"Drift on Inn"

As I drove north on Hwy 99 we came to Shoreline. I had passed one Casino that looked like parking was going to be a problem. Then I saw the “Drift on Inn Roadhouse” Casino up ahead. It was right next door to the Hollywood Casino. They both have the same owners.
This was where I was planning on spending the night. However, the parking lot did not feel safe. The neighbors would be quiet though. The place I found to park the RV was right next to a large Jewish Cemetery. After walking Pokey next to the Cemetery, I went in and joined the only game going. It was a 4/8 limit game. I asked why there were only 5 people playing? The dealer said there was a tournament that had just started next door and it would get busy as people dropped out of the tournament and “drifted over”. He was right.

I began getting a great run of cards and was up over $200 on my buy-in of $100, within an hour. Then I looked down to see pocket 3’s in first position. I will usually throw these away to any raise and “for a change” no raise came. The game was pretty loose with a few players almost always playing non-premium hands. The flop gave me a three and I bet it. The turn came another three, for quad “3”s for me. I checked it. Then I checked the river. I really expected a bet I could raise. I also had noticed a sign that indicated I would get something extra for 4 of a kind. I didn’t know the rules whether 2 people had to get to the river or not with it for me to get the bonus.

I did get a bonus from the casino of $100 for the quad threes.

I also heard there was a free blackjack tournament that started at 8:30 p.m. It was now 8:15 and my run of cards seem to have ended. So I cashed out and signed up for the tournament.

The Blackjack tournament wasn’t totally free for me. If you made the final table you could buy add-on extra chips for $40. I did make the final table and everybody else was doing it, so I need to.

There were three rounds of blackjack, with 24 people in the tournament and we played 6 to a table. The top 7 would go to the final table. There was a ½ hour break between rounds. So the whole event took until midnight to complete.

I went back and played poker during the breaks. During the first break I won the $40 I paid out for the Blackjack tournament. The second break I was able to take another profit of $120 off the table. The third break I just waited for the final table without risking losing my profit of over $300 for the day.

In the BJ tournament only the top three players were paid. I came in 5th. But, I have to admit it was fun. I might play another little blackjack tournamentsif the opportunity presents itself again. But, it is totally luck and has no skill attached to it, in my opinion.

Most of the small casinos have pretty good food comps, worth at least one lunch or dinner. I had the Thursday special of Salmon & chips. Counting what I have purchased from Wal-Mart, I have eaten Salmon four times this week. It must be the Northwest. I never have Salmon at home. Of course Caren, dislikes the smell of fish, and that deters me from eating Salmon at home or when we are “dining out” together.

It was after midnight when we got back on Hwy99. The parking lot at this casino looked even more dangerous late at night.

My “backup” plan was to drive to Marysville close to the Tulalip Casino which would be our most Northern Casino we were going to visit, before I turned south to head toward home.
I did exit once in Everett and drove slowly around three motels. They did not have wireless. I got off one exit before the Wal-mart in Marysville and started trolling a neighborhood close to the business section for wireless presence.
I found it right away with a public parking lot close enough that I would go unnoticed. I up loaded to the Internet and checked my email.

It was only one more mile to the Super Wal-mart we were going to stay at. I had no idea how close it was to the Tulalip Casino. It was in the same parking mall strip. But, I was too tired to visit the Casino. Then it was “lights out” on a beautiful day, as we crawled into bed for sleep. Thank you Sam, for Wal-Marts.