"Before recently, the closest I'd ever come to a casino experience was hanging out with my dad in the smoky back rooms of pool halls in Kentucky when I was kid. He and his colorful gambling mates -- who had nicknames like Skillet and Kool-Aid -- shouted, taunted and cursed their way through boisterous games of craps, using the bare floor as their playing surface and a combination of prayers and pleas to make the two white dice hit that lucky number.

Players would slap fives, tens and twenties hard against the linoleum, roll the dice and watch their bets disappear in an instant, only to wind up in some other guy's back pocket at the end of the session.

I spent so much time watching the players back then I never learned to play craps, or any other dice or card game, and I'd never visited a casino.

But every time I drove past the glitzy new Tulalip Casino along Interstate 5 north of Marysville, or watched TV commercials for the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma and Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, I wondered how well three of the Puget Sound region's largest Native American establishments worked as tourist stops for nongamblers.

All three have pumped millions into their casinos in recent years to remodel gaming rooms, bring in top-name entertainers, improve restaurant offerings and even add hotel space, fueling a $787 million overall gaming industry in this state last year.

Following Vegas' lead, perhaps, they're trying hard to capitalize on their potential as all-purpose destinations, places that'll lure reluctant visitors like me."

Get the Story:
Tyrone Beason: A casino newbie takes a gamble (The Seattle Times 2/1)