Thackerville, OK (USA)

I'd been meaning to do it for a long time - finally had a chance to check out the WinStar Casino north of Forth Worth. It took about an hour to get there - had to cross the Red River into Oklahoma. When I got there, I was surprised to see the entire parking lot full (cars mostly had Texas plates...). I eventually found a place to park (long walk). The place looks really interesting from the outside: a series of building facades that represent more than 10 major civilizations (e.g., Big Ben, Colisseum, etc.). I started on one end of the building (at the poker room) and walked the full length. I found it kind of surprising that was inside the building didn't correspond with the outside facade (e.g., London on the outside and New York on the inside). Still, all of the sections of the casino were named for major world cities. There was artwork and statuary (along with themed restaurants) for each. The major theme of the (huge) casino was obviously slot machines - and I only found a few areas with other fare (one for blackjack, one for off-track betting, and a HUGE Bingo room). The casino did offer free sodas at various locations (I haven't seen that before). On the flip side, there was only one buffet - and it was mobbed (really long line). Interestingly, the rest of the restaurants were almost empty. Stopped into Toby Keith's bar - might make for a fun evening... Lots of big-name celebrities were on the schedule - probably would make for a good "date-night". Spent a few hours there and then left for home. Explored a little on the way - weather was nice.