Back Home

Still “recovering” from a long and busy out-of-town trip, one that, as usual, combined casino activity and family celebrations.  This picture records the first family event when we got to GA, Zachary’s graduation from Police Academy, where he scored two  of the three awards given – top shooter and highest overall PT achievement.  All that ROTC and parkour/karate experience is reaping great dividends.  He will be one busy Man in Blue.  As well as his job on the Columbus, GA police force, he will be juggling a fledgling online business, Army National Guard duty, and being a thoughtful husband to Taylor and involved father to 2 1/2 Asher and on-the-way Bowen who will be arriving in March.

After celebrating an early Christmas in Columbus, our next stop was at granddaughter Kaitlynn’s apartment in Atlanta, where she is working on her master’s in communication, specifically video production and related areas.  She has connected her hobby of geocaching to her studies with a YouTube site chronicling her adventures at home and abroad.

Then it was on to Cherokee Harrah’s in North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains, one of our favorite casinos, where Kaitlynn (now over 21 and can enjoy casinos), daughter Angela, and son-in-law Steve helped us use up $500 worth of comps that came with this freebie Harrah’s Seven Stars trip. Although the weather was cold and rainy, the 3 of them were intrepid, doing some major hiking in this beautiful area that they love.  (A park ranger gave them advice on hiking trails, avoiding those affected by the recent Gatlinburg fires.)

Brad and I stayed in the warm hotel and casino, enjoying the nice heated indoor pool and unlimited free movies in our mini-suite.  (Perhaps the only Harrah’s casino that still gives this unlimited benefit for Seven Stars?)

All of us enjoy the food options at this casino.  Although we could have chosen the two upscale restaurants, we prefer more casual dining:  grabbing quick breakfast options at Starbucks; grazing in the food court on the casino floor; or, visiting the Diamond Lounge where major meal options are available during dinner time and extra selections in the room reserved for Seven Stars.  We especially liked the breakfast/brunch buffet in the Selu Garden Café.  And the main buffet we consider one of our favorites among all the casino buffets we have every visited, wide selection of high-quality food choices and no mysteries – every item was labeled!

And of course we all gambled.  Brad and I played $5 single-line NSUD since anything at lower levels had schedules with much lower EVs.  When we arrived on a Thursday, I saw signs promoting a mystery-multiplier for all Thursdays in December.  Checking at a kiosk, Brad found he had a 2x, but I snagged 3x so we played on my card that day, saving his play for the next one.

Angela likes to play VP but since there were no good games at a lower denomination, she joined Kaitlynn and Steve who love the penny slots.   I am always amazed at how long they can play on a small bankroll.  Yes, they will lose unless they hit a big jackpot but they do get a lot of entertainment at a small cost by bouncing around from one machine to another, betting minimum amounts per hand.  In fact the last evening we joined them and had a ball – hooting and hollering whenever one of us on the bank had a bonus round.  When we quit for the night,  I  surprised myself by winning $10 for the session!  Kaitlynn was especially proud of herself.  She had won $75 on her first day of play.  She said she ought to quit then – that was a big amount for her.  But then I told her that she could look at it as a way to “pay” for further entertainment and so she played on that for the next two days.  She finally lost the last of it that last night and she decided to quit.

“Look, I had fun for 3 days in a casino and it didn’t cost me anything,” she beamed.

She is now a proud member of our Frugal Gambler club:  Breaking even is a wonderful thing!