone. Same goes for casinos.

[PBrooke]

I've been to casinos in Florida, Connecticut and Vegas. None of those fit the description. The only thing I can think of that's remotely close is a little poker hall I once went to in the LA area, in terms of it being grimy and something out of the 70s. Otherwise, sure, you get little old ladies, and in places like Vegas and foxwoods you get young people dressed up because they're going to clubs or restaurants, but the little old ladies I've seen are usually in cute jogging suits, not painted up. There is a vague smoky smell, but it seems most places are working on it. Just to quibble - lots of the traditional looking penny slots in Foxwoods and others actually do work by pulling the lever, but most people ignore that anduse the buttons instead. And of course none of them dump quarters. This account is just so, well, it's just plain dramatic - like all the old ladies are Roz from monsters Inc.! Impossible to take seriously.

[theologygeek]

We live around 45 minutes from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun (the two big Connecticut casinos). We go to Mohegan at least 2-3 times a year and have stayed in the hotel there before. We've also been to Las Vegas and went to most of the casinos on the Strip. They're nothing like this description.

We have been to a tiny Indian casino (a converted bingo hall) in Michigan that was shockingly similar to the Pearls' description. You couldn't pay me to go back there.

We go to Mohegan Sun most often because I like it better than Foxwoods and it's really a pleasant environment. Yes, there are the little old ladies gambling away on the penny slots all.day.long but there are also outstanding restaurants, plenty of smoke free gaming, (overpriced) shopping, concerts, basketball games, etc.

We took Little Bug there on Mother's Day because we went to the aquarium as a family and needed to find a place to have lunch in that end of the state. She was far from the only baby in the casino that day! We had a nice meal at Michael Jordan's, got some ice cream from Ben & Jerry's, and did a little window shopping - we didn't gamble at all.

My kids love casinos. Mohegan Sun has that huge game room for kids. Foxwoods is swarming with kids. Atlantic City is great because kids can go to the beach and also walk around inside the casinos to shop and eat. I started letting the kids come along when they were 13, which was old enough to let them go off and do their thing, and they were responsible enough know where to meet me when it was time to eat or leave. The Pearls probably went to a disgusting dive casino. They don't even have pull down slot machines any more and haven't for years. Either they are lying, or they went to some sort of ancient rat hole. I highly doubt they went somewhere classy like the Borgata.

[theologygeek]

I've been to casinos in Florida, Connecticut and Vegas. None of those fit the description. The only thing I can think of that's remotely close is a little poker hall I once went to in the LA area, in terms of it being grimy and something out of the 70s. Otherwise, sure, you get little old ladies, and in places like Vegas and foxwoods you get young people dressed up because they're going to clubs or restaurants, but the little old ladies I've seen are usually in cute jogging suits, not painted up. There is a vague smoky smell, but it seems most places are working on it. Just to quibble - lots of the traditional looking penny slots in Foxwoods and others actually do work by pulling the lever, but most people ignore that anduse the buttons instead. And of course none of them dump quarters. This account is just so, well, it's just plain dramatic - like all the old ladies are Roz from monsters Inc.! Impossible to take seriously.

I haven't seen a lever in Foxwoods in about ten years, but then again, I play blackjack and craps. The only slot machines I play are the $5 poker machines. I have to ask my parents if the levers are still there. They go to Foxwoods once a month.

[PBrooke]

Next time you're at Foxwoods, check around, I'm telling you you can pull the levers on most that have them. ;) Course, again, won't see most or even some of the people pulling them, so the description about that being the only sign of movement is dead wrong. Besides, how can someone that insufferably religious have observed that and not mentioned all the good-luck rubbing and shaking of little toys and talismans?

Note: I'm not a slots player myself, but a major storm left me with waaaay too much time there once.

[keen23]

Less than two miles from my house is a casino on a reservation. There's nothing glamorous about it, but at the same time, it is nowhere as bleak as what the Pearls describe. Sure, there are lots of old people sitting at the slots, and this particular casino has a ton of penny and nickle slots. They also have someone at the door checking ID's of anyone less than geriatric, because they just flat out don't allow people under 21 to come in.

[theologygeek]

Next time you're at Foxwoods, check around, I'm telling you you can pull the levers on most that have them. ;) Course, again, won't see most or even some of the people pulling them, so the description about that being the only sign of movement is dead wrong. Besides, how can someone that insufferably religious have observed that and not mentioned all the good-luck rubbing and shaking of little toys and talismans?

Note: I'm not a slots player myself, but a major storm left me with waaaay too much time there once.

I just consulted The Casino Experts, who complain about the price of milk going up all the time, but are never home for more than five minutes. lol According to them, some slots still have levers. Some levers are disabled and some are not. The ones that aren't have the option of using buttons instead. But you have to find the ones with levers, because most of the slots just have buttons. Oh, and The Casino Experts are active in their church, but my mother wears her good luck shirt every time she goes to Foxwoods. lol

[mirele]

Arizona tribal casinos here...I drive by at least one casino on my way to work, depending on which route I take.

That said, when I first went to an AZ casino about 15 years ago, it was, as I described to my father, "the only smoke-filled den I've been in where you can't get a drink." That has changed. For one thing, the casino is no longer in a tent, but a very nice building. And this tribe's built a second casino and a nice resort hotel to go along with it. The other tribe also has a nice resort hotel next to their casino. Smoking is still allowed but the places are practically drafty with all the air moving going around. And you can get adult beverages now.

Sandia casino just north of Albuquerque is also very, very nice. It's a resort, too.

However, I could easily see myself becoming addicted to slots, so I just don't go to any of them. If I feel like I need to play the slots, I do it fake style with a gambling app on my phone.

ETA: When I lived in Utah, Gayle Ruzicka (an annoying activist who runs "Eagle Forum"), took her brood of kids to Vegas, and they went to whichever hotel has the statue of David. SHE TOLD HER KIDS TO COVER THEIR EYES as they were walking to the buffet. Yikes.

[keen23]

Arizona tribal casinos here...I drive by at least one casino on my way to work, depending on which route I take.

That said, when I first went to an AZ casino about 15 years ago, it was, as I described to my father, "the only smoke-filled den I've been in where you can't get a drink." That has changed. For one thing, the casino is no longer in a tent, but a very nice building. And this tribe's built a second casino and a nice resort hotel to go along with it. The other tribe also has a nice resort hotel next to their casino. Smoking is still allowed but the places are practically drafty with all the air moving going around. And you can get adult beverages now.

I remember the old tent Wild Horse Casino on the Gila Reservation- that was horrible! The new one is much nicer. Actually, it feels a lot like Foxwoods to me, but on a smaller scale.

[dawbs]

I like levers. Luddite at heart or something. I seek out machines where the levers work.

I will say, at, say 5 am or 2 pm, especially on a weekday, the Pearl's description isn't *that far* from what I've seen. (Mr. Dawbs tells the story better, but, we witnessed a woman trailing some form of bodily fluid being rolled away, while sitting on the 'platform' on her walker, by her partner/spouse/whatever, while screaming that she wasn't done winning back her money yet. That was a bad day)

Other times, it is nothing like that.

[theologygeek]

I commented on the Pearls article, but I doubt it will be posted. "The kind of casino you described is a dive. Slot machines haven't had pull down levers in many years. I'm sure you have made enough money from your book "How To Kill A Child In 101 Easy Lessons" to go to a classy casino such as the Borgata."

[debrand]

The writer says that they where on vacation on the coast. The closest coast would be NC, wouldn't it? Tennessee doesn't border the ocean.

The point of the article was(oddly enough) that you should not be frightened to expose your children to sinful activities because it will turn them off from sinning. I kid you not.

My friend Aaron told me that when he was about four years old his old grandpa offered him a taste of beer. His very conservative parents would have been horrified if they had known about it. Aaron said that one sip of beer made a permanent impression upon him. From that point on he knew that “Beer is yucky.â€

I had another friend who said that when he was about six years old his teenage cousin offered him a drag off his cigarette. The poor little boy spent the rest of the afternoon puking while his mean cousin laughed. The misery of a sick stomach and the mockery forever destroyed any mysterious appeal of smoking.

It is interesting that it takes a lot of practice to learn to appreciate something as repulsive as smoking or the taste of beer, but when it finally takes root it quickly becomes a very compelling habit. In a natural sense, the young child doesn’t like either. It takes effort to dull and kill the natural sense of taste and smell in order to want to indulge. I saw a classic example of this while on vacation. It was sin at the end of life’s road.

While we were on vacation down at the coast

[debrand]

According to Wikipedia, there aren't many casinos in NC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ca ... h_Carolina

I suppose the coast could be SC too.

[MrsYoungie]

I didn't think children were allowed into casinos.

The only ones I have ever been to are in Ontariio. CasinoRama and Niagara Falls. They are both non-smoking. My husband did comment on the expressions of the people at the slots. Very mesmerized looking but not particularly happy for sure.

We don't gamble so it was like a site-seeing for us. We're not against gambling or anything, we just don't. Can't afford it and it doesn't look like much fun. Certainly not like the happy people in the commercials.

Question remains: Why would fundies pick a restaurant in a casino? Maybe next time they'll go to one in a strip club?

[PBrooke]

Kid aren't allowed, typically, in the sections of casinos that have gambling, but now so many casinos are more than that- they might have restaurants, or in the case of Vegas, theaters for shows like The Lion King or Cirque du Soleil. The areas with slots are typically delineated in some way. In foxwoods it's kind of like a mall, only instead of stores it's rooms for various forms of gambling. Some casinos, like Mirage, might have a wide center aisle where technically you're walking through slot machines, but employees and officers patrol and children wouldn't be allowed to linger.

[Black Aliss]

Apparently, they really wanted to eat seafood at a certain restaurant.

Now, see, I'd turn and run the minute I smelled fish, because good fish doesn't smell. You shouldn't be able to tell if the person at the table next to yours is eating fish. Fish odor that escapes the restaurant and cuts through all those other odors? Ewwwww.

[Kitty]

The writer says that they where on vacation on the coast. The closest coast would be NC, wouldn't it? Tennessee doesn't border the ocean.

The point of the article was(oddly enough) that you should not be frightened to expose your children to sinful activities because it will turn them off from sinning. I kid you not.

That's a very common technique in Southern parenting. If you don't want your kids raiding your cigs or liquor cabinet when they're older, give them the cigs and beer when they're very young.

It works very well... to introduce the kids to that shit so they think it's cool later on and are eager to smoke and drink. It really doesn't work.

[Kitty]

According to Wikipedia, there aren't many casinos in NC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ca ... h_Carolina

I suppose the coast could be SC too.

If they were in NC, I bet they wound up in the Southland in Moyock, which has a tobacco shop (and the 'casino'), plus a restaurant, gift shop, and gas station all in the same building. Being moronic tourists, they walked through a side entrance, which leads into the tobacco shop and is pretty much locals-only.

It's the only place I know that would have a 'casino' and restaurant in the same building, and it's near the coast (not ON the coast, since Moyock is on the Currituck County mainland).

Yes, I'm quite familiar with the place, and it scares me to think that the Pearls were there.

[ems]

I have only been in one casino and that wasn't to gamble but to watch a performer. The place did not stink and everyone was pleasant. However, I have no other experiences with casinos so I don't know if the Pearls are being accurate with their depiction.

Apparently, they really wanted to eat seafood at a certain restaurant. Because they knew it was a casino, they warned their young kids about how bad it was. Why would anyone purposely take their children somewhere that they think is bad?

But what surrprised me was their description. It sounds disgusting and I wonder if they are stretching the truth.

http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/articles/ge ... re-you-go/

So, are they stretching the truth or not?

Is she stretching the truth? Uhhhhh, yeah.

[Kitty]

There's no steps in Southland, and the tobacco shop isn't nearly 100 feet long, so she either wound up at a similar place, or she's REALLY stretching the truth.

I'm voting the latter.

[ems]

I should add that I've only been to a few Casinos in Atlantic City and a casino outside Ocean City, Maryland that was converted from a racetrack after MD legalized slots. There are some really NICE ones in the resorts in AC, but they have the full-scale resort amenities in addition to just gambling. The one in OC really just felt like a Dave and Busters in terms of atmosphere.

The Pearls' description just sounded ridiculously over-the-top to me (one step from hell??), and like their point was to exaggerate to hone in how bad and sinful gambling is. I'm sure there are some pretty seedy casinos out there, but I'm also sure the Pearls are full of hyperbole.

Now I'm grossed out by the idea of old people sitting behind slot machines all day in soiled diapers :(.

I'm thinking that resort casinos might get a different crowd than local ones that have the VERY addicted gamblers.

[ems]

That's a very common technique in Southern parenting. If you don't want your kids raiding your cigs or liquor cabinet when they're older, give them the cigs and beer when they're very young.

It works very well... to introduce the kids to that shit so they think it's cool later on and are eager to smoke and drink. It really doesn't work.

Meh, I'm not Southern, but my dad did that with me, not with cigs (he's not a smoker) but with beer. It pretty much worked in that I still generally think beer is nasty. I do like wine and cocktails though, but I'm generally not into drinking to get wasted.