Traveling, The Cherokee Casino, & Poker! (AR-OK) “DAY 197” – 1/17/11

January 18, 2011 - 12:00 pm - (AR-OK) “DAY 197” - Week 29 - State 27

I woke up this morning around 10 am but instead of writing (as I normally do), I packed up my things because it was time to leave Arkansas.  (I had so much to write and that would have taken all day, so instead of writing at Spaulding’s, I just planned to write at where ever I end up in my next state, Oklahoma.)

Anyway, as I was getting my things together, showering, etc., Spaulding was working from his home office.  But, sometime in between business calls, he must have made me breakfast because when I got out of the shower, there was some bacon and hash browns waiting for me. (I love both!) 🙂

Spaulding - Kevin
Before I write any further, I have to sincerely thank Spaulding for being such a great host, person, and friend to me while I was in Arkansas.  (He was above and beyond generous and accommodating!)

Yes... Kevin and I lived together in college (at WVU with 10 other people) for 3 or so years, but we weren’t the best of the friends, yet... he has treated me like family since the moment I stepped foot in Fayetteville!

So Spaulding, I want to thank you for a amazing week where I spent nothing and did everything!  You made that possible and for the rest of my life, I will always be grateful! 🙂  Thank you Batman! (Inside joke!) LOL

Leaving Spaulding’s
After saying our good-bye’s (we laughed... we cried... JK :)), I headed out the door ready to hot my next state, Oklahoma!  But, as I was packing my car, I realized I was missing a bag.  My first and only though was that I left it in Kansas City, MO.  Oh No!

So, after freaking out for a second (I have all my memorabilia in that bag, ticket stubs, receipts, etc.), I decided to go back into Spaulding’s so I could call the Harrah’s in K.C. and see if they found my bag in the room I left 8 days ago.  Come on!

Luckily for me though, when I got back into Spaulding’s place, I found my bag hidden in Chyna’s room behind some pink princess set-up they have for her.  I’m not sure how it got there and I really don’t care, I’m just happy I didn’t lose this bag! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Traveling - Fayetteville, AR to Watts, OK
While I was at Spaulding’s, I did a little research and found a bunch of casinos in Oklahoma.  Since, there was so many, I just picked the closest one and made that my destination (Cherokee Casino & Hotel).

The drive from where I was to the Cherokee Casino was a short one as it was just 35 miles or 45 minutes.  Nice!  Since this journey wasn’t far, I only have 2 or 3 pictures from the ride to show you but of them were good pics so it works out. 🙂

Cherokee Casino & Hotel
I arrived at the casino sometime around 1 pm and the first thing I did was what I always do, I got a players card.  Well, it was the second thing I did because the first thing I did was take some pictures of the outside before I even got in, but after that... I went inside to get my players card.

Getting A Comped Room
After getting my card, I worked my way through the chain of command until I found somebody who was able to comp me a room for the night or two.  Now, just because I’m talking to right person doesn’t mean I’ll get the room, but in this case... it did as I got a comped room for the night.  Nice!  And Thank you!

Front Desk
Since everything worked out as planned, I headed over to the hotel front desk so I could get into my room and start writing. (I had a lot of catching up to do.)  After speaking with the nice ladies at the desk about my journey, I was all set up for the day.  So relieving! 🙂

My Room
My room was/is on the 3rd floor and when I walked in... it was a super nice room!  Even though I got my room comped, this room only goes $59 a night (Sun-Thur).  Wow!  This is by far and away the nicest $59 hotel room in the entire country! (And if you get a players card, it's $49 per night.) 🙂

I’m not just saying that either, this room has top notch bedding, a big flat screen TV, an expensive looking desk set-up, free fast Wi-Fi, and a bathroom that is only in suites at other resorts.

After taking in my living quarters, I sat down at the desk and wrote until 7 pm-ish.  Like I said, I had a lot to do.  I wrote “DAYS 195 & 196” as well as a first draft for a resort review (Brian Head, UT) I had to do for my friend’s magazine (www.azsal.com).

Poker Room
Now that I was done with all my writing, I went downstairs to hit the poker room for the rest of the night.  The problem... when I got down there, there was a waiting list for the 1-2 NL game they had going.  So I put my name on the list and told them to call my room if a seat became available.

F.Y.I. - The poker room is currently on the casino floor while the build one in the corner of the room.  It is still under construction and should be completely in a few weeks or months.

Buffet Time
After waiting in my room for a seat to open up (an hour), I decided to get some food because I hadn’t eaten all day long. I had already checked out the buffet and found out it was just $9.53 for a dinner buffet.  Wow!  That’s the best deal I have seen anywhere. (Dinner buffets are usually $13.99 or more.)

Knowing I can’t a find a meal anywhere that will be cheaper or better (heck, fast food joints are $7 these days), I didn’t even try to negotiate as I just paid the $9 gladly and sat down to eat.  (I ate like an animal as I always do at a buffet!) 😉

The only thing bad about this buffet was that they used real napkins instead of throwaways.  This was bad for me because that is the method I use to take some togo with me when I leave.  (I wrap the food in napkins and put them in my pockets.) 😉 LOL

Even with that going against me, I still left with a few cookies, a small piece cheesecake, and brisket sandwich on a soft roll! 🙂

Poker Time
After I finished eating, I headed back over to the poker room to see if my seat opened up yet.  It did as they opened up a second table, so I sat down and bought in for $140. I wound up playing for close to 3 hours and when I left... I was up $22.  I wish had gotten some good cards because people at this table were pushing All-In on draws the whole time I was there.

But, my night was very slow as I didn’t hit many flops at all.  I won one big hand when I had pocket kings (K,K) and tripled up but I was down to just $43 when that happened.

Calling It A Night
Since it was 1 am and I made it through another day without losing or spending any money, I called it night and went back up to my room to crash.  Before I went to sleep, I thought about my week here in Oklahoma and what I might do.

I’m still not sure yet but in the morning I’m gonna have to figure it out because come 11 am... I don’t have a room anymore.  That’s my life! 🙂

Thanks for reading!