Wind Creek Casino & Hotel Wetumpka.......Visit PART 2!!!!

My first trip in December had nothing on this last trip I took. I also made another trip in January 2014 (just because everyone gets a second chance, or so they say).

I have to tell you that this place just took my money with in about 20-30 minutes. So at the rate I was losing, I walked around and ordered drink a drink (which you have to use your club card in order to use it). Once you put you card in the gaming machine (and have played $5 minimum on you card) the drink button on you screen will activate. I order a smoothie, and it took about 10 min for me to get it. Another down side to that is, you can only order drinks 20-25 minutes apart from each other, so I you get a drink that you don't like then you just have to wait the allotted time, and reorder again (after having played at least $5 again).

Let's just break this down.......I order a total of three drinks (strawberry smoothie, vanilla milkshake, & chocolate milkshake) and remember 20 minutes between each order. I smoothie was nasty and very chunky with ice cubes. Next, the vanilla milkshake tasted like watered down ice and milk that might have been a few days old. So I tried on more time and after having to wait the minimum 20 minutes and having play that pesky $5 again I ordered the chocolate smoothie (I figured that you can't go wrong with chocolate) Boy was I mistaken! Remember that watered down-days old milk, I told you about?. It was that with chocolate syrup smeared into it. I threw that one away also. The reasons I kept ordering because I was hoping that something I got would be good, but I was wrong. I also wanted to stretch out my time there since I had already lost most of my money early on.

Back to these gaming machines, none of them[machines] that I played on, payed out very well. I lost on every single machine, only winning back between 40 cents-$2 every once and a wh...... well only once! :( I only remember getting a payout once, maybe my friend that came with me had better luck. According to him, however, he did not do too well either. This trip was a wasted one for me. As nice as the property is, it does not matter much, if you lose all or most of your money. I may not go back for a loooooonnnngggg time, at least until all of the newness wears off!

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.