Marinduque Awaits You: Our Weekly Escapade to the Casinos

WELCOME TO MY SITE AND HAVE A GOOD DAY

If this is your first time in this site, welcome. It has been my dream that my province, Marinduque, Philippines becomes a world tourist destination not only during Easter Week but also whole year round. You can help me achieve my dream by telling your friends about this site. The photo above is your own private beach at The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort. The sand is not as white as Boracay, but it is only a few steps from your front yard and away from the mayhem and crowds of Boracay. I have posted some of my favorite Filipino and American dishes and recipes on this site also. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on infringement of your copyrights. Cheers!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Our Weekly Escapade to the Casinos

If you have been following my blogs, you probably know that our weekly entertainment consist of an afternoon visit( 1-6 PM) to the Indian Casinos not too far from our residence here in Northern California. Our visit is not only to play the slots machines but also to partake the buffet ( Seafood) and food at the several restaurants in the Casinos at very reasonable prices. Oftentimes we received $10 of free dining coupons or we can used our accumulated points for food or gift items. We also have free plays varying from $5 to $15 every week

There are two Indian Casinos only about 30 minutes drive from our residence. I will call them Casino A and Casino B. My wife and I go to Casino A three times a month and we go to Casino B, once a month. For the last two years, along with my wife we take along our next door neighbor who is a widow and enjoy the ride with us. The three us of us have a weekly budget for this activity. So far our weekly trip to the Casinos had not sent us to the poor house. The most important of all, we are not yet addicted to the slot machines.

This week, I met two complete strangers in Casino A and I realized they are slot machines addicts.

The first stranger was a retired Filipino about 65 years old. I thought at first he was Chinese until he talk to me in Tagalog. He told me he just live nearby and go to the Casinos every day. I notice he was not betting minimum on the slots similar to the slots I am playing. He placed $100 in the machine and bet 0.90 cents each time while I am only betting 0.30 cents, the minimum bet required. We both played side by side for about one hour. After one hour my balance was still around $20 the amount I bet at the beginning. In the meantime the Filipino stranger balance in his machine was only about $15. He kept on complaining that the machines are stingy today. He also informed me that his children has been telling him to stop going to the Casinos everyday. I just listened and from his ramblings, I know he has already an addiction to the slot machines.

After another 5 minutes, my machine yielded a Bonus Play ( 15 free plays). It gave me about $8.00. It was time to go and play another slot machine. I have a modus operandi, that once the machine gave the bonus round, it is time to move on. However, sometimes , I forget and get carried away and it is almost sure, I will lose my bonus winning if I do not move to another machine.

This week I met another stranger ( A Caucasian man in his 50's) in the non-smoking section of Casino A. I have a favorite machine in that section. It is a new machine with statistics and amazing sound effects. The week before I hit the bonus round in this machine which gave me 100 free plays and resulted in the winning of $100 from a 30 cents bet. Luckily, the machine was vacant. I placed $20. My bet was minimum as usual ( 0.30 cents).

The gentleman by my side playing a similar machine, was betting 90 cents per play. I notice his balance was $390. I asked him if that is his winnings. He said no, since he had already placed about $600 in the machine. Then he started complaining that the Casinos are cheaters, since he always is losing. I mentioned that the Casinos here are to make money. He commented that at least they should program the machine that our CHANCE OF WINNING IS A AT LEAST 10%. I then told him of my winning the bonus of $100 resulting from my minimum bet, the week before. He said it is a miracle that I won that amount from a minimum bet. All of a sudden I hit a bonus play giving me 25 free plays. It gave me $40. When the guy saw it, he was so upset and left his machine still complaining about his bad luck. In my case, it was time to quit and enjoy some dinner. At the end of 6 hours of playing, I lost only $20 but have the grandest time in my life. In the meantime my wife is also enjoying her afternoon. My wife did not loss any money and was playing on Casino money all afternoon, whereas our neighbor lost all her allowance for the week.

My wife, our neighbor and I are looking forward for next week for our Casino Escapade. Will it be Casino A or B? This will depend on the free plays we will receive next week.

For those of you who have not been to the Indian Casinos in Northern California.: The Casinos are well equipped with new slot machines and as modern as the Casinos in Reno, Lake Tahoe or Las Vegas, Nevada. Casinos A or B gave us the amenities and joys of slot machines gambling without the hassles of driving for several hours to either Lake Tahoe, Reno or Las Vegas.

ABOUT ME

I am a retired (Chemistry Team Leader from USFDA) Filipino-American who loves writing, gardening and photography. My wife (of 63 years) and I enjoy the snowbird lifestyle between the US and the Philippines. We have a small but very private beach resort (above video) in the beautiful island of Marinduque, Philippines. I have several blog sites(ten), a personal blog, blogs about Marinduque and about our beach resort and conference center-CHATEAU DU MER. I also write for for www.squidoo.com now owned by Hubpages.com

I will appreciate if you drop by and make comments on my postings. Thank you for your visit.

Ten Things to Do in Marinduque

There are numerous things to do in Marinduque during your vacation. But the following ten items are my recommendations: 1.Beach combing, snorkeling, bathing , scuba diving and sunset watching This photo was taken at the balcony of the Beach House. Note that low tide is starting and the corals are starting to stick out also.

2.Caves Exploration-Spelunking. There are two caves worthy of exploration-Bathala in Santa Cruz and Tarug in Mogpog. The Bathala Cave consist of eight other caves. One of the caves has a resident python. Photo by Flickr.com

Resident Python-photo by 4.bp.blogspot.com 3.Island Hopping- The Tres Reyes Islands Marine Sanctuary, Polo and Maniwaya Islands. This is Maniwaya island being develop as an alternative to Boracay, photo by panoramnio.com

4.Shopping for Morion masks and native handicrafts- nito products,wood carvings and potteries. This is a nito handbag, a popular gift item. Photo by handicrafts.org

5.Trip Around the Island-Sulfur and Hot Springs, Poctoy White Beach and Mt Malindig This is Poctoy White Beach with Mt Malindig in the background in Torrijos, the most popular beach in the province.

6.Partaking and Enjoying the island delicacies- Ginatan na Manok sa Gata, bibingka, kare-kare and ulang-ulang soup. Photo of bibingka by wikimedia.org, yum, yum, it is delicious.

7.Join or just watch the Moriones Festival during Holy Week. Women Moriones Participants-photo by etravelpilipinas.com

8.Visit 400 year-old churches, ( Boac, Gasan and Santa Cruz )and antique homes in downtown Boac. This is one of the many antique houses in downtown Boac. This one is owned by my sister-in-law, Mrs Siony Jambalos. It is located just across the Boac Hotel.

The Green Mansion photo by Dong Ho 9.Watch colorful butterflies (in the butterfly farms) or native birds ( bird watching) in the foothills of Mt. Malindig. This is a monarch butterfly. Photo by howdididoit.com

10.Treat yourself to the most expensive and luxurious resort in Southern Luzon- The Bellarocca Resort and Spa in Buenavista or pamper yourself to an affordable private beach resort at Chateau Du Mer in Boac. The Beach House and Bridge at twilight.

For details visit the following websites: www.chateaudumer.com or http://marinduquemyislandparadise.blogspot.com

I love Sunsets! How About You?

1. Sunset from Balcony of the Beach House, Amoingon, Boac, Marinduque Over the years, I have seen and photographed several dozens of sunsets in several countries that my wife and I have visited. We have been to Marbella, Spain, Rome, Italy, London,England, Vancouver, B.C., Cancun, Mexico, Aruba, Hawaii( Maui, Kawaii, Big Island), Puerto Rico and most of the US big cities, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago, Kansas City, St Louis, Miami, New Orleans, Washington, D.C. and other small cities . But the two most beautiful sunsets that stirs my emotion are the one at Amoingon Bay ( taken at the balcony of our Chateau Du Mer Beach house-photo # 1) and the one over Manila Bay(# 9 photo). You will probably say, I am partial since I am a Filipino-American, but judge it yourself. Below are ten of my favorite sunset pictures for your viewing pleasure. Comments, anyone?