Indian Casinos of Northern California

The newest and biggest Indian Casinos in Northern California, Draton Resort and Casino at Rohnert Park grand opening was last November 5. I applied for a players card two weeks prior to the opening and received a reply that I will received it before the opening day. Today 8 days after the opening no player cards have appeared in my mail box. I do not feel this is a good public relation effort from Draton. On the other hand Thunder Valley Casino (TVC) in Lincoln, I believe has the best public relation department of all the Casinos in Northern California.

Two weeks ago, I sent an e-mail to the four biggest Indian Casinos in Northern California (Numbers 1, 2. 3 in the list below and Draton ). I was asking for pay out percentages of their slot machines and some information on the manufacturers. Only TVC replied, the others Casinos ignored my question. The Vice President of Slot Machines Operations at TVC was very helpful and very patient in answering my questions. In addition he promised that the next time we visit the Casino, he will give us ( me, my wife and a neighbor) $50 each free slot play that day. Yesterday the three of us went to TVC and enjoyed our free slot play as well as a buffet dinner that the manager also gave us. This is an example of excellent public relation effort of a Casino. Needless to say, we will patronize TVC and not the other Casinos nearby.

If you have been following my blogs, I have already written a couple of postings on this subject. There are two Indian Casinos within 30 minutes driving time from our residence, Thunder Valley (TVC) and Red Hawk Casinos (RHC). TVC is the second most profitable casino in the US according to recent reports. RHC is only about four years old, but catching up in earnings with TVC. There are two other casinos within 90 minutes driving time from our residence.

The top ten Indian Casinos in Northern California excluding Draton are as follows: This is based on the total number of slot machines. Based on floor size Thunder Valley Casino is the number 1. If you enjoyed the Casinos, Northern California is an ideal place to live or visit.

1. CACHE CREEK CASINO RESORT, Brooks, California
Slot Machines: 3,130
Floor Size: 74,720 square feet
Table Games: 143
Tribal Organization: Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation

2. THUNDER VALLEY CASINO, Lincoln, California
Slot Machines: 2,700
Floor Size: 165,000 square feet
Gaming Tables: 105
Tribal Organization: United Auburn Indian Community

3. RED HAWK CASINO, Placerville, California
Slot Machines: 2,100
Floor Size: 88,000 square feet
Gaming Tables: 75
Tribal Organization: Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians

4. TABLE MOUNTAIN CASINO, Friant, California
Slot Machines: 2,000
Floor Size: 50,000 square feet
Table Games: 47
Bingo: 800 seat
Tribal Organization: Table Mountain Rancheria

5. TACHI PALACE CASINO, Lemoore, California
Slot Machines: 2,000
Floor Size: 140,000 square feet
Table Games: 56
Bingo: 850 seats
Tribal Organization: Tachi Yokut Tribe - Santa Rosa Rancheria

6. CHUKCHANSI GOLD RESORT & CASINO, Coursegold, California
Slot Machines: 1,800
Floor Size:
Table Games: 41
Tribal Organization: Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians

7. JACKSON RANCHERIA CASINO & HOTEL Jackson, California
Slot Machines: 1,525
Floor Size: 147,000 square feet
Table Games:49
Tribal Organization: Jackson Rancheria Band of Miwuk Indians

8. RIVER ROCK CASINO, Geyserville, California
Slot Machines: 1,600
Floor Size: 35,500 square feet
Table Games: 29
Tribal Organization: Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians

9.EAGLE MOUNTAIN CASINO, Porterville, California
Slot Machines: 1,400
Floor Size: 70,000 square feet
Table Games: 13
Bingo: 450 seats
Tribal Organization: Tule River Tribe of Yokuts

10. BLACK OAK CASINO, Tuolumne, California
Slot Machines: 1,024
Floor Size: 22,500 square feet
Table Games: 27
Tribal Organization: Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk

My wife and I have visited all of the above casinos except numbers 5 and 6 and Draton.

Gambling on Line: If you are lazy to drive or dress-up, you could always enjoy gambling by playing on line any time of the day or night with live dealers. Most of these on-line websites are outside the US. The one in England www.livecasino.uk.com comes to mind. You can play poker, black Jack and other games free for a while and then you are enticed to bit and play with money via credit card. Be careful again, this is also addicting and convenient.

May I reiterate that any form of gambling is addictive. Beware of "come-ons" and other advertising gimmicks targeted to senior citizens. Gamble wisely and stick to your budget and have FUN! Lastly gamble only the money you can afford!

Little Ashes

Paul Morrison, the director of "Little Ashes," a film about the strange, complex and forbidden love between Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca and surrealist painter Salvador Dali, talks exclusively with The Dish Rag about casting "Twilight" hero Robert Pattinson in the period piece.

At the time, Pattinson was just another undiscovered young British actor (he'd done "Harry Potter"), and little did Morrison know that this young man would draw unparalleled attention to his small film, which opens May 8, without a US premiere.

Paul Morrison: I love the fact that an audience is going to be drawn to the film, partly through Rob, that wouldn't otherwise get to this kind of movie. We played the Belfast Film Festival last week and there were quite a few of Rob's fans there, not the majority by any means, and they loved it and they really took to it, so it's great that kids will be reached by the movie.

Dish Rag: Playing Salvador Dali is a daunting role for a young actor.

PM: Yeah, I don't think Rob realized what he was getting into when he agreed to do it, but he really worked hard at it, he really grappled with it, and I think he's done something very extraordinary. It's so difficult to do, because you have to tread light all the time between playing Dali as a young lovable young man, which he was, and suggesting the kind of pastiche of himself that he became in later life, that he presented to the public in later life, and that's a very tall order, and I think Rob pulled it off.


DR: The resemblance is actually quite amazing.

PM: The intensity was important, but I wasn't really looking for resemblance. And in the performance, I wasn't looking for mimicry either.

DR: How did you find Robert Pattinson?

Head On Movie

The nineteen-year-old Ari confronts both his sexuality and his Greek family. Ari despises his once-beloved parents, former radical activists, for having entombed themselves in insular tradition; Ari is obsessed with gay sex, though he does make a unenthusiastic attempt to satisfy the sister of one of his best friends. At the same time, he's facing problems with his traditional Greek parents, who have no clue about his sexual activities...

Andrew Cunanan-An Infamous Filipino-Italian American

Cunanan was born in National City, California, to Modesto Cunanan, a Filipino American, and Mary Anne Schillaci, an Italian American. He was the youngest of four children. Modesto Cunanan was serving in the US Navy in the Vietnam War at the time of his son's birth. He murdered 5 men including Italian designer Gianni Versace.

At the time of the crimes, there was much public and press speculation that Cunanan's motives were tied to a diagnosis of HIV infection; however, an autopsy found him to be HIV-negative.

In order to piece together a motive for his killing spree, police searched the boathouse where Cunanan died. However, Cunanan left behind few personal belongings, surprising investigators, given his reputation for acquiring money and expensive possessions from wealthy older men.[16] Police considered few of the findings to be of note, except multiple tubes of hydrocortisone cream and a fairly extensive collection of the fiction of C.S. Lewis.

His motivations remain a mystery. Various theories include jealousy for Versace's role as a "gay icon", as well as necessity and opportunity in some of the other murders. Examination of his behavior from reports also indicates that he may have suffered from psychopathy, a personality disorder characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy.

Northanger Abbey- Jane Austin

Northanger Abbey is the story of a young woman, Catherine Morland, who is invited to Bath with family friends, the Allens, for the waters at Bath will help Mr. Allen's gout. Catherine (called "Cathy" by her many younger siblings) has been quite sheltered all her life, escaping only by reading Gothic novels, and so is delighted to go to Bath. Mrs. Allen introduces Catherine to the Thorpe family, including an older girl, Isabella, who befriends Catherine.

The girls have bonded over their love of similar novels, when their brothers arrive. James (Catherine's brother) falls in love with Isabella, a hardened flirt. Likewise, John (Isabella's brother and James's friend) goes after Catherine, who does not like John half so much as John likes himself. Catherine is in love herself, however, with a quirky young minister, Henry Tilney, whom she met at a dance. Catherine befriends Henry's sister, Eleanor, and goes on many outing with the two siblings, after their brother, Frederick, comes to Bath. Isabella, having learned that James (to whom she is now engaged) is poor, begins to flirt with Frederick Tilney. Eleanor invites Catherine to stay with her at the Tilney's home, Northanger Abbey; Catherine accepts with pleasure, though she imagines that the Abbey will be rather like on the gloomy castles in her books.

Catherine is, at first, welcomed by General Tilney (Henry's father), who has been bragged to by John Thorpe that Catherine (whom John thinks is in love with him) is an heiress. When he realizes that Catherine is not rich, however, he sends her packing. Back at home, Catherine is unhappy, missing Henry and disillusioned about her precious Gothic novels. Henry appears and proposes, however, and the story ends happily.

Grand Ecole Movie

Grande ecole: Paul and Agnes have been going out for quite a while and Agnes is shocked to learn that he'd rather live with two roommates on campus than move in with her. As soon as he meets one of his roommates, Louis-Anault, Paul's behavior changes - he is attracted to Louis without realizing so himself. Agnes, on the other hand, gets quite jealous and offers a bet: Whoever gets to have Louis-Anault first, wins... If she does, Paul will no longer explore his homosexual desires, if he does - she'll walk away. Meanwhile, Paul meets Mecir, a young Arab worker, who shows him there's more to life than elite colleges....

The 24th Day Movie

Tom (Scott Speedman) and Dan (James Marsden) meet in a bar and then proceed to Tom's apartment together. While there, Dan realizes that he had been in that same apartment before. Five years earlier, Dan and Tom had a one night stand there. According to Tom, that encounter with Dan was his first and only homosexual experience. Some years later, Tom's wife is found to be HIV positive. Despondent after receiving this diagnosis from her doctor, Tom's wife drives through a red traffic light and is killed in an ensuing collision. Subsequent to these events, medical tests reveal that Tom is also HIV positive. Tom blames himself for passing HIV on to his wife and, in turn, he blames Dan for passing the virus on to him. Reasoning that Dan, ultimately, is to blame for his wife's death, Tom devises a plan to exact revenge. He holds Dan hostage, keeping him bound and gagged to a chair in his apartment. He draws blood from Dan in order to conduct a test to determine Dan's HIV status. If Dan's test results are positive for HIV, Tom vows to kill Dan. If the results are negative, Tom agrees to release Dan unharmed. In the end, Tom returns to the apartment and lets Dan go. As Dan is leaving, Tom asks him when he had last been tested. A few moments later, he reveals that Dan's test was, in fact, positive. He decided to let Dan go because he realized that his positive status was the result of his choices which he couldn't blame on anyone else. The screen fades with Dan standing in Tom's doorway, in shock, and Tom resigned to his fate.

Mulligan's Forbidden Love

If you are homophobic, do not watch these two videos. It is a story of a young man who falls in love with the father of his best friend. I am not gay but I love romance movies gay or hetero or for that matter any controversial movies. Enjoy

Origin of the Word-Olympic

I saw this article from the status page of a FB friend. He said he does not mind if I share it with you, my blog and skrive.it readers.

A slave call girl from Sardinia named Desdemona was attending a great but as yet unnamed athletic festival 2500 years ago in Greece. In those days, believe it or not, the athletes performed naked.

To prevent unwanted arousal while competing, the men imbibed freely on drink containing saltpeter before and throughout the variety of events.

At the opening ceremonial parade, Desdemona observed the first wave of naked magnificent males marching toward her and she exclaimed: "OH!! Limp pricks!"

Over the next two and a half millennia that morphed into " Olympics".

Just thought I'd share this new found knowledge with you. You're very welcome!

Amistad Movie

Amistad is the name of a slave ship traveling from Cuba to the U.S. in 1839. It is carrying a cargo of Africans who have been sold into slavery in Cuba, taken on board, and chained in the cargo hold of the ship. As the ship is crossing from Cuba to the U.S., Cinque, who was a tribal leader in Africa, leads a mutiny and takes over the ship. They continue to sail, hoping to find help when they land. Instead, when they reach the United States, they are imprisoned as runaway slaves. They don't speak a word of English, and it seems like they are doomed to die for killing their captors when an abolitionist lawyer decides to take their case, arguing that they were free citizens of another country and not slaves at all. The case finally gets to the Supreme Court, where John Quincy Adams makes an impassioned and eloquent plea for their release.



This is a remake of the 3 Idiots Movie. I like the original better than this remake.


The Last Casino is a 2004 Canadian television film on the subject of card counting. This movie draws heavily from the ideas espoused in the book Bringing Down the House.

Mathematics professor Doug Barnes has big problems. He is seriously addicted to gambling, and is heavily in debt to a vicious gangster (the Usurer). Barnes has been banned from his local casino, and the Usurer wants his money back. Barnes has only one card left up his sleeve.

Professor Barnes is paid an unexpected call at his university office by the Usurer. Barnes explains he has had a bad patch; but the Usurer wants his money. Barnes quickly comes up with the idea of forming "a team" of card counters, telling the Usurer "It's the only way you'll get your money back". At this, the Usurer snips the tip off the professor's little finger as a warning to pay the debt; but tells him he will consider the proposal. Barnes goes ahead and recruits three of the brightest, if mostly impoverished students from the university, luring them in with the promise of $1,000 per night each for "doing a little math". He then goes ahead and teaches them the art of card counting. Whilst initially highly successful, the three of them soon begin to succumb to the tempation easy money presents, and the pressure is soon on them to raise the money necessary to pay the professor's debts.

Tripe Soup-Caribbean versus Italian-Filipino Version

Cow Tripe Soup-Italian-Pinoy Style
Yesterday, my next door neighbor who was originally from Italy surprise my wife and I with cow tripe soup that she cooked. She said she just makes this soup once and a while, but she was very grateful with us taking her out to the Casino every other week so she makes the soup as a special treat. I once mentioned to her that in the Philippines, one of my favorite dish is cow tripe cooked in tomato sauce with garbanzo beans and plantains.

I also know that the best tripe soup is the Caribbean version that a former college mate once prepared during one of our pot luck parties while I was still in graduate school. I also am aware that tripe has to be pressured cook so it will be tender or boil for at least two hours. During the boiling process, the fat that floats at the top of the pot is removed so that it still be a healthy meal for people who are overweight, diabetics or have high blood pressure like myself and my wife. Here's the recipe that my Caribbean friend gave me. He said this recipe was from his mother a native of Jamaica. The following recipe will served 6 and takes about 3 to 4 hours to prepare.

Ingredients:

2 Tsp oil
1 cup diced onions( preferably sweet onions)
4 sprigs fresh thyme, divided
2 lbs cow tripe, cut up and thoroughly washed
Salt and pepper to taste
Water
1 lb pumpkin (calabaza squash), cut into small sized chunks
2 lbs half-ripe plantains, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch
8 -10 okra
Dumplings (optional)

Preparation:

Heat oil in pressure cooker. Add onions and saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes

Add 2 sprigs of thyme and saute for 1 minute. Add tripe along with salt and pepper to taste and saute for 4 minutes. Add 6 cups water, stir and cover pressure cook and let cook for 50-55 minutes. Time begins from the first whistle.

Add enough water to make soup, cover pot and pressure cook for 6 minutes. Time begins from the first whistle. Release pressure cooker valve to let out steam and open pressure cooker. Add pumpkin, plantains and remaining thyme. Cook until plantains are almost melting. (Do not close pressure cooker at this stage, just rest the cover on top of the pot).

Add okra and dumplings to pot, cover and let cook for 7-9 minutes or until dumplings are cooked thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Stir and serve.

The Philippines-Italian version is much simpler. Instead of plantain, my neighbor used potato cubes and no squash and okra are in the recipe. The pure Filipino version is very similar to the Caribbean recipe, but instead of okra, garbanzo beans are used. This soup is one of my favorite dishes. It is considered a main dish in the Philippines, not just a soup. There is a restaurant in Marinduque that prepares a delicious version of this tripe dish. Have You tasted a tripe dish?