09.27.2012 - Entry #9: Casinos in the Neighborhood

Where to get good food on a college budget

I'll always feel a sense of home when I see a casino; having spent the past 14 years going to casinos for many of my recreational activities, from going bowling with friends to catching midnight premieres, a casino will forever be a place I feel comfortable in. In contrast to the riverwalk, the casino is a man-made environment solely made for the entertainment of society. Its values vary from the riverwalk in that it does not aim to provide wholesome recreational activities or provide an outlet for people to get in touch with nature; instead, it promotes some of the shadier aspects of our society. A love for gambling, the chance for excessive feeding, a place to kill your lungs with cancer sticks without being judged. Its similarities with the riverwalk ends only in their common goal of providing a good time; to whom that time is spent with depends on the person. and how they currently feel at the moment. Sometimes, I feel like going out for a hike and appreciating the beauty of nature; other times, I enjoy the feeling of immersing myself in the almost taboo nature that casinos provide. The other thing is that the existence of both of these places depends on its residents; while tourism is a nice supplement for both locations, both the riverwalk and the casinos can only be sustained in the long-term through the business and interest of the locals. This puts university students in a somewhat grey area- present for only three-fourths of the year, how much say do they really have in what goes on? Not much, especially with the casinos. Once off limited to college students, it's still prohibited in some ways, mostly due to the fact that many of the services a casino provides is available only to people above the age of twenty-one. Because of age limitations, casinos don't really hold much appeal to university students as there are many other activities to engage in within their age range.