Downtown Cleveland booked with weekend events
11:57 PM, May 18, 2012 | 0 comments



This is the rebirth of downtown, years in the making.

Events bringing ten's of thousands of people back to Cleveland this weekend. Between the first full weekend of Horseshoe Casino, Tribe games, festivals and the Marathon, downtown has never been so jam packed.

Andrea Hipkiss and her husband had to come and be a part of the buzz downtown. They rode their bikes from Hudson for an overnight downtown stay-cation.

"We just thought it would be fun with the casino going on, the game and the fireworks going on tonight," says Hipkiss.

It seems a lot of people had the same idea. Virtually every hotel room is booked downtown with 40,000 people either running or cheering for the Cleveland Marathon, hundreds honoring our fallen police officers, people looking to catch a Tribe game or people looking to strike it big at blackjack or slots.

"This past week, the casino opened on Monday we've been sold out every single day," says Angela Franklin with Marriott.

They're booked for the next 4 or 5 weeks. But it's the hotels and restaurants that are truly striking it rich.

"We had people calling weeks ago and we were completely booked up," says Alison Moyers, Manager at Lola.

Michael Symon's popular Lola has over 260 reservations on Saturday night alone. It's the same story for all of Cleveland's culinary hot spots.

"Reservations for the whole weekend, booked Friday Saturday and Sunday, we are totally filled up," says Greenhouse General Manager Bryan Delisio.

He says compared to last year, they're seeing larger crowds and more reservations.

WKYC-TV

It seems a lot of people had the same idea. Virtually every hotel room is booked downtown with 40,000 people either running or cheering for the Cleveland Marathon, hundreds honoring our fallen police officers, people looking to catch a Tribe game or people looking to
strike it big at blackjack or slots.

I still am not a fan of the proliferation and ease of casino gaming, but glad to know Cleveland seems to be on the uptick.

Baron wrote:

In all the cable turmoil, I thought about satellite and The NFL Package, but then recalled The Browns Backers bar here is on the water at Fort Myers Beach. No way am I going to miss THAT next fall. MY wife and I gave the bar a test run today, and it was great.

I went to that bar to watch a game a couple years back, can't remember the name of it....may not be the same one even....I want to say I was visiting the wife at her folks place in Ft. Meyers when I was home for my 2 week R&R during my year long deployment back in 07. Can't remember which game, I wanna say we lost to the Broncos. I do remember decent priced pitchers and a cute, enhanced curly headed barmaid who flirted with my wife more than me. Hence I paid little attention to game.

I'm not sure of the history, but at least for 2012 the Browns Backers Bar in southwest Florida will be the Nauti Turtle. I've already checked transportation modes. If I can't hitch a ride by boat, my wife, my daughter or by wheeled trolly, my fail safe will be to grab a cab home for $45.

loufla wrote:Welcome to Bonita TFIR! After you get settled and have slept enough and are willing we will set up a place to meet and have a brewsky. I dont do the Dog track much unless out of town guests are here but I could be coerced to watch you ply your skills.

Yes, we all do need to get together! I've already touted my wife on you being here. Our movers are supposed to deliver our things....about 100 boxes, a piano and about 10 pieces of furniture...by Thursday. Our youngest kid is coming down from his Disney internship next Monday to spend a couple days with us.

I usually do my gambling solo, so no fret about the dog track. I AM a sucker for very casual dining, with extra points for places adjacent to water. My wife and I almost went to Kelly's Fish House yesterday, but tripped and went into The Edison in Fort Myers, instead.

And any Happy Hour is always well received, though we'd need one that goes to 7PM for my wife to get there from work to join us.

Whatever or wherever, we'll get together.

J.R. wrote:I plan on being down there (in Sarasota) in October, and again in March. Maybe we can have a mini forum reunion then.

That's a for certain. Maybe in October we can watch some Tribe Baseball from Florida......

Excitement this morning- as I returned from checking on my Mom , I noticed a colorful snake near the entrance to the circle where I live. Got out of car and ,yup, it was a Coral Snake. About 20 inches long (red on yellow, kill a fellow) they are reclusive and quiet buggers and he did not move much as I moved around. Kept my distance though. In the meanwhile 3 other cars stopped and some of the yard people came over. Evrybody but me had smart phones and all took pics. Finally we moved over and one of the guys ran over the thing. This is the second Coral seen in the 12 years I have been here. Just have to be careful in Florida.

loufla wrote:Excitement this morning- as I returned from checking on my Mom , I noticed a colorful snake near the entrance to the circle where I live. Got out of car and ,yup, it was a Coral Snake. About 20 inches long (red on yellow, kill a fellow) they are reclusive and quiet buggers and he did not move much as I moved around. Kept my distance though. In the meanwhile 3 other cars stopped and some of the yard people came over. Evrybody but me had smart phones and all took pics. Finally we moved over and one of the guys ran over the thing. This is the second Coral seen in the 12 years I have been here. Just have to be careful in Florida.

I've coached my wife on spider and snakes, and gators. "If there is a body of water, there is a gator," I have admonished.

Snakes are snakes. The preferred snake in my book is a dead snake.


Last night I took a late night walk with our 15 year old dog and we both ran into an up close and personal armadillo, unexpectedly.


I shouted to the armadillo to get out of the way and commanded t0 acquiese, and further counseled to stay the frick off of roads.


The only armadillos I had seen prior to last night were top down, and not moving.

TFISC-Am meeting two of my cousins and their partners at South Street Grill Happy hour tonight at 5PM. If you and yours can make it. It is at the corner of Pine Ridge and Goodlet. 40 Craft beers on tap and $5 appetizers. I will be the old guy with the Indians T-Shirt. Come by if possible even if for a little while and we can exchange numbers. Hope to see you.

Of interest to CALI and other railbirds:

Offshore betting transforms favorite at Thistledown into long-shot winner
Published: Thursday, May 24, 2012, 6:00 AM
By D'Arcy Egan, The Plain Dealer

NORTH RANDALL, Ohio — A bettor -- or bettors -- using foreign wagering sites manipulated the odds for Monday's fifth race at Thistledown by strategically pouring $90,000 into the betting pool, then tried to cash in on a horse that had been transformed from the favorite into a long shot.

Ohio State Racing Commission Executive Director William Crawford said the most logical explanation is that the bettors wanted to inflate the odds on a horse that was a strong favorite. Then they could bet on the horse they were sure would be the winner -- Eye Look the Part -- at nonpari-mutuel offshore betting sites.

Those sites don't contribute to the betting pool at the racetracks, but many pay off according to track odds.

Eye Look the Part was loaded into the Thistledown starting gate as the heavy 1-5 favorite to win the first race of her career. The last-second betting bonanza on every other horse in the race resulted in Eye Look the Part suddenly becoming a 5-1 long shot.

The rest of the seven-horse field went off at approximately 9-2 odds. The wagers, which were legal, were made by an unidentified bettor or bettors using Euro Off-Track and Lien Games accounts.

The two services are based on the Isle of Man, a self-governing dependency of the United Kingdom located between England and Ireland, where Internet gambling is regulated by the government.

Gaming companies frown on manipulating racetrack odds. The accounts making the wagers were suspended by the gaming companies, Crawford said.

"One account bet $7,000 on every horse except for No. 7 [Eye Look the Part]," Crawford said. "The other account bet $8,000 on every horse but No. 7. All of the bets were made about 30 seconds before the [Thistledown] judges shut off the betting machines when the race began, so they were legal."

About $9,000 is typically wagered on win, place and show bets during a race at Thistledown. The pari-mutuel pool for Monday's fifth race was a whopping $128,010.

Eye Look the Part certainly raced like a strong favorite. The chestnut filly romped to a 161/2-length victory, dashing the 6 furlongs in 1 minute, 14.3 seconds for jockey Luis Gonzalez, trainer Gary King and owner Randall H. Blevins, of Louisville, Ohio.

Because the big money was bet to win and show but not to place, Eye Look the Part paid $12.80 to win, $2.10 to place and $2.40 to show.

"Our people did everything correctly," said Thistledown racing secretary Bill Couch. "The wagers were not illegal. Thistledown verified the money had been transferred into the race pool before approving the payoffs."

Late bets weren't made in what is known as exotic wagering. The exacta -- a bet to pick the first two horses to finish in order -- paid only $6.20 for a $2 bet. The trifecta and superfecta -- which pay off for picking the first three or four horses to finish in order -- paid just $38.20 and $53.90.

Bettors with a sure thing usually make last-minute wagers on the horse they think will win. The bettors are hoping other gamblers won't have time to also bet on the horse and deflate the odds.

"Normally, in these cases, the betting would be the other way around," Crawford said.

Also strange was the fact that one person bet $8,359 to win on Eye Look the Part through an account-wagering service, as well as $968 to show. Crawford said the odd amounts that were bet point to someone using a computerized robotic-wagering program. Those programs now account for about 10 percent of all bets made on U.S. horse races.

Speaking of Thistledown:

http://www.cleveland.com/horseracing/in ... rtain.html

loufla wrote:TFISC-Am meeting two of my cousins and their partners at South Street Grill Happy hour tonight at 5PM. If you and yours can make it. It is at the corner of Pine Ridge and Goodlet. 40 Craft beers on tap and $5 appetizers. I will be the old guy with the Indians T-Shirt. Come by if possible even if for a little while and we can exchange numbers. Hope to see you.

My wife touted that place for tonight.....Friday....a day late and a dollar short. Instead we ended up hooking up with my daughter's boyfriend's Dad and some of his work buddies and assorted dangling girls tonight. A place called "Boston Beer Garden."

I had the North End Flat Bread, and it was good.

I still have scores of boxes to open and go through and sort this weekend, and my wife has a hankering to buy a couch and dining table this weekend.

But after THAT, we MUST get together!

J.R. wrote:Speaking of Thistledown:

http://www.cleveland.com/horseracing/in ... rtain.html

Youngstown's Eddie DeBartolo ruined all of Northeastern Ohio thoroughbred racing for me in the 1960's when he bought all the local tracks and stripped away their colorful individuality and lumped them into the thoroughly institutional Thistledown.

Thistledown runs old and hurt horses and if it closes it will be fine by me.

If DeBartolo would have had a clue and motivation after his purchases, he could have had a worthy and fun setting for horse racing.

TFISC- OK! Just let me know when you guys are ready.

loufla wrote:TFISC- OK! Just let me know when you guys are ready.

Today we hit thrift shops and consignment stores to pick up furniture items. My California wife did accept and embrace my admonishment to get rid of most of our "big stuff" before we shipped East.

I told her we had the rare claim of moving from the West Coast of The United States to The West Coast of The United States after moving and driving 3,000 miles from California to the Gulf Coast of Florida.

LouFla, I'm ready NOW!



I just need to "help" my wife empty, sort and arrange all these boxes of stuff we brought with us.

Personally, I have a good running pickup truck and I know where I can dump some stuff and that is the technique I am currently championing.......

My Auburn kid will be here on Monday for the day. Registering our/his car here. I'm hoping karma works that we can all have a beverage together if you are available.

I can't speak to the availability of anyone in my clan except me, until Monday arrives.


By the way, I've found a neat Greek restaurant in a non assuming strip mall on Bonita Beach Road.

It's called "Zorba's," go figure.


The shop tech where I had to go get my rotors replaced after braking with a big load braking at high speed cross country recommended the place. He told me the owner had the most beautiful eyes in all of South Florida.

He was almost right, and still very right.

The female owner's daughter has the amazing azure eyes, and I'll add the owner mother is quite catching and certainly mesmerizing in her own way.

The Greek Salad and Gyro combo for $10 was more than I could east, and the feta cheese and home made dressing was great.

TFISC- I am tied up for the Memorial weekend but next week some time we will give it a shot.

BTW, Zorba's has a pretty good grilled Octopus if you are into Cephalopods