Metropolis: Superman, Super cheap

Early in September we made a visit to the Harrah's Casino in Metropolis. Now, I have never been to a casino before, but when we went to the Wilson County Fair (the best in the State of Tennessee) we won $50 worth of casino credit, and picked up a couple free passes for a bus ride from Nashville to Metropolis, so we decided to give it a try.

When we arrived at the bus station, we discovered that the bus ride entitled us to a free meal at the casino, so lunch would be covered as well. The buses were pleasant and comfortable, and the ride went by quickly. When we arrived, we signed up, got our little passes, then headed down to eat. We had a decent meal: hot dogs, chips, cookies and a coke. Good. Even better because it was free. We then headed to the cashier's counter to find out what the deal with the cards was. Turns out they are directly exchangeable for cash. We explored the casino, and I think it can best be described as annoying. The machines are incredibly loud, and covered in flashing lights. It was difficult to think straight; maybe that is the point. I've since been to some Australian Casinos, and they are much more quiet, but the one in Metropolis was barely tolerable. Pepsi was doing some sort of promotion, and we got a free 2 liter each, which we picked up before we returned to the bus that night. We continued to wander the casino, checking out the card games, spent some time out on the decks of the boat, then wandered inside to try out some machines.

Because we are essentially cheap people, we opted to play the penny slots, and we each spent $10 playing, which did a good job of eating up time, but weren't particularly interesting. Finally, full of the sugar of far too many free cokes, we decided to take the money and run to see the rest of town. Leaving the Casino, we headed up the street of the sleepy little town, down to the square, where there is a giant superman statue in front of the cute little courthouse. Just off the square is a superman museum/store, full of superhero memorabilia. Unfortunately, it was closed. We idled around town a bit and finally returned to the casino, or rather the cooler calmer area that connects the casino to the hotel, where there is a small gift shop we explored, and the rooms where they hold the shows. We picked up our Pepsi's, and eventually boarded the bus home.

I had a pretty fun time, despite being disappointed by the gambling itself. If they have a booth at the fair next year, we will still sign up, but just cash in and hit the town right away.