Enroute to Bartlesville, I swerved off the beaten path and drove to see the Lucky Star Casino, which is located nine miles south of Wichita. It seems that their claim to fame is to save the state from themselves and to hurt our casino business, but only time will judge that one. The property has its own turnpike entrance and ramp to get off. In the parking lot, I noticed Geary County tags more than any other, which is the Wichita area.
It is a building under construction and they have the machines and table games set up in horse arena for the time being, but don’t get me wrong it is a gambling environment. They have seats already in place for future horse-shows and they are located about the temporary gaming floor. I don’t see the connection between successful gaming and horse shows, but it must have some draw there. There is lot of room in this section and the crowd was fairly good for a Friday afternoon. All the table games were full and the mix of gaming machines were mostly dollars and penny machines with few quarter machines. The seating was comfortable and it was easy to get around.
I think this casino is a convenient drive for Wichita people and will cut into the business of Indian casinos further south in Oklahoma. I don’t see how they can impact our operation because of how far away this casino is away, the average person probably only drives here only occasionally, anyway. I, personally wouldn’t drive to Mulvane just to gamble, maybe yes, it I was going by to some other location. It doesn’t have the atmosphere or the ambiance yet and thankfully they did not take advantage of me at the machines.
After this diversion, we made it to Oklahoma, saw a beautiful Golden Eagle perched in a tree close to the road, Indian casinos on every corner, saw some friendly folk, and saw the country-side, mostly cause I took the wrong turn. I thought I was going to Deliverance, Arkansas. Yes, I went into a cold sweat when I saw that Deliverance sign 80 miles.
My daughter said “Who goes n takes a gravel road thinking its a shortcut? Felt like i was gonna be n that movie wrong turn! ONLY GM,” but we made it to Bartlesville. It’s always an adventure riding with me! But let me tell you this isn’t the first time this old guy got lost.
They had a honor song for Anita Evans who has worked with the Indian kids at Royal Valley for a good number of years and it is great when people are recognized for the hard work they’ve done. Anita is retiring from teaching.
I got to visit my family and a bunch of friends, we pigged a bunch, gambled a little, and we spent some time with Jennifer and Teddie my first cousins. Poor things- they live in Oklahoma full-time! But all fun and games must end sometime and it soon became time to head back to the cruel, cruel world of our political life on the Potawatomi Reservation. The road trip ended at 2:00 pm Sunday, and my dog was happy I made it home! He doesn’t give a damn if I get lost!
On this trip some of the white folk were friendly, many Indians weren't. They must have a general council meeting next week too! I tell people our general councils are a time when elected officials have to pay for their sins, real or perceived and a tongue lashing happens for 4-8 hours. After this purge of emotions is all laid out on the table, a general shock comes over some, and for some it serves the purpose of making people feel better about themselves. We have a slug of non-Indians and non-tribal members who work for this tribe who don’t have to go. They are lucky to have those jobs, but don’t have to see the dynamics of how a tribal structure or tribal politics really work. Damn lucky!
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