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Foxwoods is a great senior bus destination. $26 ( at most ) gets a $15 buffet and $15 in freeplay. My buddy Wild Bill once hit $1600 on a dollar machine on his freeplay. Then the attendant said he had to “clear” that win by playing one more time, and Bill hit $100 more. Pretty nice for the few minutes of freeplay time before heading to what we come for, the live poker. Also, once you become a regular, Foxwoods gives $10 in Players Club points just for showing up almost any week. These build with comps earned each hour. They can be used to buy a voucher for the next bus trip, so I have actually had six free bus trips with just one car trip in the middle. The casino is arranged like a really large shopping mall. I don’t find the architecture very stunning. Connected, but a long walk is the MGM Grand casino and it is somewhat entertaining, but again nothing that reminds me much of what can be seen in Vegas. The buffet is quite good. My favorites are the prime rib and the battered codfish, but many things are quite tasty, including a barbecue section with pulled pork and great chili. I spice the chili up at other counters with onions and mushrooms and some hot sauce. There are many deserts, but the cookies are very good. What is hard to find are rooms at any reasonable price. Once in a great while there is an offer of a couple free nights, but once I don’t play slots, those end. I often end up in a motel in nearby Groton. At the end of this month my five sons will meet me in Groton for some salt water fishing and evenings in the casino. It is fine to combine both those interests. If you are there and playing poker, let the brush know you would like a room and that might bring the price down if they have openings and like your play. On weekdays I use the Room Saver coupons which can now be printed from their internet site. I generally can get a decent deal for an overnight room in Groton and just have to remember to quit drinking long before last call at 2 AM. Free drinks with play, just like Vegas, and some pretty good stuff served too. Better than Caesar’s room. Myer’s rum is my usual, but Johnny Walker Black is there as well If you gamble with alcohol and driving, don’t leave after the 2 AM last call. The cops are out there waiting for you. Wait, have breakfast, leave later. Play some slots. You will save money in the long run and maybe some jail time. I am also a great fan of a place called Lobster in the Rough that serves lobster in a marina while we watch boats come and go. It is about 20 minutes away and so hard to find that we really need a GPS. Other than a bit of chowder, this place only served lobsters of all sizes. They use a special steamer and cracked so that there is no work to it. In fact, we eat it on a picnic table with a plastic knife and fork. In Foxwoods when the buffet line is too long or I am not so hungry, I go to Pollo Loco and the $10 food voucher gets me plenty to eat. There is never a line there. Once I camped overnight in my van in a place in the Foxwoods parking lot with other squatters, but it was a bit too noisy and well lighted for me to get much sleep. I also tried it in the inside parking garage, but the sound of vehicles going over the speed bumps on other levels would not let me sleep. No one bothered me or any of the others. I’d like it if I could camp there comfortably and I might try it again. Even if I can get just a few hours sleep before an early breakfast, it would let me play late on Saturday and drink all I want and just walk to my bed. In the afternoons the limit game 2-4 or 4-8 is pretty soft depending on the players. The regulars tend to be very tight, so it is easy to play and not be head to head with them without the nuts. There are plenty of folks just in for the entertainment and almost every time someone at the table who does not have a clue how to play. Also, I have had very interesting conversations, similar to Vegas. The folks are a mixed group and once talking may tell you stories of Poland or Mexico or just some interesting bakery in some small Connecticut town. Dealers are friendly and very good except on the days when there is a huge tournament and the regulars deal that while they grab some overflow blackjack dealers to stumble through the limit games. Walking the casino is interesting, but not exciting. If I am having a bad day, I like to go watch the Sic Bo table that is always hopping. It is a fun game to watch, but I wouldn’t want to bet it. I once went on a night that Johnny Mathis was singing his Christmas concert, and it was not hard to pick up tickets from regular players who got them for free and just wanted a couple bucks for them. I managed one that was 8 rows from the front, an amazing location and for a third of the price. You have to look around the box office and keep your eyes on hovering groups of people with tickets in their hands. In my case I overheard a guy say he had extras, so he was happy to sell me one. Buying at the last minute is the best strategy. Prices fall as the scalpers are running out of time.
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