Harrah’s Cherokee Trip Report – Part 2
In my last blog, I talked about the preparation for our recent Cherokee trip, but if you read it carefully, there were many details about other subjects than gambling. I considered this a “vacation,” not a “gambling” trip, in fact not specifically even a “casino visit.” Those are three important distinctions that have characterized our activities for the last 37 years.
When we lived in Vegas, our main activity was playing video poker locally. (A note here: I rarely described it as “gambling,” because so many “outsiders” considered it as a negative – that is, losing wasteful – activity. But for this blog, I will make video poker play a “gambling” category.) And as a frequent player, it definitely was in the category of “casino visits,” with many other activities besides gambling taking place there: entertainment, dining, meeting up with friends. We didn’t consider this a vacation, but a regular routine part of our life. However, whenever we took a trip away from our home in Vegas, we considered that a vacation, although most of our vacations were to locations where we could enjoy a casino visit and do some gambling.
Down through the years, many many of our vacations involved getting together with family, mainly due to the fact that we had so many extra comps to share. These family vacations often took place in a casino where we – and some of them – could do some gambling. It varied whether family or casino activities were the major emphasis of the vacation. Most of the time they overlapped; casino doings were not just gambling, but dining, shows, and comped outside perks like cruises. Even when we were at home and doing our casino play in town, we had a stream of family visitors who loved the luxurious vacations we could provide them during their stay, and again there was an overlapping of family time, casino visits, and gambling.
I gave this long introduction because I want to emphasize the fact that gambling was never the most important part of our life. Yes, we spent a lot of time in casinos, but it was just one part of our total lifestyle. Retiring from our regular jobs earlier than we might have otherwise, video poker gave us more time to spend with our families and the financial wherewithal to provide more gifts and luxurious and adventurous vacations for them than we ordinarily would have been able to afford.
This Cherokee trip is a perfect example of blended purposes. Most importantly, it was a family vacation, something we all needed after the seclusion of the pandemic. Cherokee is a wonderful place to take a family of all ages and interests, especially if you want your main recreation to be the outdoors. However, you should note that, although children of any age can stay in the hotel with you, the casino area is strictly for over 21. And since the food court is in the casino, that might be a negative for adults with children in tow. However, several food options aren’t in the casino proper, including room service.
Our family group this visit consisted of all adults. Missing this time was grandson Zachary and his wife Taylor, who were staying close to home awaiting the very soon arrival of baby #4, another little boy to join two brothers and one sister. Son-in-law Steve and daughter Angela, who we needed to be our chauffeurs, were glad to take that job in order to vacation in one of their favorite haunts. Steve hit the trout streams immediately with waders and fly-fishing gear. Granddaughter Kaitlynn drove over from Atlanta where, after finishing her work-from-home job duties in the hotel room, she and her mother, Angela, hit the trails for some hiking and geocaching.
High point for our adventurous Kaitlynn was finding a special trail, one that made her very excited, because it was a tiny section of that granddaddy of all trails, the Appalachian. Next year around this time she will be beginning the great adventure of hiking this 2,180+-mile-long trail, the longest hiking-only footpath in the world, ranging from northern Georgia to Maine. She has been frugally saving her money while working as a video editor at WarnerMedia for several years, so she can take off work for the 5-7 months she’ll need to cross off this monumental goal on her bucket list.
There’s so much to do in this beautiful Smokey Mountain area. On past visits here, we’ve taken day trips to various scenic areas in the region, including over the mountain to Gatlinburg. Also, I especially recommend the summertime outdoor Mountainside Theatre, where the drama “Unto These Hills” tells the powerful but sad story of the Cherokee tribal history.
The casino-hotel is a beautiful but sprawling building, so take your walking shoes to navigate the distance between the hotel and casino. We were glad to check out from valet one of the free larger wheelchairs for Brad to use, instead of our own smaller one. We missed the buffet, one of our favorites, but found the breakfast/lunch coffee shop, Selu Garden Café, a perfect place for a late brunch. After that, when we were hungry, we usually hit the food court the rest of the day, a welcome change from fine dining every evening in our senior-living home. Sometimes you just crave not-so-healthy fast food!
I’m temporarily out of energy and space. But it’s not really an accident that I’m delaying the gambling part of this series. I feel that sometimes in the past, I put more emphasis on the video poker part of our life than the parts where our hearts reigned. This trip was so much a symbol of how we could integrate the many facets of our wonderful happy life. Yes, the math rules in the casino, but love trumps everything else.
So stay tuned for Part 3, where I will finally give you all the monetary details — and the results for which so many of you are clamoring.
I’ve hiked half of the Appalachian trail in sections. I’ve covered Connecticut down to Virginia. The stories I could tell you about it could probably provide nearly as much content as your gaming exploits. Though it’s a grueling activity, it’s really beneficial for your mind and body to disconnect for a while. If there is one piece of information that you could share with Kaitlynn, it would be to pack as minimally as possible. It’s tiring enough to walk up and down mountainsides with a 40 pound pack. With 60, it feels twice as tough. The amount of expensive lightweight junk that you don’t need to hike/camp that is hawked at camping stores can be had for free from the swap bins at the first few shelters near the termini of the trail. Finally, a quality (and easy to pump) water pump/filter can be a life and time saver. This gadget will be used often and must be reliable. Finally, get the best pair of Italian made hiking boots that you can find. Good luck. It’s an experience of a lifetime.
1) I’m not sure I could visit a beautiful place like that and spend ANY time in a casino. It’s like going to Lake Tahoe to gamble–almost an inherent contradiction.
2) Given that you almost certainly had to play $5 machines to have even a fighting chance, in an hour’s worth of play, you had to dump enough coin-in to buy a new car ($15,000 at a modest 600 hph). I’m not sure I could stomach that. Last month, I played FPDW for about ten hours and was -$980 when I hit a royal. Playing $5 NSUD, an equal run of bad luck would have put me twenty grand in the hole. Would I have been able to stomach THAT?
3) Again, assuming a modest 600 hph, you’re losing about $40 an hour. Were the comps you got commensurate with that theoretical EV result? More? Less?
It would be interesting to know if the lowly foot soldier ($1/.25 player) would earn enough comps to make playing there worthwhile. I doubt it, since you probably have only sub-98% games available at that level.
Wonderful report Part 2, We are glad to hear that there was something for everyone.
We appreciate the explanation about doing things other than gaming..
I am sure that many people who visit Vegas always hear the same phase, “So is gambling the only fun thing to do in Vegas???
Looking forward to part 3!!
In my former life I was a high school English teacher, often volunteering to take the slow-learner classes!!!
Sounds like a great family trip. Glad you got to see your family and enjoy!
You’re a real tease Miss Frugal.
Gee, this was well-written and fun to read! I have forgotten your original occupation, Jean. Was it a proof reader or a publisher? English major-teacher, maybe.
Your blog is always an enjoyable read, no mater the subject.
I’ll stay tuned to this channel for the next installment.
Downtown Dave.
My husband has been reading books on the Appalachian trail the last few months. He is amazed by the preparation needed and the camaraderie of all the trail towns. Please keep your readers up to date of your granddaughters progress. We even rented the movie “ a walk in the woods” where Nick Nolte and Robert Redford attempt the trail.