The
Sandia Casino and Resort is located off Interstate 25 just north of downtown Albuquerque at the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. The resort offers an 18-hole golf course, 228 guest rooms with flat panel television screens, banquet rooms and convention space, a spa, an exercise facility, and an outdoor amphitheater to hosts concerts under the New Mexican sky. As Tony Soprano might say, "This is one classy joint."
If you visit, the casino is to the north side of the complex and the best parking is underground. Follow the signs around to the left of the main entrance and you won't get lost. The hotel is to the right and there is plenty of above-ground parking in that direction. I like the underground parking because the elevators take you directly to the main floor of the casino. It's a very easy walk from the car to the poker room.
The resort has adopted the rich
pueblo history of Albuquerque and is adorned in Southwestern styles and artwork. The Pueblo of Sandia is a federally recognized Indian tribe located in central New Mexico and adjacent to Albuquerque. They own the resort along with other businesses. Their reservation covers 22,877 acres on the east side of the Rio Grande Valley.
The Sandia people are members of the pre-Columbian Tiwa language group who once dominated the Albuquerque area. Their lineage can be traced back to the Aztec civilization. The present site has been their home since at least 1300 AD. Once the largest pueblo in the area with over 3000 people, the tribe currently has just under 500 members. They are one of nineteen pueblo tribes recognized by the federal government in New Mexico.
I wish I were one of those 500 tribe members!"Thur Pa" is the name of the casino lounge, reflecting this heritage. The other dining areas are the "Bien Shur" Restaurant, "Thur Shan" Buffet, "Pa Shur" Deli, and the "Ba Shie" Minibar. I've attempted to figure out a translation of these names. So far, I have discovered that "pa" means "one" in the Tiwa dialect. I'll keep at it. Hopefully I'll find more information at the resort itself. Googling "Tiwa" and "pueblo indians" helped, but not much.
The Sandia is a very nice resort, as you might expect. I checked the place out thoroughly yesterday. I’m starting to get a feel for the place. As for the poker room, it is smaller than expected. I wish it were not open to the slot area (I like peace and quiet when I'm losing money.) It’s not walled off or in it’s own separate side room or building. Thus you get the noise from the slots and other casino events. They cover a nice list of games, however. It looks like I’ll be playing the $2/$4 limit with 1/2 kill to $3/$6. They also have a $4/$8 with a 1/2 kill to $6/$12 which would be a great game. They also have the assorted no limit games, plus weekly tournaments.
They don’t have an Ultimate Texas Hold’em game. Instead they have a World Poker Tour with Bonus game that is similar to the UTH. The main difference between UTH and the WPT game is the bonus payouts. With UTH you have a "Trips" option, paying you a bonus for high hands like a straight or full house. The WPT instead has a "Bonus" option, paying you a bonus for high hands you get in the hole like pocket pairs and suited connectors. There is no bonus for high hands against the dealer in the WPT game.
The pool area sits in view of the Sandia Mountain range. I sat at the pool last night and waited for the sun to slowly sink behind the resort and cast me in its shadow. In front of me I watched the mountains fade away into the rich and vibrant colors of the evening sky, a cool breeze beginning to blow away the heat of the day. I read the New York Times as the sun began to leave me in darkness, and read about the worst bombing attack in Iraq since the war began. I was aware of the juxtaposition of these two worlds: a resort in the foothills of a beautiful mountain range in central New Mexico, the savagery of a northern Iraqi desert littered with the wounded and dead. I was happy to see I had made it through another day and was thankful.
