I don't want to play; they don't want to play

I took the afternoon off work (because I've got to go in tomorrow) and headed down to Hawk's Prairie Casino for their $20 2:00 p.m. tournament. Unfortunately, on Friday's it's a $50 re-buy tournament, which is more than I want to risk. From their parking lot at 1:15, I called Red Wind Casino, who had a $35 no-rebuy starting at 2:30.

A quick drive through the lush greenery they Yelm highway, and I entered Red Wind for the first time. It's, well, like every other indian casino I've been to. It's very, very similar to Little Creek; and not very unlike Emerald Queen. Nothing too unique, except there's no mechanical slot machines at all. All video, all between 1¢ and 5¢. How can I throw away my $1 bills at the end? We hates them, yes, we do.

I signed up for the 2:30 tournament at about 1:40, first on the list. The brush told me to hold on to my money, as they wouldn't start the tournament with less than eight players. Not a good sign.

I headed out and played roulette ($2 a spin, with a very slow croupier, and ended +$36. At 2:20, I went back to the poker room, and the tournament had indeed been cancelled. No poker this afternoon, 'cause I'm not up to playing $3/$6 limit. Bummer.

Still, +$35 is a nice side effect.