Thursday, December 19, 2013

Wind Creek Casino & Hotel Wetumpka Brief Overview

Opened on December 18, 2013 the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel Wetumpka pulled out all the stops to impress the public (Partially thanks to their parent company PCI Gaming, headquartered in Atmore, AL. This blog report is just about my brief experience to the new facility today. Fact: Wind Creek Wetumpka is now Alabama's largest casino, yes, even larger than its sister property Wind Creek Atmore (WCA)in Atmore, AL; WCW has more than 500,000 sq. including the hotel, almost double the size of WCA which has 285,000 sq. I went to Wind Creek Wetumpka (WCW) earlier today along with a friend. First instinct was "shock and awe", out-doing the now closed Victoryland.
But back to WCW. The vibrant lighting fixtures reminds me of something you would see in Las Vegas (more specifically The Aria Resort & Casino at CityCenter Las Vegas. Of course with it being Christmas time there was a Christmas tree in the atrium near the entrance that was astonishing. It took me about a good 2-3 minutes just to view everything in the grand entrance.
As my guest and I continued inside, I noticed that there were a lot of “cash center" machines. I made change and the machine gave me some $20 bill (OLD SCHOOL $20 bills) the gaming and "cash center" machines had trouble taking them, so I had to find the cashier station. So I have to travel through this maze of aisles and finally asked a worker just to find the cashier (which by the way, was at the very end of the building. – On a side note I know why casinos are set up this way, It’s because they want you to get kind of lost so that you can keep playing. The same applies for the cashier, they are in the back so that once you cash out, you will have to travel back through the labyrinth (hoping you will stop and play again) just to get to an exit – Sorry, PCI Gaming, LOL. Anyway after I finally found a few machines that my friend and I liked, we decided to sit down and play. I stayed about 3 hours, and really enjoyed the new facility! While I was sitting down at a machine I noticed that there was a button on the machines that you can push and order a drink from your seat, Awesome!!!! (I enjoyed a strawberry smoothie LOL). As I stated a moment ago, I was there 3 hours and still didn't get a chance to see all the games. The bar in the middle was astounding, although the fish (shark) tank to be featured on Animal Planets hit show "Tanked", was not set up to be shown yet. This is a major upgrade from the former Creek Casino Wetumpka across the street, which will become a convenience store and banquet hall.
The only down side was that I lost over $250 :( So I may stay away for a while. I wish I could be hired as a photographer or videographer or even work in publicity for PCI Gaming Northern Properties (which include WCW and Creek Casino Montgomery (CCM)), because I would love to work in advertising and marketing, but unfortunately there are no positions open for that kind of job. As a last note, I tip my hat off to Cody Williamson, General Manager, Wind Creek Wetumpka. I have had a few conversations with him, and I can say he is doing an tremendous job.
Overall, I would say to anybody to take at least one visit to the new facility. It's unlike anything the State of Alabama has ever seen.
PCI Gaming family consists of gaming properties in Alabama and Florida. This includes Wind Creek Casino & Hotel in Atmore, AL, Creek Casino Montgomery in Montgomery, AL and Wind Creek Casino & Hotel in Wetumpka, AL as well as Mobile Greyhound Park, in Mobile, AL Pensacola Greyhound Track & Poker Room in Pensacola, FL and Creek Entertainment Gretna, a Horse racing & Poker facility in Gretna, FL.

Photos done by Cooper Photography, except for shot of Cody Williamson, and the old casino location.

7 comments:

  1. James, I read your review of Wind Creek Wetumpka. It is a good review. I am looking forward to going and having dinner at Fire. We look forward to seeing Lo who used to be in Atmore.

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    1. Thank you so much Dottie, I really appreciate it. I decided to get back into blogging, especially since my background is in Hospitality.

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    2. Oh and pass this blog along to others :) Thanx!

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    3. Becareful going into the. Bathroom and be prepared for your promos if you have them Not to work!

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  2. Im glad you had a good experience. I went hoping to have a great night out and over all experience. It was a Horrible night in which I left in Bruises and Cuts !

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  3. If you like penny and five cent games you will love this casino. If, however, you like traditional slots you will really be disappointed. There are no table games because Alabama doesn't allow them. We played for about three hours and broke even but probably won't go back due to a three hour drive and lack of traditional slots. Also, high limit room is very small.

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