RIGHT across the street from the Sheraton Inn where I stayed in Niagara Falls, NY late last month is this massive Seneca Niagara Casino. I assumed it’s run by the tribe, but I don’t have enough intellectual curiosity to find out. I just don’t enjoy being in them.
My late father, by contrast, LOVED the casinos; I went with him at least once in California. I got stuck waiting for a co-worker to lose $150 at Turning Stone, between Syracuse and Utica, NY.
Back in 1998, there was no casino on the US side of Niagara Falls, so one had to go to the Ontario, Canada side to play. Since there was little else to do, I went along. I was winning on a particular slot machine and did not like the feeling AT ALL, so switched machines so I could lose and be done with it. Why wouldn’t I want to win? Because I have an addictive personality, and it could have become a problem.
It’s also that casinos quite literally give me a headache. They’re noisy, somewhat dark, with no clocks, no windows to give you the sense of the time of day. Some even allow cigarette smoking, which is not good for me.
Whereas, on our walk to the Canadian side of the Falls this year, I was excited to discover the Toronto Power Generating Station, which is now a National Historic Site of Canada. From the Wikipedia: “Completed in 1906 in the Beaux-Arts-style, the station was designed by architect E. J. Lennox… The plant ceased operations on February 15, 1974.” Coming across it, without even knowing it was there, was a real find. It reminds me of a scaled-back gilded-age mansion. For a power plant? How oddly interesting.
The Seneca Niagara Casino, though, did have one interesting aspect; the sign for the upcoming music performers there.
Temptations/Four Tops, May 11 – the type of performers I’d expect; there’s only one original Temptation, and how can the Tops be the Tops without Levi Stubbs?
Bobby Vinton, May 25 – always associated him with that not-so-great music from that period between 1959 and the 1963 March on Washington.
Go-Go’s, June 15 – I didn’t know they were still together, or together again. I saw them live over 30 years ago at JB Scott’s in Albany; check out the Coverville tribute to them
Jackson Browne, June 29 – Jackson Browne? Why do I find this oddly disappointing, somehow?
This image, originally posted to Flickr, was reviewed on July 13, 2010, by the administrator or reviewer File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske), who confirmed that it was available on Flickr under his file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license on that date.
I get a lot of strange looks when I tell people that we went to Vegas last year, but didn’t try our luck on the tables. We did wander round several of the casinos and I did lose $10 on a slot machine, but that was about it. They are very strange places – it is like permanent night time!
I’m surprised to hear you describe yourself as an addictive personality. Really.
I’ve been blogging for 8 years straight; if that’s not addiction, I don’t know what is.
Addiction? I though it was a PASSION! On the other hand, this is at least the third time you’ve gone through the alphabet…
The 7th, actually, but who’s counting?
Totally share your hatred for gambling for similar reasons.
When I was 12 I went to a carnival where they had one of those sliding quarters machines. Lost 6 weeks of allowance and decided that gambling is not a good compulsion for me to play with! 🙂
Roger, you know I worked at Condado Plaza’s casino piano bar in the 90s, so I’ve seen the “dirty underbelly” of casinos, including the constant noise (meant to be exciting, so your headache is simply a fluke of nature!), the extra oxygen pumped into the air (to keep you wired), the free drinks. And that’s just downstairs. Upstairs, they have cameras to make sure the house always ends up winning, either by sending a “cooler” to cool off someone’s luck (it’s true), a bimbo to distract a high roller on a roll… and I don’t trust that video slots are even SLIGHTLY honest.
The casino in Buffalo, NY, was such a blatant “screw you” by Pataki and the Dept of Interior head as both retired. They carved out a block or so, sold it to the Senecas as sovereign tribal land, and even gave them eminent domain rights, so they can sprawl if they so choose.
Tribal casinos don’t really make jack for rank-and-file tribe members; the bribes make tribal leaders rich, and the tribe remains in hock to some rich guy in Malaysia who lent them the money to build it.
Canada’s casinos are GOVERNMENT-run. The money is supposed to go for national health care, but since the US imposed the $60 limited-passport rule for getting into Canada, tourism (and addiction) have dropped. You’re right about addiction: Las Vegas has loads of Gamblers Anon. groups. Amy
PS No, I don’t gamble. Ever. Not even on the stock market or for penny-ante poker.
I remain, so far as I can determine, the only individual ever to work a Bobby Vinton song into a My Little Pony story.
Dustbury – for which you should justifiably be proud.
The Go-Gos? Ack! why don’t they ever come to a casino around here????