For some senior citizens, it’s an outlet

By JIM DALY ~ The Patriot Ledger

eg and Tony Buonopare visit Foxwoods Resort Casino or the Mohegan Sun four or five times a year. The Randolph couple, who are in their 70s, are huge fans of Las Vegas. But the existence of Connecticut casinos allows them to gamble without having to travel across the country.

Tony, a retired National Guardsman, says Connecticut casino trips get him away from reality. “When I go down there, I’m divorced from everything,” he said.

GARY HIGGINS/The Patriot Ledger

Bus companies target 12-hour casino trips to seniors who don't want to drive after dark or who just want to relax on the way there and back.

Peg Buonopare adds, “It’s just a nice getaway now and then.”

Buses filled with senior citizens travel to the Connecticut casinos daily.

Most seniors go to gamble and soak up the atmosphere. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are replete with posh restaurants and high-end retail shops.

Bus companies target 12-hour casino trips to seniors afraid to drive after dark or those who just want to relax.

On a recent Wednesday, I boarded a bus bound for the Mohegan Sun, with stops in Quincy, Randolph and Brockton. The weather forecast was for snow.

The round-trip ticket cost $22, but in addition to transportation, I got a $10 coupon for lunch in a casino restaurant and two free spins on the Wheel of Fortune, which has top prize of $200.

When I boarded the bus in the parking lot of a Quincy supermarket at 7 a.m., I was the lone passenger.

Bus driver Bob Ferreira explained the empty seats by noting that it was the end of the month and the majority of seniors had already spent their Social Security checks. He predicted the bus would be full when the new month began.

Eventually 16 passengers, including the Buonopares, got on in Randolph and Brockton.

Every time they gamble, the Buonopares set $100 to $200 limits on what they can lose. Peg said they have the willpower to walk away from the slot machines when the self-imposed limit is reached.

Neither will go to a bank machine for more cash to return to the slots. There are other things to do, like have lunch or go shopping.

“I’m a cheap gambler,” said Peg Buonopare.

Mohegan Sun, like Foxwoods, issues plastic cards for patrons to “earn” points through gambling, then redeem the points in shops and restaurants, or for show tickets.

Before she left Mohegan Sun, Peg Buonopare bought a $68 knickknack with the points she had earned.

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At the back of the bus sat the more hard-core gamblers.

Susan from Canton and Marie from Weymouth described themselves, half-jokingly, as professional gamblers. The women, both in their 70s, asked that their last names not be used because they didn’t want their families to know the extent of their gambling.

Susan makes Connecticut casino runs about twice a week. Marie goes down about four times a month. Both play the slots, although Marie will occasionally play blackjack or poker.

The two women consistently lose money. Susan estimates that she loses more than $10,000 a year. For Marie, it’s more like $5,000.

Both women said it’s the thrill of winning that drives them to gamble.

“Mostly, I guess, we go to win even though we know damn well we might not,” Susan said. “It’s a cocaine high to win a $1,200 jackpot.”

Marie said senior citizens, especially widows, have made gambling into a hobby.

The two women said despite the comradery between them, gambling is a solitary activity.

Like the Buonopares, a married couple, Susan and Marie split up once they entered the casino.

“We’re bus friends,” Susan said. “Gamblers do not get that familiar.”

As darkness fell on the way home, the bus driver put in an old video. Suddenly Yakov Smirnoff’s face appeared on TV screens and the Russian’s jokes about Monica Lewinsky blared from every speaker.

Susan, who had lost big that day, said maybe she would go to Foxwoods again on Sunday. She hated the idea of anyone pitying her, and reiterated that she was simply a gambler.

“These Indians have made gamblers out of us old ladies,” she said. “But don’t think that senior citizens can’t afford to gamble.”

Jim Daly may be reached at jdaly@ledger.com.

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