We had our annual car show on Wednesday the 16th.  It was a big success, setting a new record for attendees.  Everyone had a great time, guests and employees alike.  The Tamarack team appreacates all of the nice comments we received from all of you about our show.

Our new dining area outside on TJ's patio is proving to be a big hit with our guests.  We really appreciate the nice comments that we have been getting from everyone who has eaten there. 

It is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and all day on the weekends.  Check in with the Hostess at our Dining Car restaurant inside for details.

Saturday May 31^st, Ramon Sessions, with the help of former Harlem Globetrotter, Ethan O’Bryant, will be conducting a basketball clinic followed by an autograph signing. New West Distributing will provide the Coors Girls who will be giving away Coors “swag”. Chef Frank, and staff, will sell BBQ ribs, chicken and accompaniments by the basketball court (seating will be available in Sully’s). Beer specials will be sold from Sully’s, advertising provided by New West. The Tamarack/NBA D-League season ticket packages will be sold through-out this event.

We have quite an exciting summer event schedule planned at the Tamarack Junction this year.  Along with our month long $30,000 Great Free Play Giveaway, we also will be hosting a Farmer’s Market every Friday, beginning June 6.  June 20, 21 & 22 the pool will be set up for our 3^rd Annual “Dock Dogs” event.  You can bring your pup down and see how far he can jump from our platform into a gigantic pool we’ll have set up in our south parking lot.  Even if you don’t have a pup of your own, it’s a ton of fun to come and watch the canines and their owners.  July 16 is the date we have set for our 7^th Classic Car Show.  We are a part of the 103.7 River Cruise Night.  We had over 300 classics here last year and we expect just as many beauties this year.  So keep checking back as we4 continue to fill our summer schedule with fun activities, both indoors and out.

Well, we have completed another renovation, this time at the Gazebo. The Sliver Lace that we planted around our Gazebo did not do as well as we had hoped, so we replaced all the soil in the planters with close to 3.5 feet of pure, rich, top soil.  We replaced the Silver Lace with Honey Suckle and replanted the old flowers and plants around the Honey Suckle.  It is looking much healthier than before.  As a matter of fact, this morning Lisa Johnson noticed that the Honey Suckle had grown 6 inches since we planted it last week. How cool is that?  

Now is the time to make your reservation to take your mom, wife, sister, best friend or grandmother out to the Tamarack Junction for a Mothers Day feast.  We will be featuring our brunch buffet from 9:30 AM to 1:30  PM.  We have a great selection of breakfast items; eggs, bacon, sausage, pastries and fruit as well as a nice assortment of brunch items such as shrimp scampi, baked ham, roast prime rib and chicken fried steak with country gravy.  Be sure to save room for a mouth watering dessert baked fresh in the Tamarack Junction bakery.  Call the Tamarack at 852-3600 #323 to make your reservation today.

 This week we will be re-planting the big planter on the patio just in time for the Mother’s Day buffet. The old is going to other parts of the property making room for the new. Bring Mom for the delicious buffet and while you are here, check out the planter remake.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. 

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. 

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.' 

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied. 

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. 

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?' 

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they  had changed the water. 

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? 

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? 

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? 

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest  do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? 

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy. 

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. 

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. 

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying. 

On Saturday Chef Frank sent his crew to Manogue High School to serve BBQ ribs and chicken at the Fourth Annual Trackfest.  They had a great time supporting the local high schools and snacking on some delicious barbecued food with our local friends.  While there, they promoted our new food specials at Sully’s. Starting Sunday we will serve our NBA Playoff food and beer specials.  This promotion will continue into June. Chef Frank has also started working on his “Warm Weather” Specials in the restaurants (lighter fair).

We are also well under way in our upgrade to new gaming software.  This new software should provide our guests with the latest and greatest technology on the market.  We've been working around the clock to get our new system online as soon as possible.  Please bear with us during this transitory stage.

 The Tamarack Junction Casino would like to welcome Dan Eckert as our Assistant Operations Manager.  He will be managing the Cage, Food and Beverage departments.  He has an MBA and 16 years experience in the gaming industry.  Dan has extensive hospitality knowledge and excellent guest service experience that will greatly benefit the success of the Tamarack.  The next time that you're at the Tamarack make sure and say hi to Dan!

In the next ten days we will be rolling out a new menu with a few changes in the Dining Car.  By popular request we will be bringing back the Eggs Benedict.  We are also going to be featuring a breakfast dish that we have been working on called the “Tamarack Scramble”.  It will feature eggs scrambled with breakfast sausage and topped with jack and cheddar cheese served with hash browns and a biscuit with country gravy for $6.99.  We will also be adding three new sandwiches;  hot turkey,  ham and cheese and hot pastrami.  The dinner menu will also have some changes.  We will also be adding a couple of dinner entrées.  One of our favorite specials the Portabella Mushroom Raviolis will be a permanent  addition to the dinner entrées as well as the Chicken Parmesan.  Dinner entrées will now be offered with a choice of a bowl of soup or a dinner salad.  We will offer one trip through the salad bar for an additional charge of $3.95.  We also will be lowering some of the prices on the dinner entrées in an effort to give a better value to our guests.

   Welcome to Casey's Blog!  I'm Casey Sullivan, the General Manager here at the Tamarack Junction.  We have set up this blog to let our customers know what events we will be holding, how our events went, and to give you some insight into what the Tamarack Junction is all about.  All of the Managers will do their best to update this blog with the latest information and the new deals in their department.  Be sure to check back here every week to see what is going on at the Tamarack Junction. 

Have any Comments, Suggestions or Feedback about Casey's Blog? Email us at comments@tamarackcasino.com 

We are also working hard on an upgrade to our player tracking system.  You are going to see some really neat things in the next month or two in terms of some great technology added to our player’s card tracking devices.  We’ll keep you up to date.

We had a great turn out for our Annual ‘Leprechaun’s $10,000 Pot O’ Gold’ Free Play Drawing.  We had a lot of fun, especially with one leprechaun in particular, he was about 6’2” with some great shamrock glasses and a sparkly green bow tie. He did look an awful lot like Casey, maybe Casey has a twin leprechaun!  We’re looking forward to our “April Showers of Cash’ Video Poker Tournament on April 17.  We’re giving away over $4,000 in Free Play and the tournament is free for Conductor’s Club Members who are in the Bronze level or higher.

~Lisa Fox
Casino Host/Special Events Manager