Wind Creek Casino

My husband and I headed over to Atmore, Alabama last weekend to buy a lottery ticket and decided, on the way back, to stop in at the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel. The casino is located on Highway 21 and is owned and operated by the Poarch Creek Indians. It opened in January of this year and features a 236 room hotel, three restaurants, 50,000 square feet of gaming tables, a spa and some major entertainment (Hank Williams Jr., Reba, and Brett Michaels, just to name a few).


The casino has no gaming tables, only slot machines. I was told by a staff member that gaming tables are illegal in Alabama, even on Indian land. The majority of the machines are penny and nickle machines, although I saw a few that were higher denominations. There is a separate room for high stakes players but I didn't investigate what constituted "high stakes". Whatever it was I knew I couldn't afford it. The nickle slots are a little misleading in that you have to bet at least five credits per spin (one credit being the equivalent of five cents) so essentially you're betting a quarter each time. I put $5 in the machine and won $46 in 30 minutes so I cashed out. As long as I'm ahead I'm happy.

A quick word about the drink service on the gaming floor. Everyone keeps asking me how long it took to get a drink. We arrived at 7:15 and I didn't see a waitress until 7:45. Once we ordered, it took 10 minutes to get our drinks. As the night wore on there were a lot more waitresses on the floor. Maybe they all start their shifts at 8:00. If you don't want to wait for a server (or if you're too stingy to tip) there is a free serve-yourself soda fountain and coffee area centrally located on the gaming floor.

I decided after cashing out my "huge" winnings to check out Wind Creek's other offerings. Dave and I thought we'd go dancing in the lounge called Sound, but it was hosting a football game. Every Saturday night they show football on a giant projection screen. Since Mississippi State was playing (GO DAWGS!) we stayed to watch the second half of the game. The booths were comfortable, the drinks were reasonably priced and there was a free buffet laid out (meatballs, hot wings and nachos). A casino host was drawing names after every touch down and at the end of each quarter to give away free play. I won the last drawing of the night and got $50 in free play, so it was back out to the casino floor for us.


Although we did not have dinner in any of the casino restaurants (a steakhouse called Fire, a buffet named Taste and a restaurant called Grill) I did stop by the coffee shop (called Brew) for a quick latte and a brownie. Both were good and again reasonably priced. We also passed through the gift shop which had some lovely items that I couldn't afford and a great clearance sale. It took some self control not to spend my meager, I mean "huge", winnings in there.

By the time we left at 1:00 a.m. I had won enough money to pay all of our expenses for the evening, as well as our gas, and still had $35; so I was a happy camper. Whether you want to gamble, watch sports, have dinner, or go dancing Wind Creek is a good value for your entertainment dollar and it's close enough to drive home at the end of the night (provided you have a designated driver). If you're looking for a change of pace in your night life, give this place a shot. Good Luck!