Author: Paul

Save Money on Groceries

Tips We Use to Save Money on Groceries

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In trying to carve out savings for our poker pilgrimage, one of the first areas Heather and I attacked was how to save money on groceries. We wondered how we could spend $700 a month on groceries when we did not have extravagant tastes. Well sure, there was that weekly run to the tony local farm stand which carries a range of goodies on top of those fresh vegetables – expensive cheese and chocolates, nasty good breakfast items like cider donuts and chocolate croissants, and, sometimes, maybe a bottle of wine falls into the basket as well. Additionally, our grocery shopping often left us losing too much to freezer burn and watching forgotten fruit and vegetables morph into science experiments.

To use a poker term: we had leaks in our grocery shopping strategy!

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Venetian Poker Room Review

The Venetian Poker Room Review

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The Palazzo/Venetian Resort Casino

First, I must couch this review within my general affection for the Venetian/Palazzo complex at large.  My wife and I started our annual poker jaunts to Las Vegas three years ago. I was uncertain whether I would like Las Vegas at all. As much as I love poker, I do not necessarily groove to the full casino experience. An entire city  of that environment might prove to be too much for me.

Choosing the Palazzo as our hotel was the critical and fortunate first step to loving Vegas.  The rooms have a large, multi-level design complete with a desk, dinette set, square coffee table and huge wrap around couch. The bathroom is bigger than some hotel rooms I’ve rented in New York City! Our room at the Palazzo always feels more like a small, beautifully appointed apartment. Whenever I stay there, I never want to leave.

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Mohegan Sun Poker Room

Mohegan Sun Poker Room Review

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NOTE: This review was updated in September of 2019 to reflect substantial changes in poker room location, cash room activity, and tournament offerings.

Mohegan Sun moved its poker room in 2019. We recently stopped in for a visit to play a tournament and update this review. Previous to the move, having to wind through the Casino of the Sky and the Casino of the Wind, to find the poker room wasn’t an easy task. You had to pay pretty close attention to the signs at every bend. The journey was always worth it, as the Mohegan Sun poker room always provided a top-notch experience. However, the decision to move across the casino near the Autumn entrance, convenient to both the Indian Summer and RiverView garages, has made access to the room much better.

Mohegan Sun Setting

Mohegan Sun sits in the woods of Southeastern Connecticut right off of I-395 and not far from I-95. It’s very convenient to access, more so than its nationally recognized nearby rival Foxwoods which is farther off I-395 toward the Rhode Island border. Conveniently, if you want to sample both poker rooms, they are only about a 15-minute drive from one another. Mohegan Sun’s setting is slightly less scenic than Foxwoods, but you definitely know you are far from any large cities here. Nonetheless, you can reach several beautiful Connecticut and Rhode Island beach towns and coastal communities in under 30 minutes. One of our personal favorites is Mystic, Connecticut which is worth visiting in its own right.

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