Where the Heck is Marinduque?: Our Weekly Trip to the Indian Casinos

Planning to Visit the Philippines Soon?

There are hundreds of tourists attractions in the Philippines. But as a lover of the Island of Marinduque (Home of the Morions and Heart of the Philippines), I am indeed partial to its beauty, charm and its friendly and hospitable residents. Therefore, help me achieve my dream of seeing this island becomes a world tourist destination, by telling all your friends and relatives about this site. Welcome, to you all, new readers and faithful followers of this site! The photo above is Poctoy White Beach in Torrijos, Marinduque with beautiful and majestic Mt Malindig in the background. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on infringing your copyrights.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Our Weekly Trip to the Indian 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 58 years) and I enjoy the snowbird lifestyle between the US and the Philippines. We have a small but very private beach resort( see above video) in the beautiful island of Marinduque, Philippines. I have several blog sites(ten), a personal blog, blogs about retiring in Marinduque and our beach resort and conference center-CHATEAU DU MER. I also write for www.squidoo.com now owned by HubPages.com

Marinduque: A Photogenic Province and Tourists Destination

Marinduque is a photoblogger dream. The province is endowed with unspoiled white sand beaches, pristine blue waters, fringing reefs, virgin coral reefs, coves, limestone caves, meandering rivers, mountain peaks, cascading waterfalls and streams, fabled sulfur and hot mineral springs,old churches and of course beautiful sunsets. The Internet is filled with photographs of the scenic beauty of this island not only from the local professional photographers but also from amateur photographers all over the world. The province has more than six big islands popular to beach lovers, scuba divers and snorkeling enthusiasts. It has Mt Malindig known to mountain climbers and hikers. It has Bathala and Tarug Caves popular to spelunkers and just curious seekers. In one of the eight caves of Bathala, there is a resident python, believed to be enchanted. If he shows himself when you visit the caves, it is suppose to bring you good luck.

Sunset over Tres Reyes Islands- Photo from panoramnio.com The nearest and most accessible islands from the capital town of Boac are the Tres Reyes Islands ( Islands of the Three Kings), Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar in the town of Gasan. The local names are Laki, Pangkog and Man-nga ( see map above). These islands are located southwest of the mainland. The other three group of islands bigger in area and more populated are Polo, Maniwaya and Mongpong Islands. These are located in the Northeast part of the mainland in the town of Santa Cruz. Maniwaya's Polo Maria White Beach is being develop as an alternative to Boracay. There is a bigger island, Salamongue Island which is not as well known to the tourists and residents.. I really do not know the reason, but I believe it is not as accessible from the mainland . Moreover, it is not as developed( no electricity or running water) compared to the other islands.

One of the most popular white beach located in the mainland in the town of Torrijos is Poctoy White Beach. It is about a 70 minutes drive from downtown Boac. Poctoy White beach with Mt, Malindig as the background is the most photogenic and the most photographed scenery in the island.

Just late last year, the former Elephant Island in Lipata, Buenavista, owned privately, was renamed Bellarocca Resort Island and Spa. It has been converted to look like Santorini Island, Greece with buildings all painted in white sticking in the cliffs. From what I heard, this resort is one of the most expensive and luxurious resort in Southeast Asia. The cheapest room charges $300 per night excluding meals and other amenities. When I was in Marinduque last year, I met a few rich and famous Filipinos( businessmen, actors and actresses, TV personalities)) from Manila as well as Korean and Japanese tourists at Masiga Airport in Gasan on their way to the resort. From the resort advertisement, I know that the most expensive accommodation is a 3-bedroom villa with its own pool and jacussi charging about $ 800 per night without meals. Dong Ho, Oggie Ramos, Ferdz Decena, Allan Barredo, Sydney Snoeck and Dennis Villegas are some of the photographers that I know who have photo blogs about Marinduque. Their pictures are beautiful, unique and mesmerizing. It is worth your time to visit their photo blogs sites. Looking at their photographs of Marinduque, its Tradition and Culture will surely make you proud of the beauty of our island paradise.