visiting detroit's greektown casino.

I was in Detroit this weekend for a day trip to catch my first-ever NHL game. I'm a huge fan of the Detroit Red Wings, so it was great to take in a game at the venerable old Joe Louis Arena. Too bad the Wings lost.

I decided to park my car at the Greektown Casino and take the downtown people mover to and from the game, which was incredibly convenient (take note, big cities with traffic congestion issues!).

Aptly named for the neighborhood within which it resides, the Greektown Casino-Hotel boasts a 100,000-foot gaming floor with more than 2,600 slots as well as the full compliment of table games, 400 guest rooms in a 30-story tower, a nightclub and several restaurants from which to choose.

Obviously, the Greektown is shooting for weekend warriors to enter and never set foot outside the complex until they check out.

I was only there for a couple hours, but wandered the two-level gaming area to take it all in.

My first thought was, "Where are the video poker machines?" Instead of putting them among the slots, video poker is in its own, all-too-cozy room away from nearly ever other part of the casino. It's honestly kind of a strange location, if you ask me.

Greektown is one of the remaining ethnic neighborhoods in Detroit; something that's fading away in many big cities (and something you can't create out of corporate investment). The casino butts up against a street lined with Greek restaurants and businesses. It's very unique and worth the visit.

The casino itself wasn't bad, but didn't stand out at all, compared to other casinos I've visited in the Midwest. The table games pits seemed disjointed, if you ask me. The video poker room might be claustrophobic to some, but didn't bother me.

Overall, it's not bad. I'd have to go back and stay for a weekend to get a better feel for it all. I can't complain, though. I did win a few bucks. Their slot machines offer something I've never seen before in a casino for players club members: you have the choice of cashing out of a slot machine with a voucher or putting the money onto your players card; sort of like a debit card. Clever and I suppose convenient. But let's be real. They're trying to keep the money in-house. I'll take the cash, thank you very much.