This blog rarely apologizes. And nobody has prompted this apology other than our feeling of guilt the other day. We just feel that fair is fair. It came like a rising tide while sitting at a blackjack table at the Niagara Fallsview Casino. We had taken a few days off for a short trip and, in the face of freezing rain and deplorable driving conditions, we overnighted in Niagara Falls, Ontario. After dinner, the wife wanted nothing more than a nice warm bed and suggested that your writer might go explore the Fallsview Casino.
And that is why we want to take back anything nasty we have ever said about Casino Rama. The problem is that we have always loved Niagara Falls, Ontario. Sure, its tacky town but it is our tacky town. Las Vegas is Tacky Town with capital “T’s.” And when they opened the original Casino Niagara on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls, Ontario, we expected it to be tacky. And it sure was.
Casino Niagara was fun—most of the time. It had no pretensions. You could imagine a place like it in downtown Las Vegas and it would fit right in with the Four Queen’s and Binion’s Horseshoe.
But we expected the Niagara Fallsview Casino to have pretensions. It is not Caesars Palace or the Bellagio but as a showcase for Ontario, you had a right to expect more. You sure do not get more.
Once you are in the gambling area, you find the Fallsview Casino is poorly planned, poorly lit, and badly managed. What really put this gambler off was that it was very evident that the comfort and well-being of the customer was the farthest thing from the concerns of casino management. This place does not even rate against the Seneca Casino just across the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, New York.
The pit employees at the Fallsview act as though the gamblers are not even there. You are reluctant to bother them. They are not friendly. Even the one craps table in operation was subdued and cranky.
And playing blackjack with a bored dealer became quickly boring for everybody. It was only the fact of winning that kept this gambler there for a while. It was strange playing with cheaply made chips that needed cleaning—they often stuck together.
While we appreciated the Casino winnings paying for our room and dinner for the evening, we will henceforth be more positive about Rama. Since it is 25 minutes from where we live, we tend to take it for granted. It just also happens to have very pleasant employees (other than in Players Services) and a much brighter and well lit gaming floor. We will henceforth be more appreciative.
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Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
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