Horseshoe Cincinnati Casino - 100X craps odds, 100% fun

There's a Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati now and it's within walking distance to Great American Ballpark.  Finally, I was able to go to the ballpark and also check out the casino in Cincinnati.  Hopefully this means no more road trips to Indiana for my family...

So the Horsehoe...  Here are my take aways:

• Large casino and it was basically smoke free (i.e. if there's smoking, I didn't see it)
• 6 craps tables (at least) with $10 minimums. 
• 100X odds at the craps table (i.e. which is the highest I've seen outside of Las Vegas)
• For the record, I like to max out my odds, but 100X$10 is $1,000 and I'm not about to put $1000 in odds behind my bets.

• Jack Binion's Steak is fantastic.  The entire meal was amazing...
• Dad and I had dinner there and we started with the premium shellfish platter. 
• Next I had the JBPR Black Angus Filet and added a lobster tail.
• For dessert, I had a chocolate souffle.

If you're into casinos and eating well, make a quick trip out the Horseshoe in Cincinnati.  It's a great place to stop after a Cincinnati Reds and/or a Cincinnati Bengals game!

I didn't get a chance to check out the blackjack tables so obviously this post is incomplete.  I'll just have to take a look at it "next time".

THE WIRK

Great American Ballpark with my dad for Father's Day

Cross another MLB ballpark off the list.  Over Father's Day weekend, I made a deal with my dad.  I'd go with him to the "new" Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati, OH if he promised to go with me to Great American Ballpark to watch the Milwaukee Brewers play the Cincinnati Reds.  He agreed and immediately I went to StubHub to seek out a pair of tickets.

I settled on Scout seats.  If you've never sat in Scout seats before, I highly recommend them.  They're behind home plate, but higher up than the section right behind home plate.  The seats are cushioned and you have access to Scouts' Alley (i.e. a private concession area -- where you pay -- but you don't have to wait in lines behind people in "regular" seats).  I didn't actually go and check out Scouts' Alley because the lines weren't too bad at all at Frisch's Big Boy.  My dad had a burger and I had the chicken fingers.  I ordered a souvenir drink and it came with a coupon for a free refill.  Seriously?  When have you ever seen free refills at a ballpark?  What a good value!

We settled into our seats and I started to look around the park.  To be honest, I didn't see anything special.  It'd been AGES since I'd seen the Reds play at home.  The last time I'd been to a Reds' game they were playing at Riverfront Coliseum. 

Gone is the old circular structure and a park that resembles the Twins/Orioles/Indians/etc. stands. 

I'm so happy I finally checked off another venue, and even happier that I got to go to the game with my dad.  For someone like him that complains that he doesn't watch any baseball, he sure did know a lot about Joey Votto and Johnny Cueto!

The rain started to come down a bit and it was refreshing, since it was so hot and muggy.  When the drops got bigger and fell down faster, we walked back to the casino (i.e. where we parked) and decided to start gambling.

The Reds won, and we won.

Happy Father's Day!


THE WIRK

Reds prevent being swept by the Nats on Barry Larkin's birthday

Today is Barry Larkin's birthday.  If you don't know who Barry Larkin is, you don't know anything about baseball.  I'm from Ohio, and the Cincinnati Reds play an hour away from where I grew up.  My "first team" was the Reds.

Today the Reds wrapped up their series against the Washington Nationals, and today the Reds won (i.e. preventing a sweep).

It wasn't the most exciting baseball game.  I was late to Nationals Park and by the time I left the Diamond Lounge (i.e. with a full plate of food) the Reds were up 2-0.  Ummm, ok.  Hoping that the Nats would rally back I sat through the rain and some horrible Nats pitching.  Ross Detwiler (i.e. who usually comes through for the squad) wasn't able to get it done.  Don't even start me about Henry Rodriguez's speed and complete lack of accuracy...  At least, I didn't have to see Tyler Clippard on the mound today...  Ugh...

The Nats are off to battle the Atlanta Braves on Monday, and Stephen Strasburg will be on the mound.


THE WIRK

Pete Rose and reality TV is a bad bet

So, Pete Rose wants to join the world of reality TV.  I don't know about you, but I think this is another "bad bet".  Yes, the pun is intended.  I met the "should be" Hall of Famer briefly many years ago in Las Vegas.  He was signing autographs and taking pictures at Field of Dreams.  Being an Ohio girl, I waited my turn and went through the motions.  I had to.  I'm an Ohio girl, who grew up going to Cincinnati Reds games.  I want to remember Pete Rose on the baseball field or as a manager.  I don't want to have to resist the urge to tweet about his life on a reality TV show...


THE WIRK

The ALDS and NLDS begin next week ~ Take me out to the ball game!

Seeing as though I spend a lot of time traveling, I'm excited about the MLB post-season.  Specifically, I'm anxiously awaiting to "final" ALDS and NLDS match-ups so I can determine where I want to go and how much time (i.e. if any) I want to take off of work.  It's been a long time since I've been in a city where there's post-season baseball.  Lately, I've been spending a lot of time in Minneapolis, and I'm excited to head to Target Field for game 1 of the Minneapolis Twins series.  From what I can see, Game 1 of the ALDS is Wednesday, October 6.  I cannot wait.

Moreover, as an Ohio girl, I'm thrilled to see the Cincinnati Reds are in the NLDS hunt. I haven't been to the new ballpark in Cincinnati yet, but I have fond memories of going to the old Riverfront Coliseum as a kid and listening to "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang while fireworks peppered the sky (i.e. if the Reds won).  When I was younger, my mom was strict.  Now I'm older, but let's face it ~ she's still strict.  She's so strict that she wouldn't let me watch the Cincinnati Reds when they were playing the Oakland A's in the 1990 World Series.  I was forced to listen to the games on the radio!  On the radio!  Yes, RADIO!!!  I couldn't believe it...  LOL.

Regardless, I bet a classmate of mine (i.e. Aaron Howard) that Oakland would win.  I couldn't believe he'd picked Cincinnati to win it all, considering the Reds were the underdogs.  Needless to say, I lost my bet.

Years ago, I ran into Pete Rose in Las Vegas.  He was more than gracious and knew exactly what I was talking about when I told him where I was from.  Scandal aside, I found him to be a reasonable guy to chat with as he autographed a photo for me and posed for pictures.  I know he's in Las Vegas often.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Keep the jokes to yourself.  I'm from Ohio.  Pete Rose will always be special to me, and if I had a vote, I'd use it to vote him into the Hall of Fame.  If you ask me, he belongs in Cooperstown.  He's the "Hit King".

Well, mom.  I'm a BIG kid now, and you better believe that schedule permitting I'm going to be at a game or games this MLB post-season...  But I must admit, there's nothing like listening to the games on the radio... 

If you're curious and want to see the current MLB post-season schedule, here's a link: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/ps.jsp?y=10

For those of you Reds fans that want to re-live the good old days.  Here you go.

THE WIRK

The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Washington Nationals ~ June 5 2010

The Rick was in town on June 5 to finish his baseball stadium tour, so I met him at Nationals Park for the Cincinnati Reds v Washington Nationals game.  Being from Ohio, I was thrilled that the Reds won.  Being The Rick's friend it was good to have him in town and be able to see him.

During the game a large piece of a broken bat flew into the crowd and missed my friend's head by about 5 feet.  He's lucky to have me around.

Joe West was behind the plate, and yes he threw someone out of the game.

The Reds defeated the Nationals 5-1.  Enjoy the pictures from the game!


 

Frank Howard statue

Joe West and his men

With The Rick

After the game, I checked my voicemail and realized I needed to be back in New Jersey on Sunday.  Regardless there was still time to see a movie.  This is a picture with Alvin, Simon,  and Theodore (i.e. The Chipmunks) after watching "Get Him to The Greek".

THE WIRK