1. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Casinos

    Discussion in 'Research' started by OurJud, Sep 15, 2016.

    Naive question, I know, but can anyone use a casino? What I mean by this is can a person simply walk in off the street and start playing the tables?
     
  2. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

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    There are age limits. In the U.S., it's either 18 or 21 depending on where you are and whether or not alcohol is served on the casino floor.

    But if you meet the age limits, then yes. You can just walk in and lose money.
     
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  3. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah, I was considering the age thing a given, but good to know. I must confess it wasn't the answer I was expecting. Not quite sure where the notion stems from, but I suspected you had to be a guest/member of the hotel/casino before being allowed to play.
     
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  4. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

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    Not in my experience. That would limit the revenue, wouldn't it? In Vegas most of the casinos have hotels, but you do not have to pay for a night to play.

    ETA: I live in Phoenix, Arizona. There are a number of casinos throughout the valley that exist only on Native American reservations because of certain laws. I've been to all of them and never stayed in the hotels as a guest. I walk in the door and go straight to whatever table I want to play.
     
  5. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Oh, I didn't know that's where you were. Maybe you can answer a question. One of my favourite tv shows is called Auf Weidersehen, Pet (I've posted clips elsewhere). One series sees them demolishing a bridge in the North East of England and rebuilding it in Arizona to give the inhabitants of a NA reservation a short-cut to the casino (it's better than it sounds).

    Anyway I was looking for the place on google maps and couldn't find it, and now wonder if some jiggery pokery was used. Do you know if this casino actually exists? The theory (in the series) is that the casino is dying because it's a long trip to get there, so they build the bridge over the Crow River (fictitious?)

    They also keep referring to the 'Choconaw' nation, too, of which I can find no evidence.

     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2016
  6. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

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    Ok. I can pretty well clear that up.

    The gorge over which they are standing is the Grand Canyon. There is no casino that close to the Grand Canyon. All of the surrounding land is protected and there isn't much in the way of buildings, let alone a casino.

    This, I think, is satirizing the precarious gambling laws that we have here in Arizona.

    ETA: It is the Colorado river which flows through the Grand Canyon.

    As for the name of that particular tribe, I'm not sure. There are thousands of tribes scattered about the U.S. and while that one isn't outside the realm of possibility, I'm almost positive it's fictitious as well as calling the Colorado river the Crow river.
     
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  7. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    So, no Crow River and no 'Choconaw' nation either?

    The closest I can get is Choctaw, but this isn't what they're saying, unless it has some weird pronunciation thing going on.
     
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  8. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

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    Definitely no Crow River through the Grand Canyon. And I'm pretty sure that region was inhabited by Navajo/Hopi/Havasupai. Don't quote me on this, though.
     
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  9. Infel

    Infel Contributor Contributor

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    Don't know if I'm late to the party, but any bum off the street can walk into a casino and play. Sometimes even if you're underage. I make frequent trips to Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border, and in the tinier casinos, unless you're acting like a giddy schoolgirl, you can sit down at a slot machine and start playing. Sure, if you look young eventually one of the security people will come and check you, but otherwise the machines are fair game. Now the actual tables--cards, blackjack, roulette, ect--are a different story. Since you need chips for them, you have to go to a teller and exchange your cash for them. They'll check you if you don't look like you belong; i.e. over 30.
     
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  10. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    @OurJud , you didn't know that Auf Wiedersehen Pet was fictional?

    And you hadn't noticed that it has some weird pronunciation!

    While they're probably poking fun at American gambling laws, and the tendency for Native Americans to open a casino, I think the bridge they're satirizing is London Bridge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_(Lake_Havasu_City)
     
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  11. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

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    At least in my country anyone over 18 can just go and buy chips and play. Granted, I've been to one only once (and it was actually quite boring).
     
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  12. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Yes, they mention the relocation of London Bridge in the series.

    I know the Geordie accent is a tad unusual, but I've been watching the show so long now I can pick it up like a native. Of course it's fictional, but that doesn't mean they can't have facts, and it seems more than a little weird to invent a name for a NA tribe. They refer to the tribe many times (Oz says it very clearly in the above clip) and they are definitely saying 'Choconaw'. Unless this is how you pronounce 'Choctaw' (which are a real NA tribe) there appears to be no references anywhere to a NA tribe names the Choconaws.

    Choctaw is pronounced phonetically: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Choctaw - so I can only imagine Choconaw is a ficticious bastardisation of it.
     

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