We originally decided that we were going to do a Saturday lunch at the Wetumpka casino, just to see what all the hype was about. The advertising for the Wind Creek Casino is pretty much everywhere, and people were saying that the food at their “high-end” restaurant, Fire, is really good.

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It turns out that Fire wasn’t open for lunch, so we settled for the buffet and a few leisurely laps around the casino floor.

It was our first trip to the Poarch Creek casino, and if you’re interested in Class 2 gambling (or a first-hand look at economic development), it’s worth a trip. Class 2 means that you’re looking at row after row of electronic slot machines bingo games, but none of the roulette wheels, sports betting and card games that you might associate with casinos from television.

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On a Saturday afternoon in June, we were mostly looking at a bunch of older folks that seemed like regulars. Most of them sported bright orange cords connected to their “frequent player” cards. The whole place seemed to be running on a system of electronic debits. People were buying food with their cards and ordering drinks from their machines. Every advertisement seemed to offer various kinds of bonuses for “members.” The idea of being a “high roller VIP” probably carried with it as much appeal for some folks as the prospect of winning big.

Since we’re not big gamblers, why did we visit our neighboring city’s towering casino? We were partly compelled by the outstanding work of journalism authored by the Montgomery Advertiser‘s Josh Moon, who in November 2014 gave a definitive historical overview of Alabama’s weird recent relationship with the world of institutionalized gambling. Whether you think gambling is a source of jobs or Satan’s poverty engine (or both), the article is a must-read. It’s long, but compelling. We’ll have to wait to see how it ends because the state continues to litigate about what constitutes electronic bingo and who can engage in which kinds of activity.

We were particularly interested in whether the casino was a nice place, and whether the food was good. The answer on both counts is “yes,” although we really want to go back to try out the upscale restaurant, Fire.

Parking’s a breeze, with what might be the most modern and organized parking deck in the entire state of Alabama. You take elevators down to the hotel lobby. We can’t speak to the quality of the hotel rooms, though if they’re anything like the entirely tidy lobby, they might be pretty nice. We checked out the outdoor pool, which looks like it’d be a great place to swim. The hotel’s strategically situated on a hill, so the pool overlooks the tree line in a nice way – we bet there are good sunsets to be seen out there.

Inside, the casino floor is blinky and loud – a cacophony of machines winds about in curving layouts. Busy players sit transfixed or roam about to see what machines might be “lucky” or to help themselves to the endless free coffee and sodas. We saw some servers weaving about with trays of special orders to customers. At some machines, we saw people ordering drinks electronically. For a place that allows smoking (other than a packed non-smoking area), it doesn’t smell that much like cigarettes, which was nice. There’s also a cool bar area in the middle of the floor with a gigantic circular aquarium. We thought about sitting with a drink and watching the bright schools of fish swim about, but we were hungry.

The buffet was pretty solid, and there was plenty we could eat, even as vegetarians. It doesn’t rival the ultra-buffets you might find in Vegas, but it’s good (if a little salty at times). The facilities are clean and well-maintained. Almost everyone we saw in the restaurant and on the floor seemed to be having a nice time.

We didn’t play any games – “bingo” isn’t really our thing – but we’re glad we checked it out. We’ll definitely be back to investigate the restaurant at dinner, and will post a full review when we do. In the meantime, if you or someone you know is looking to play some shiny machines on the chance of winning some money, Wind Creek’s a nice looking place just 20 minutes away.

Kate and Stephen are Midtown residents with two cats, a dog, ten fish, a garden, an old house and a sense of adventure. They write about life in Midtown here and about life in Montgomery at their blog Lost in Montgomery.