Hi Gang:
Hedy and I got back from our three-day junket to Harrah's Tunica Tuesday and
although the video poker gods were not kind to us, we enjoyed our trip,
especially our outing to Graceland last Sunday.
We flew out from Newark on Allegiant Air Saturday night and the 2 1/2-hour
flight went very smoothly, unlike some of the horror-show flights we've taken
on previous junkets to Laughlin. We were assigned a very nice, three-room
suite in the Terrace Hotel, across the street from the Harrah's casino, and
liked almost everything about the place. The expansive lobby has an old-world
feel -- plenty of antique-type furniture, wood floors and numerous couches and
chairs on which to sit, -- with a scenic back porch just outside another
sitting area nestled close to a huge fireplace. A beautiful, old Grandfather's
Clock and a player piano added to the homey feel of the first floor.
We checked out ... but didn't use ... the pool area and it looked very nice
with two large pools surrounded by trees and other foliage. The weather was
great the first two days we were there -- low to mid 80's with bright sunshine
-- but we awoke to lightning and thunderstorms the morning we were to fly
home. Fortunately, it cleared up later in the morning for our flight home, which
was uneventful. The help at the hotel, especially the front desk, was very
helpful and cooperated fully after we complained about a minor problem we had
with our room.
The shuttle buses to the casino, about a five-minute ride away, ran every 10
minutes or so and made it easy and convenient to get back and forth. We even
took a free Harrah's shuttle over to the area where the Sheraton, Horseshoe
and Gold Strike are located (maybe a 10-minute ride) to check out those
casinos and play the very good VP offered at the Sheraton, another Harrah's
property. There, we found 9/6 JOB, 10/6 DDB, 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe, 8/5 BP, 9/7 DB
and a deuces game much like NSU which paid 75 and 55 for the five-of-a-kind
and straight flush, respectively. They were all found on multi-denomination
machines. It was great playing DDB and not feeling guilty since it was
full-pay!! Unfortunately, Hedy getting four deuces dealt in 50-cent DDB (no, she
didn't draw a kicker!) was the only significant hit we made at the Sheraton.
The VP at Harrah's was decent (we played mostly 9/6 JOB, 9/7 DB and White
Hot Aces, which was 9/6, I believe) but we could not hit aces or bonus quads (I
got aces once, but it was on 9/6 JOB!) and two full days of play resulted in
a fairly sizable loss. We were well below the curve on the number of quads we
got and for Hedy not to hit aces once on a trip like that was very, very
unusual.
The highlight of our trip was visiting Graceland. We spoke to a host prior
to our arrival and she arranged to have a limo drive us up to Memphis (about 40
minutes away) and stay with us the entire day. For two people who grew up
listening to Elvis' music this was a extremely enjoyable journey back through
time.
We did the platinum tour ($27 apiece), which included an audio-aided tour of
the mansion, the trophy building adjacent to the house, a racquetball court
which has been turned into a hall housing many, many of Elvis' gold and
platinum records and some of the costumes he wore during his concerts and a visit
to the grave site which houses the final resting places of Elvis, his mother
and father, and grandmother.
After that, we were vanned across the street to visit the car museum to see
all the motorcycles and cars Elvis owned and used in his movies, another
museum which housed even more of his spangled costumes and jump suits and even
the tuxedo and dress he and Priscilla wore on their wedding day.
Next was a visit to the two private planes he owned -- the Lisa Marie, a
huge four-engine jet -- and the smaller Hound Dog II. People were allowed to go
aboard the Lisa Marie and it was fascinating to see the plush accommodations,
including leather couches and chairs, a big dining room and Elvis' private
bedroom.
The tour concluded with a visit to another exhibit which highlighted his
time in the army, which featured the uniforms he wore, his foot locker etc.
After the tour, our driver took us to Beale Street where we spent a short
time visiting the "Birthplace of the Blues."
We ate all of our meals in the Paula Deen Buffet at the Harrah's casino and
liked it very much, although we had to be careful since it seemed that
EVERYTHING offered at the buffet was fried! Very typical Southern cooking. Fried
chicken, pork chops, oysters, shrimp, potato wedges ... we even sampled some
fried cornbread at the breakfast buffet! Their motto, "Put a little South in
your Mouth" really rang true at this buffet. Very good, but very fattening!
If you haven't tried a trip to Tunica yet we would recommend it, but we
doubt if we will return. There are too many other Harrah's properties nationwide
that we prefer ... Laughlin, Lake Tahoe, New Orleans etc.
If you're a child of the 50's and 60's, though, a trip to Graceland is a
must. Y'all will love it!!
Regards,
CoachVee (Tom V) & Hedy
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