BY Clay Larroy
People in
general consider traveling as their
personal interests. Traveling can
quickly become an interest simply because it is such an enjoyable experience.
When you travel around the world and you will see a variety of different
cultures and people. There are two
things to remember while traveling. The first thing is to be open-minded about
people and their culture. The second thing and the most important, is to
respect other cultures no matter how different. When
you want to plan a vacation contact me!
One Weekend at Fallsview
By Sherri Telenko
Saturday morning, noon and night
Sleep in after a night of dancing, or get up in time for
breakfast at The Famous. Located on the main floor, this art deco themed
24-hour diner was created by Robert Sniderman, the owner of The Senator in
downtown Toronto, Ontario.
Then head back to the hotel for a swim in the lap pool or relax
in the adjacent whirlpool, both accessible to hotel guests only. On the same
floor is The Spa, a mandatory addition to any trendy resort. The
15,000-square-foot facility offers the typical spa services, including
therapeutic massages and body wraps. Facial treatments uniquely titled ‘Serenity,’
‘Clarity,’ ‘Purity’ and the ‘Caviar Signature Immersion’ are available. And men
are not left out. A number of treatment packages named after local landmarks,
such as the ‘Peninsula Pleasure,’ are designed especially for the discerning homme.
By now, it’s time for a late lunch, and what’s a casino
experience without a buffet? Fallsview has one called the Grand Buffet, and
this 750-seat eating emporium is located adjacent to the gaming floor. Fuel up
seven days a week, lunch or dinner, then head to the center of it all - the
single level 200,000 square foot casino floor (picture three football fields
side-by-side) with 150 gaming tables and more than 3,000 slot machines ranging
in price from five cents a pull to one hundred dollars in the high stakes area.
Unlike most casinos, the slots are not grouped according to bet
values, but banks of different amounts are scattered throughout the floor
encouraging patrons to walk around. Take special note of a bank of fifty cent
slots located under a giant campy statue of a woman auspiciously showing off a
diamond ring. These slots have a special payout - the jackpot line wins your
choice of two diamond rings, a diamond necklace or single diamond. So far,
according to the casino, 50 people have gone home sporting new rocks.
Table games include the usual suspects: blackjack, roulette,
craps, baccarat (played Asian-style with the house dealing cards) and Pai-Gow,
an ancient Chinese game similar to poker. In fact, this casino is a big draw
for Asian clientele, intentionally so. The resort was designed with Feng Shui
principals in mind; there are no floors containing the number four (an unlucky
number in Chinese culture), and there are three fountains on site. Water is a
symbol of luck and fortune, so here’s where Niagara Falls has the edge over the
desert town of Vegas - what could be luckier than the world’s largest natural
water falls just outside the window?
Speaking of popular, as of the New Year, Fallsview added two
poker tables to its repertoire - thanks to a certain television show. It
launched the new addition with a celebrity tournament in 2005, and tables have
been buzzing since. There’s even a home-grown version of Texas Hold ‘em called
Niagara Hold ‘em. The house gets a ‘rack’ of the pot, and there’s no checking
or raising, so bluffing is highly likely.
If you don’t get lucky at the casino tables, you will definitely
hit the payout upstairs at 17 Noir. The second floor of this Vegas-style fine dining
restaurant requires reservations, but it’s worth it. The fusion-style cuisine
blends local produce, fish and select meats to create dishes that combine fruit
accents and with sharp flavors. Finish off the meal with the signature dessert
called Eclipse Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse. Inspired by an astronomical
theme, this planet of chocolate hazel nut truffle (complete with rings of
Saturn) orbits on top of an edible chocolate cone decorated with stars and
backed by a fire-like wall of spun candy. See it to believe it.
Not to be out done, 17 Noir has three chef’s tables, each
exclusive. One is in the red wine cellar, the other is surrounded by stemware
cabinets and the third is in the kitchen and primarily used by friends of the
chef. The best seating, however, is in the room directly overlooking the falls.
The room can be shut off for private functions of up to 30 people, and it has
fiber optic cable in the floors that change color.
Dinner at 17 Noir can (and should) take hours, but if you can
make it, head to one of the many shows the casino offers nightly. The Avalon
Ballroom hosts the headliners. This state-of-the-art theater accommodates 1,500
people when set up with rows of seats but can be reconfigured for fashion
shows, corporate events, tailgate parties during football season and even boxing
matches. Performers who’ve hit the stage include the Barenaked Ladies, Tony
Orlando, Julio Iglesias and Burton Cummings.
Live entertainment continues inside the casino at the both the
Splash Bar, seen from the casino floor, and the 365 Club, which can be
separated from the noise of the slots. Here, free nightly shows range from
local bands Thursday through Saturday, comedy night on Wednesday starting at
8pm, and a musician’s jam session every Tuesday evening. Monday is reserved for
big-screen sporting events.
Gamble away until 1am when you might be feeling puckish again.
If so, the Grand Buffet offers a late-night buffet of munchies for only five
dollars.
Sunday morning
Check out of the hotel by 11 am, but don’t think you’re done
yet. There’s still shopping to do. Fallsview has three floors of boutiques and
additional restaurants, so you can’t go home empty handed. Stop at Turtle Pond
Toys for something unique for the kids and then at Swiss Fudge to get a
thank-you gift for the neighbors who fed the cat. Treat yourself at First Hand
Canadian Crafts and Design, filled with high-quality jewelry, furnishings, and
crafts by Canadian artisans and designers, or at Linda Lundstrom, designer of
stylish coats perfect for this country’s climate.
And if you didn’t win your diamond on the casino floor, take
your last chance to pick up something glittery at Swarovski. A sparkling
crystal seems the ideal reminder of a weekend of Vegas-style glamour at one of
the most breathtaking natural wonders shared by the US and Canada alike. The
chairman of the board would be proud.
REFERENCE SITES:
The contemporary casino is more than a gambling destination:
it is a multifarious pleasure enclosure intended to satisfy every member of the
family unit.
Colson Whitehead
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