And me being well…me, I asked my friend politely to take a detour. But I had noticed on the way out there (a beautiful 30 minute drive into the foothills of the Cascades) that the Snoqualmie reservation had a casino of its own, sans hotel. My trip fortunately took me to all the major points of the city, and on one beautiful chilly day, out to the historic Snoqualmie Falls and Salish Lodge, which would be as famous to any “Twin Peaks” fan as a slice of cherry pie and damn good cup of coffee from the Double R. I don’t think there is a place where you are less than 2 hours from a place where you can wager a bet, and the banners at the airport reminded me that Seattle was no different.

What I wasn’t ready for, or maybe hadn’t hit me really because of my proximity to Vegas, is that there is a proliferation of gambling establishments all over the country now. Seattle is an amazing city on it’s rainiest days, and having not been since my teens, I was ready to pay the Emerald City a visit again and see what had changed.

When I was invited by a friend to celebrate the New Year’s in Seattle (something I highly recommend, despite the challenges of flying non-rev on New Year’s Eve) I said yes before the words were out of his mouth.

Casino near noqualmie falls