We went out to what used to be our favorite Indian Casino Destination this weekend. The place is called Apache Gold and sits on the San Carlos Indian Reservation about six miles outside of Globe. We have been going to this Casino for a few years. Vicki liked the bands and the dancing that they provided in their lounge as well as slot machines that took their time taking our money and sometimes even gave some back.
We hadn't been out there for 18 months so we knew there would be some changes. The problem was the changes were not for the better in our view. The management decided to remodel and remove the lounge with the weekend bands. Now they have a large sports bar area with a big screen projection TV and several flat screens as well. Where once the dance floor lay filled with moving couples there is now an area with pool tables, stools and tables and even a dart board.
The local community now uses it as a local sports bar. They have bands once a month or so; we were told they even move the pool tables out and leave a little room for dancing. We stopped in to sit and eat munchies. It was not a good experience. Too much noise, too many drunks and way too loud for humans.
So... things change. The old style slot machines have all but disappeared, replaced by video screens and animations and lots of colored lights. Instead of ding, ding, dings, you may hear a lion roar, or an old song, or any number of sounds. I find it humorous that these machines tend to make a lot of sound and fury for a win that may amount to a couple of dollars at most. As one machine went to extraordinary measures to assure us we had won a great big bonus (of $3.80) I commented to Vicki that I still felt like a winner because they used more than $3.80 worth of electricity to announce and stage our grand winnings. And these new machines don't waste any time taking your money either.
The 18 months that had passed since our last visit did bring a lot of change to the casino and to the drive up there as well. The towns of Superior, Claypool and Miami are doing road construction making some of the route a little bumpy and tight. Still, we have always enjoyed the scenery going up into the hills and I like the the turns and convolutions of the highway through the rocky terrain. So we still managed to have a good time overall.
We're back home now. Vicki is snoozing on the recliner next to me and I'm watching a movie and blogging. Change may be the only thing constant, but we still find a way to get back home together and that's something that's been a constant in lives for over 30 years.
Hope you and yours had as nice a weekend as we did.
RT
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