Imagine Las Vegas. Now take away the free drinks, the open container laws, the arms from the one-armed bandits, the cling-clang of change hitting metal, and, oh yes, the desert. What’s left? The new “racino” video casino that’s the gaming part of the Saratoga Gaming and Raceway, the harness track and neglected little brother of Saratoga’s world-famous track. The racino opened its doors today as part of Gov. Pataki’s state-wide effort to bring in more revenue for schools.
It was bigger than I expected. It immediately felt like Vegas, but not. There’s a bar and cocktail waitresses, but the free drinks didn’t seem to be flowing, especially because you only have to be 18 and not 21 to gamble. That’s the other funny thing: That the slot machines are called video lottery in order to exploit a loophole in state law about gambling. But make no mistake about it. These were genuine slot machines…err, paper machines. They didn’t take coins, but they did take paper money and the certificates they spat out when you chose to cash out.
Whatever the nuances of the law, we had a good time. We stuck to the nickel and quarter machines. Yes, we’re high rollers.
In other news, Jen made these amazing eggplant-almond enchiladas last night:
…and Stella wanted some, too:
