Slots, Jacks and Scenes

Saturday we're heading to Newell, West Virginia to Mountaineer Resort and Gaming Center.

I was first at this facility about 10 years ago. It was nothing more than a pole barn type structure with a horse track behind it and along the Ohio River. Newell and Mountaineer is located just across the river from East Liverpool, Ohio in the small sliver of West Virginia between Ohio and Pennsylvania called the Panhandle.

Since that time, Mountaineer has undergone an extensive renovation with a theme that reminds me of the Great Gatsby era.

East Liverpool is the larger of the two towns in the area. But it is really what I would consider a depression era town. It's sad. Street after street of homes needing everything from TLC and repair to major renovations and even complete urban renewal. Newell, while smaller, is not really in any different shape.

I'm not keen on slots gambling and have no real desire to bet on the horses. This is a trip to facilitate some out of town family. I only hope my luck holds out enough to break even. Thankfully, I have the sense to only use "blow money", that being my allowance money that I've been saving, and will stop my losses at $50.00. If I have a streak of beginners bad luck, which is normally the case, it won't take me long to give that money away to the one armed bandits.

The only saving grace is that I get to gallivant in an area that is naturally pretty. And there are some interesting markers near where the tri-state borders meet that may merit a visit.

And there's even talk we may go to downtown Pittsburg for dinner and ride the cog train up the incline to see the three rivers area.