(I'm having to write this in increments because of computer woes.)
Anyhoo, so my friend drove us up to Sandersville, Mississippi to the Choctaw enclave. We kinda got lost because the signage was so bad--it looked simple on a map--take 15 North, exit on highway 11 and you're there--but noooo, nothing is simple in Mississippi (except the governor.)

Twisty turny lonely country roads, looking ugly in winter; gray bare limbed trees and dead brown grass and trash everywhere. I've never seen so much trash and litter in my life. Mississippi has got to be numero uno in trashy states. The road finally leading into the casino was a narrow two laned road through a swamp, a road the Choctaw had newly re-asphalted. Since the guv and powers that be couldn't stop the construction, he and the MDOT have been piss anty about widening roads into town, erecting signage or a traffic signal. "We'll make them Injuns pay for being so uppity," sort of attitude.

The day the casino opened, Santa parachuted into the parking lot and Wayne Newton showed up to sing a song. There are 750 slot machines in the place and people lined up opening day to get in and have their pockets electronically picked. The day we were there, one cocktail waitress served the whole place. There was a snack bar, and a bar that was dark and empty, but locals sat at the stools anyway, to get the casino experience. You can tell it's amateur hour--nothing like the casinos on the Coast run by Las Vegas interests.
susil