Gaming Guru

Heard it on the river: Plenty to do at Tunica

How many times have your heard the tired refrain…"there's nothing to do outside of the casinos in Tunica."

What a crock. Maybe we don't have naked dancing ladies, bar hustlers, fleece and release joints and overly expensive restaurants with celebrity chefs but if you stop and smell the roses you will find there's plenty do besides whacking away at a slot machine or hollering "all in."

Like the TUNICA RIVER PARK for instance which just re-opened its Eco Trail after needed repairs from flooding and some updating for more viewing pleasure of the woods and wildlife that abound along the Mississippi River. It is a wonderful tree-shaded stroll in the woods over 1.9 miles and guess what, it is free. It' s not hard to find, follow the signs to the FITZ casino and just before you get there take a left to the RiverPark. The Trail is open daily from 9.am. to 6 p.m. For more information on the museum and the trail, go to tunicariverpark.com or call 866-517-4837.

You can also visit historic downtown Tunica, only minutes away from the casinos, with its shopping and dining or play golf on any of our three great courses, RIVERBEND LINKS, TUNICA NATIONAL or COTTONWOODS. There is also a world class sport shooting facility behind HARRAH'S If you like shopping, there's the busy mall of FACTORY SHOPPES on nearby Highway 61 and nobody minds If you stop and pick a few cotton bolls to take home. We don't have the Grand Canyon but we do have the TUNICA QUEEN with daily sailings on THE RIVER and even dinner cruises if you wish. If you like equine events, check out full calendar at the Tunica Arena adjacent to the TUNICA MUSEUM. And what about the TUNICA VETERANS PARK? And the unique BLUES TRAIL?

Slow down and feel the fun, you might live longer.

GEYSER FALLS waterpark at PEARL RIVER closes August 1; too bad as it heralds that the end of summer is near… The new RIVERVIEW buffet is another star on the collar for F&B guru URS VOGEL and ABBY JESTIS, director of F&B at the FITZ. I like the live cooking station and now they have added LOBSTER TAILS to the seafood fest on Friday...there is also a new snack bar coming to Fitz soon to be called the PLAYERS SNACK BAR, what else….The WORLD POKER OPEN is underway at GOLD STRIKE and WSOP Circuit hits HARRAH'S here Jan-20-Feb. 11, 2010.…'37, the distinguished restaurant at HARRAH'S, just received an AWARD of EXCELLENCE in the latest issue of WINE SPECTATOR…the honor was also bestowed on another excellent restaurant, THE CHIGAGO STEAKHOUSE at GOLDSTRIKE…TEAM HORSESHOE'S four players collectively won $18,455 at the WORLD SERIES of POKER at the RIO in Vegas. The crew of employees included KENNY PIEL, ADOLFO GONZALEZ and ROBERT HEARD, and his wife ROSE..

ELVIS gets all the attention at SOUTHLAND GAMING & RACING in August…check out the Park's ad in this issue for all the many details.

It is always about casinos and their people in this column but we also tip our own hat in this column, not because we did something great but because we lasted so long in this turbulent business. Yup, the GOODTIMES RADIO SHOW, co-hosted by yours truly and MIKE SCHIFFER, just celebrated its 15th anniversary as the longest running live casino gaming format show in the world. If you are gonna pat your back, why not the world instead of the only USA. You can listen to it every Saturday morn from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on WMC79 AM Memphis or at Audiovegas.com …Bet you didn't know that 30% of the show's listeners visit TUINICA'S casinos more than once a year and 30 percent of those are retired…did you also know that GOODTIMES RADIO SHOW gives out more free trivia comps than any show in the region like rooms, steak house dinners, buffets, golf rounds, and gift certificate…it pays to listen, no house edge here.

CHRIS JOHNSON, manager at '37 Steakhouse knows his bevies…old friend, TRUDY PFISTERER, 20 years in the chips biz, has been named casino services manager at SHERATON…for .77 cents you can have a full breakfast at HOLLYWOOD on Saturdays but check into the CLUB HOLLYWOOD first…some big time acts coming to a casino near y'all…. the OAK RIDGE BOYS are at PEARL RIVER RESORT August 7 followed by KENNY ROGERS Aug. 29...MIKE EPPS is at SAM'S TOWN Aug. 15 followed by DAMON WILLIAMS Sept. 12 and TRAVIS TRITT on Oct. 3...on Aug. 8 you can see COUNTING CROWS at HARRAH'S.

FROM THE QUOTABLE GAMBLER, Lyons Press

Big egos and big losses go hand in hand.

JOHN GOLLEHON, A Gambler's Little Instruction Book (1994)