In many of Montana's official state tourism publications, there is a page which explains to visitors that "Montana has legalized gambling." Not gaming, as they call it in Las Vegas. This is gambling. And in Montana, it is pervasive, low rent, and devoid of excitement, unless you have a gambling disease. Any "gaming" type elegance has been stripped from the activity.
While many establishments call themselves Casinos, rare is the stand-alone variety. Most are cobbled onto existing truckstops and restaurants, a small row of machines off by itself, in a narrow hall, with some flashing light bulbs to indicate that it wasn't an "employees-only" area or closet.
One Saturday night, we tried our luck at a combination Lucky Lil's/Kentucky Fried Chicken. We picked this location because it seemed bigger than most, had its own entrance, and it actually had a big flashing sign in the parking lot. There were some other cars parked. But there were only two other people in the casino side, including a cocktail waitress who gave out free beer and coffee. The whole place must not have been much bigger than 120 square feet, and the gambling area consisted of fifteen or so video poker machines set along the walls. It took us about a half an hour to lose $7.
By the end, we were hoping to lose it faster so we could leave. On our way out, we exited though the KFC, and also noticed that you could get gasoline. This side was hopping.
