Category: Entertainment

As the year drew to a close, I have become more reflective on events of years past. 

Folks, I have a strained relationship with many in my family as a result of their coddling of my sister.  One thing that always bothered me was my sister could never do anything wrong in their eyes. They send her money to pay for her “influencer” lifestyle and think she will eventually turn it around, she is 38.  At major milestones for my parents such as Christmas, Birthdays etc. I am treated to my parents saying they “just want 2 good kids.”  I have always viewed this as a major slap in the face.

I am completely sustainable on my own. I own a home, have a great paying job, and have saved enough that when this job inevitably goes away, I can work because I want to, not because I have too.  My sister on the other hand is a convicted felon due to her drug trafficking. Oh, and while on felony probation, she got a DUI in a crash on the way to the airport to fly home.  Yes, she couldn’t even hold off on drinking until she got home.  She suffered no consequences, no jail time, and very minimal fines.  Oh, she still gets to live in San Diego, and my understanding is her apartment is near Coronado (high rent district).  She has the perfect life.  When we had family functions, I noticed family drifting toward her and away from me, they made their choice! I am the black sheep/persona non-grata. 

I have gotten over it, it took some time, but I needed to realize I cannot control how other people think. 

The wisdom I want to pass on? 

 1. Get the toxic folks out of your life.  Not having a relationship with my 19 aunts and uncles (including spouses) was tough at first, just like not conversing with my 27 cousins (not including spouses) was hard at first.  It gets easier over time; I don’t have Facebook or any other social media and honestly care not to hear the family gossip/goings on.  It’s a relief!  Trust me.  They gravitate toward my sister for a reason, she has never seen a bottle of wine she couldn’t finish, when consequences do not exist, you continue your college days well into your late thirties. 

 2. Join groups and clubs to fill in your time but be wary of the folks who inhabit them.  I made friends with William, thought I was friends with the Sith Lord, Sue, Terry (rip), Jared and others…. Boy was I wrong.  I changed my voter registration to No Party Preference and viola, suddenly contact was cut off by the above group.  Sith Lord and I were a 2 lunch dates a week kind of friends, then it was over.  Sue walked right past myself and a friend at a political function last year. I know she recognized and saw me, because she turned her head quickly as to not make eye contact.  Jared?  I wrote him a letter of recommendation to be Executive Director of the County Party; he got the job and had no more use for me.  Oh, he and the above cast of characters ran a fraudulent voter registration program… kinda sounds like a Democrat operation, right?  All William and I were to them were errand boys.  Oh, the kicker, they gave Jorge Riley an award after he was arrested for his role in storming the capital on January 6^th and filming and posting it to the internet.  Riley is the only person there that day that admits to purchasing a weapon specifically for the event. Riley never assisted with GOTV calls, or precinct walking, and there were rumors of having kid(s) out of wedlock and not being the greatest about paying support… but hey, at least he is registered Republican!  My wisdom? Look at folks in volunteer groups with a jaundiced eye, you are likely just cannon fodder to them.

3. Limit your time in front of the TV.  This one is easy; I harp on it a lot.  Most of the shows on TV are behind society’s decay this day and age. Rioting when you don’t get your way, sleeping around while married, and viewing fantasy as real life are big problems.  Folks, the real world, is not depicted on the TV, it’s fantasy land.  Nowadays, TV consists of people screaming hot takes, whether it’s politics, sports, or gossip to get higher ratings.  The problem is, it also gets whackos to do irrational things, such as killing Charlie Kirk, killing the Democrat elected in Minnesota and injuring another, attempting to kill Trump… the list could go on.  TV, as a whole, is very unhealthy right now.  Matt Dowd (colossal loser btw) said dumb stuff on TV and that indirectly led to Charlie Kirk being murdered. Sure, Dowd denies all culpability, but in my mind, he is just as guilty as the shooter.  My wisdom?  I cancelled cable 8 years ago after a bad breakup with a girlfriend. The first couple weeks were a little tough, then I realized that I do not miss it. Better yet, I came to realize my life was revolving around “what was on TV” as opposed to dealing with the real world.  I’m better for it; you will be too.

4. Limit your use/consumption of vices.  This one is pretty simple, but it almost got me.  Gambling, drinking, and drugs are all bad for you.  All three are very expensive hobbies to take up and will lead to wrecked lives.  I have a friend whose parents dissolved their marriage after 30 years due to one person’s gambling addiction. She literally spent all the money from both paychecks each month.  They couldn’t pay the mortgage. They were a retired prison guard, and retired state worker. They had money, not broke folks trying to “double their paycheck on red.”  Drugs are a rough habit and got my sister in deep legal trouble.  I failed the bar exam, if you know, you know.

5. Be true to yourself.  Again, this sounds simple, and it is, yet I know several folks who refuse to do it.  Being true to yourself just means be who you are, don’t try to be someone you are not.  This is the root cause of 90-day Guy’s “mental health issues.”  When you tell a different story to each person you see and take on a different persona in every room you walk into it’s very hard to keep the story straight.  Worse yet, you stumble up and tell the wrong person the wrong story contradicting what you said in the past.  Imagine the mental gymnastics going on in his head, constantly wondering what story he told who and how to keep the gimmick going.  My wisdom? Be who you are, quit trying so hard to be someone you are not, and don’t you dare blame mental health. 

6. Stop blaming other people for your own mistakes.  I know it’s easy and fun to blame a person who is not in the room.  Heck it’s even in style these days.  These people are the worst; it’s never their fault, always someone else’s.  I have witnessed these folks blaming every friend they have, even their own spouse, for something that is their fault.  They are insecure and love pointing the finger. They think it’s a genius idea, but they couldn’t be more wrong.  My wisdom?  If they are throwing other people under the bus in front of you or have nothing good to say about other people in front of you, you are getting the same treatment from them when you aren’t in the room.  Proceed with caution.

7. Stop comparing yourself to other people.  One thing I have found out is the “very hot girl, with the boyfriend” both seem so happy. You imagine that you want that for yourself.  Then you find out they are not happy at all.  Outside of the bedroom, and her being hot to show off like a trophy, they are not happy at all.  I noticed a couple at my gym, they seemed happy and close. Well, she is pregnant and now he doesn’t look so happy.  I am sure things will work out (pun not intended) but the lack of rings on either’s finger tells me they gambled in the bedroom and got (un)lucky? And as a result, they will be parents and may not be ready or so much in love anymore. That person driving the expensive car?  Well, they likely have a very high car payment each month, how long can they afford the payments?  The guy who claims to have a huge bank account, yet his card is declined when paying for lunch/dinner?  Yeah.  My wisdom?  2008 taught us a lesson, we didn’t learn (or is it lear?) anything. 

People were living a lie; it has started again.  Be happy with what you have or better yourself.  You never really know how happy that other group of people is. 

8. Don’t dwell or even remember the past in your life.  You can learn from it but bringing up things in a sense of woulda, shoulda, or coulda is not healthy. 

It’s also very irrational.  Gas was cheaper last week.  Well, you may not have needed it last week.  Ditto with food and other items, it’s in the past let it go.  Dwelling on that doesn’t change anything.  Life events happen; regret should never be a thing.  My wisdom?  2 things.  When I failed the bar exam, the best advice I got was from someone I barely knew, he said “get into a car with a gas pedal, no mirrors, and no brake pads.”  Why?  Keep moving forward in life, don’t look back and do not stop.  Dwelling on the past likely leads to anger, hatred, and other unnecessary things. One thing I live by is “a setback is a set up for a comeback.”  Don’t make the same mistake. Rebuild your life and things will be fine.  My favorite thing about this came up a couple weeks ago. My old roommate called and reflecting on our past in college he said “man you should have approached ______ she was gung-ho about you, and you passed?  How come.”  My response was simple, I was fixated on someone else at the time, enough said.  As far as had I approached her, let’s just say everything worked out. She is a specialty nurse who works in SF, makes quite a bit of money and has 3 kids.  Seems like a no brainer, right?  I screwed up right?  Wrong.  Sure, the money would be great, kids would be great, I would be miserable living in that area.  I would never have crossed paths with the friends I made in politics or church in this area where I live.  That is why I do not look back on my life and psychoanalyze everything. I think for myself, I do not need to impress my friends.

9. Get God in your life. 

No, I’m not saying to start quoting Scripture or standing on the side of the road trying to “spread the word of God.”  It’s about right vs wrong and good vs evil.  If you have some sort of religious guidance in life, you will see that what I am preaching in this blog is pure common sense.

The Chief

Here’s some things that I’m involved with over the next several months.

Annulment

The year started with attorney Mario doing absolutely nothing. After my girl bugging him for a few weeks, she was finally told that he was waiting on his second payment before doing any more work on her case. (The psychologist had given him the final report on December 9^th of last year. The proverbial ball has been squarely in Mario’s court since then.) She reminded him that he had already been paid. She looked it up and this happened in the first week of October. Mario verified it in his records and confirmed that he had his first two installments and thus, finally has set to work. Mario is finalizing witness statements and has promised to get us a court date next week.

Mario has the same ethics as a north Idaho contractor, as long as money is flowing then he works, when the account gets paid too far forward, then he stops and goes on to something more lucrative. It’s cash flow baby, not completion that matters.

Anyway, we are five months into what should have been a six month legal process.

Taxes for 2025

My tax appointment with the local CPA is February 2^nd. I am currently missing two documents. I have requested both but whether they arrive by the end of January is unknown.

One that is causing me consternation is CalSTRS. They managed to split one retirement income into three Form 1099’s. I am unable to get any numbers on the retirement income that was collected at the beginning of 2025 since that was treated as my wife’s income. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, they updated their computer system in September and deleted all online accounts. Since my wife was reported as deceased in April, her SSN is blocked from creating an account in their new system. I don’t particularly mind this, but they wouldn’t give me the numbers over the phone when I called. Instead, I had to get a special form off their website and then request the information. (of course, the proper way to return their form was via fax. Like who else uses a fax nowadays?) They didn’t even have her 1099 scheduled to mail to her address on record. Typical California government B.S.

Ring by Spring

After the tax mess is put behind me, I will pivot to getting the requisite diamond ring. I was really hoping that she would opt for a ruby but since I already bought one of those for her, she said that she wants a diamond ring. Yes, dear. I had planned to get the ring at D.J.’s in Woodland but since I have been excused from the big wedding in February, I have no plans to head that way. I found a place in Coeur d’Alene that will probably get my business instead.

May Flowers

If the good Lords wills; I will head to the land of 7,000 islands in May. I plan to be there about six weeks. We will do the blessing ceremony while I’m there. I’m sure we will have a discussion about whether to report said ceremony to the government but likely won’t because it will make us ineligible for the K1 visa option. Thus, look for the reenactment of the blessing ceremony stateside in 2027. If I lack the finances in May, then the backup time will be in July.

On the Home Front

Currently, I am taping the sheetrock in the garage. I have been working on the north wall. I don’t really know what I am doing but my goal is to make it look better and then hit it with a primer coat of paint.

Additionally, I am trying to critter proof the place while all the insects are dormant.

My other goal is to waterproof the wall between the guest room/craft room and the garage. Due to the lack of our contractor’s concrete skills, the garage drains to the center of the slab and not out of the door openings as it should. Every time a vehicle enters the garage after driving in rain or snow, all the water dripping from the underside runs toward the wall and is absorbed by the sheetrock. If there is enough water, it also goes under the wall and pools in the wall area. I can make an argument that a floor drain might help but putting one in without messing up the floor coating in the garage is more money than I can afford right now. Thus far the winter has been mild, and I’ve put enough caulking down that it should be ok … but we will see.

 Almost every room in the house is missing some trim or in need of more caulking, especially around the door frames and windows.

The following work still needs to be done:

• Trim around tongue and groove ceilings
• Backyard fence
• Minisplit in garage—leak fix
• Bridge between second floor of house and garage
• Vent hood in house is not retracting properly
• Storage and organization in the garage
• Complete closet in the house
• Upstairs closet in garage needs barn door
• Complete stairwell in garage

So, as you can see, I have many irons in the fire. My girl gets top billing but there is much to keep me busy.

The Blog Father has written about online dating lately, so I wanted to share my experiences.  Most online dating sites, I won’t say all are a cesspool.  I tried it for about 2 months based on a friend telling me, “Everyone is on it.”  She was right…  Do I say really right?  It was a sewer.  Granted it was a free site so I should have known.  It was also a Catholic one to boot.  Folks, as has been written here, lots of folks are religious, lots also attend Sunday service, very few actually listen.  Most, I think, just want the “hall pass” they think going to church provides for the sins of the week.

Here are the types you will encounter:

AI/ChatGPT created profiles:  They are fake accounts run by likely men to be honest here.  You can tell because the responses to your inquiries are tailored to fit what you are looking for.  Oh yes, I work out daily… what’s my favorite exercise?  Anything that makes me look good.  Big red flag.

Working girls:  These are the ones more than happy to send a scantily clad photo to you.  Then they try to get the conversation off the platform that you’re on.  Only Fans and other sites are where they want you to view their profile.  Oh, it’s pay to play by the way.

Scammers: You know the play here.  It’s I have a car bill totaling $1200 so I can’t come visit you.  After they admit they don’t have a car.  Then they can’t say the name of said car repair facility only that its “local.”  Oh, and they send scantily clad photos as well to keep you on the line.  Bear in mind, the photos you are getting are most certainly not the person you think you are interacting with, they were likely screen shotted off the internet.  That’s right, they are using someone else’s image and likeness to try to hook you in.

People trying to cosplay someone else: I met up with a girl who I did like.  I felt she felt the same about me.  I added her on Facebook and quickly found out it was a scheme.  She was playing her own version of the bachelorette.  She even had photos of her “dates and asking the comment section what they thought.”  Yep, full stop. I deleted said Facebook and dating website.  I have no desire to compete with other men, and I am no trophy or prize to be won.  Oh, and having to ask your female friends or a comment section what they think shows what amounts to an undeveloped brain. I do not care what your friends think, I want to know what you think.

Bottom line.  Stay vigilant if online dating is for you, but as I stated above it’s a sewer and it has/takes all types.  What is my remedy?  Well, I do not really have one.  I would say use your network plus friends and places you like.  It is risky but I would rather play with the pool I know rather than the one I do not know.  Being taken advantage of is not cool… thankfully I have not been.

The Chief

Editor’s Note: Thus far, between two dating websites, I have found one real human and at least seven fake accounts trying to play me. I have deleted my account membership from one website and the accompanying profile. In addition, I have cut down the personal information on the one remaining site. Not to say it’s better, just that the scammers are not as good as the previous site that I cancelled. Yesterday, I was able to identify the fraud by the third text exchange. This happened on two separate accounts in one day. The AI chatbot was by far, very close to getting away with it, but it doesn’t have the awareness to hide itself. Proof of life (i.e. that you are talking to a real person) will get harder as technology improves but it is a good first step. Proof of gender may very well be the second hurdle. If you saw some of the profile photos that I’ve seen, you would agree.

Warning: this will not be a typical movie review. If you are Liberal, easily offended, or thin skinned, please skip this post.

Last week we watched the entire Hunger Games trilogy in preparation to watch the most recent installation, a prequel to the Hunger Games story. In the trilogy, the bad guy is President Coriolanus Snow, played by Donald Southerland. This stand-alone prequel (The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) is the origin story of Southerland’s character. We rented it at the local video store. It is also available on Amazon.

From this point forward there will be some spoilers.

The movie opens with the Snow children (Coriolanus and Tigris) living with their grandmother. Some internet sites say that they are cousins and not siblings. The family is poor and barely surviving in the capitol district. Coriolanus is trying to do the typical middle-class drill of getting good grades to get into college. His family was once rich but not anymore. College is viewed as the gateway to success. Since he is poor and ambitious, he of course gets into conflict with the rich children in the district.

His college conflicts occur during the tenth Hunger Games. At this point, due to low viewer ratings, the Hunger Games are on the verge of being cancelled. Snow takes the opportunity to think outside the box and try to boost the ratings of the games. This brings him into even more conflict with his peers and the school’s faculty.

His major opponent on the faculty is Severus Snape, oops I mean Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage). Dinklage is awesome in his role as are several other characters. If you liked Dinklage in the Game of Thrones, then you’ll love him in this movie.

Despite opposition from faculty and his peers, Snow’s plan to amp-up the Hunger Games is implemented.

From good ‘ole District 12, comes the Songbird, Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler. Snow is assigned to prep her for the Hunger Games. He falls in love or lust with her (you can decide which) and does what he can to help her win, including gaming the system and cheating. Clearly the skills you need nowadays to win the presidency are evident in his behavior from an early age.

Snow gets caught with his finger on the scales and is punished. The rest of the story arc is him making his way back to the Capitol.

To lift a phrase from Clint Eastwood, I now present the good, the bad, and the ugly of this film.

Why the film works.

The writer and the moviemakers of this film pull off what George Lucas failed to do with Darth Vader. They make a cogent and convincing case as to why Snow became evil. The movie dedicated to making Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader fails miserably on this point, despite a budget of millions of dollars, the move to the Dark Side was not satisfying or believable. Only Midi-chlorians were a worse plot point in StarWars.

Snow is led step by step into varying degrees of evil and is comfortable with each step as his conscience and morality disintegrate over the course of the film. Parts of it are creepy and uncomfortable to watch as you hope he will act morally but does not.

Rachel Zegler actually sings the songs that she belts out during the movie. They are not dubs of some faceless off-screen person in a recording studio. My biggest complaint is that the first few chords of almost all the songs start like Wayfaring Stranger and then branch out into other chords. For the sake of following the lyrics of each song—which are related to the story—you might want to turn on Closed Captions.

The other reason for Closed Captions leads us to the ugly part of this story. The people that made this movie did something that is not advertised on the DVD box or movie posters. They did something so shameful that it makes Disney look like a Republican run corporation. In fact, were it up to me, I would make the film rated R. I don’t know why smoking now makes a film R rated but this is worse. Tigris, the “cousin” of Snow, is a chick with a dick.

Yep, sorry Troll but it’s true.

We are watching the film, and my wife starts looking up the actors on the Internet. She then informs me that Tigris is a dude. Hunter Schafer used to be male. I will let you read the carefully curated details on Wikipedia if you wish.

Folks you can’t unsee that it’s a guy in drag once you know that. The volume of the audio track for Tigris is very low in every part of the dialogue. (Hence my recommendation for Closed Captions.) Guess, he can’t fake a girl’s voice. Also, there is a scene when I think they Photoshopped out his Adam’s Apple.

My demand for the R rating is based on this; how do you explain to your nine-year-old that the actor is a dude? Just hope they don’t notice? Sorry, it’s all over the Internet. If you don’t tell ‘em someone else will; oh, and as an added bonus they will undermine your values in the process.

The themes in this film are dark and adding this perversion is just another layer to deal with.

I think this film going woke in a different and more subtle direction and will be repeated. Look for more Hollywood flicks to try this tactic to check the pervert inclusion box in their movies.  

I think Zegler will win some awards for her performance; especially considering the new woke criteria of the Academy Awards.

Tom Blyth was great as Coriolanus Snow. I’ve never heard of the guy before, but his performance will open doors to more movie opportunities.

The lost soul, Hunter Schafer, will get an award just for being in the film. The contributions of the actor were minimal but I’m sure letting the producers check the pervert box will be rewarded.

If you are an adult that likes YA books made into movies or movies about dystopian worlds then by all means watch the movie; just beware that it is a potential recruiting tool for coopting your children by undermining your faith and values.

Treat this as an adult only film for people that grew up with the original trilogy.

I saw the movie on Sunday. It was a real treat to see. The short version, 10/10 Go see it.

Seeing the movie brought to mind the following:

Some of the background was a great touch. Yep, they had Janice Joplin and Timothy Leary at a beach concert and a host of period music in the soundtrack, some of which you will recognize.

The movie was grounded and a blast from the past. Just a few short years after this movie was set was when many people on my mom’s side of the family gave their lives the Christ (1974-1975). I think religious faith was portrayed as a struggle and not an end.

I knew of Chuck Smith and the many music groups that began at his church, but the origin of his youth-oriented church was fun to watch. Talk about the ungrateful death (his congregation) being given life… From what I recall of the 60’s, the counter-culture movement was a bunch of rebels without a clue. After many years of trying stupid stuff (drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll), many finally found what they were looking for, a lively faith to fill the God-shaped vacuum in their soul.

Not everything coming out of the Jesus Revolution was orthodox but some great theologians did come to prominence during this time period. If you can dig up some sermons by David Chilton, on a few recordings, he discusses some of the abuses on the fringes of this movement.

The other comment about the Jesus Revolution that I heard recently from Gary DeMar was that it was a movement that emphasized an internal transformation as opposed to previous revivals which were also culturally transformative.

One result of this period is what I call the franchise church: Calvary Chapel, Vineyard, LifePoint, Hillsong, etc.

Another and different version of Christianity coming out of this movement was Jesus People USA. They are still around today. They are a cooperative community—think baptized commune—that specializes in ministering to the poor in urban communities. I don’t know how many locations they are in, but Chicago and Milwaukee were ones that I remember.

Kelsey Grammar was really good as Chuck Smith and Jonathan Roumie did a great job as Lonnie Frisbee. I guess Jonathan plays Jesus in The Chosen; sorry, I’ve never seen the show. There is a line in the movie about him trying really hard to look like Jesus, guess that has more than one meaning.

Final thought, I’d see it again and plan to buy DVD once it goes on sale.

I know that I haven’t written in a while and this brief blog is proof that I do feel some guilt about that.

My wife and I are getting the house ready to move and also overseeing the building of the new place. Our new house is nearing the completion of sheetrocking and will soon be ready for painting. Hopefully the tile guy will be ready to go soon so we can finally bathe in our place instead of trekking to the local church a few times a week for a real shower.

As one would expect, our utilities at the new place are a fraction of the rates in California. Our heater has been on nonstop since October. It was set to about 60 degrees up until January, when we upped it to 70. Even when the temperature outside was negative, the house stayed really warm—insulation is such a blessing. Anyway, it costs us about $65 for natural gas there while in warmer California, our bills from PG&E are running almost $300 per month—they gotta pay for those fires somehow.

During our visits to the new house, we were living off of one electrical outlet but this last trip saw us get five more outlets. What a blessing not to have extension cords running all over the place and having to unplug everything when using the circular saw. Also, I was able the get the Nest thermostat running along with a Nest “drone unit” in the crawl space. The crawl space (more like a basement) is now somewhat insulated and considered part of the inside envelope of the house. I wanted to see how that area is doing. It’s been a steady 58 degrees for most of the winter.

The upstairs is mostly painted and ready for other work but the downstairs will need a coat of sealer and a finish coat of paint. Then we plan to tackle the ceiling which is slated for tongue and groove pine. If I plan the work then this ought to go well in much of the house—the known tricky spots are upstairs.

The wife and I are selling things we once considered treasures on eBay and will soon have the mother of all garage sales. Anything not sold will probably go to a charity not named Goodwill.

Parting with large pieces of furniture is also on the list of things to do. Not having control of when friends and relations will actually take custody of stuff is somewhat frustrating.

I have much that I wish I would blog about but will get to it as time permits and the Spirit moves me.

A portion of our blog staff will remain in Elk Grove, and I can begin covering North Idaho once we get settled. The contrast will be fun to compare.

Avoid.  That’s the one and only word.  Your humble correspondent has not and will not visit after hearing and seeing several trusted sources review our new shiny casino. 

Sky River is a brand-new casino that opened in the same town as this blog’s world headquarters.  We have always been skeptical as this is a small town, and do we really need another casino here?  In a short driving distance, we have, Jackson Rancheria, Cache Creek, Thunder Valley, Red Hawk and a couple of card rooms downtown.  All of them are far more exciting than our new casino.  Sky River Casino is very small, and no frills at all.  For now, it’s just a gambling floor and food.  I guess long term they have plans for a hotel, we shall see.

As for the casino part, I have had 4 customers/friends attend the casino multiple times since it opened, of course they aren’t degenerate gamblers, they just like to play a bit.  None enjoyed it at all.  Some even won money and still would not go back.  They said it was smoky as heck, so bad they had to go outside to get fresh air multiple times over the course of 30 minutes.  This is a bad look for a casino who said they have state of the art filtering systems in place. 

The slot and table play got decent marks, but it was very crowded, this is a good thing for the casino.  But again, the smoke…. yikes.

The food was a major let down.  Full disclosure they do have a standalone steak house coming soon, which would be a good addition to this town in my opinion, but the food otherwise consists of just a food court.  Pretty lame. You order from your phone and sit and the workers bring it out to you.  Prices were just ok.  Food was high school cafeteria quality.  Avoid.

In summary, this place is average, but it fits this town perfectly.  If you think about it, we have lots of chain restaurants here, nothing special.  Our casino fits that.  We have people who are always hunting for a deal, this place fits that.  We are a no-frills town… this place fits that. 

Recently, I went out to eat and happened to be seated near an elected official from this area.  I overheard her telling a colleague we have a Walmart quality casino, for our Walmart quality town.  (We have 4 Wally Worlds in and around Elk Grove.)  If you are looking to blow some cash, this place will allow you to do that, but bear in mind, it has no sports book, no quality food options, and no hotel.  Also, no golf course or amphitheater.  Suit yourself, but I am not going to partake.  Like usual, this town would rather be adequate or average than have anything nice.

Johnnie Does

Editor’s Note: I checked Yelp just to see if Johnnie was being too hard on the place. Here’s what I found.

After trying to go here and eat more than Ice Cream, it was disappointing. Most of the Marketplace Food Court is surpassed by your local Shopping Mall Food Court in Selection, Quality and Service.

Yelp Reviewer Wanugee N. 09/17/22

Beautiful inside except the cleanliness. A casino of this size should have at least 5 people on the floor all the time just picking up and cleaning everything. It’s dirty.

Yelp Reviewer Marianna B. 08/21/22

There was no non-smoking area. I brought a mask but it didn’t help. There were also no hand sanitizer stations around. There are germs on every machine!

There was a long line to get into the food court area. It took awhile to get in and once I saw the prices I immediately went out… Too bad there is no buffet, whenever I go to a casino I expect a buffet.

Main question, did I have fun? My answer is not really.  I did get some exercise though from getting lost in this casino and then getting lost again in the parking lot. I guess I at least got to experience this but I don’t think I’ll come back.

Yelp Reviewer Scott F. 09/03/22