Joe Walsh Takes a Nose Dive at Little Creek Casino

Michael Starr, CEO
Little Creek Casino Resort
91 West State Route 108
Shelton, WA 98584

My daughter bought two tickets to Joe Walsh's concert for my husband as his Father's Day gift. My husband and I looked forward to the concert, which was held on August 24, 2012 at the Little Creek Casino in Shelton, Washington.

Before we pulled in the casino's multi-level parking garage, we asked a man whom I thought was a casino employee if the garage was full. He said the lower level was full, but he did not know if the upper levels were. I proceeded to drive into the garage. Many other cars also entered the garage. Unfortunately, all levels were full with the exception of a few spaces reserved for the handicapped.

To exit, we had to go all the way to the top floor, turn our truck around in a narrow open area that was surrounded only by a wire cord and then descend all levels. All the other vehicles had to turn around in a similar manner. I thought turning our truck around on the top floor was dangerous and frightening. I was grateful that my husband turned the truck around for me. I do not believe I would have been able to make the turn by myself.

The event was poorly organized. The casino could have saved its guests a lot of time and aggravation by simply having a garage attendant inform people that the garage was completely full.

My husband parked our truck in the parking lot farthest from the casino. We had to walk a considerable distance to get to the auditorium. Outside the entrance stood a pair of transparent heaters with flames in their centers. I got excited. Pulling out my camera, I asked a security guard if he would take a photo of my husband and me standing beside the flames. Although a security guard agreed to take our photo, a volunteer rudely told me that I could not bring my camera into the auditorium. He demanded that my husband walk back to our truck and lock my camera inside it. It took at least 20 minutes for my husband to do so. I waited for him outside because I didn't want to walk around a dark, crowded auditorium by myself. My husband missed about half of the concert. I felt terrible about it.

Please note that nothing on our tickets indicated that cameras would not be permitted in the auditorium. Other venues, such as the Tacoma Dome, allow guests to bring cameras. If the casino has a no cameras rule, the guests should be told before the concert begins. Not afterward.

After we entered the auditorium, I noticed that a man standing in an aisle about 10 feet away from me was using a large camera to take photos of the concert. Many other guests were using flash photography in the auditorium. The security guards did not do anything to stop them. This infuriated me. When I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air, I noticed that three young women were taking photos of themselves near the flaming heaters. The volunteers and security guards did not tell those women that they had to lock their camera in their car. I felt that the casino was unfairly discriminating against me because the no cameras rule was not enforced universally.

I've always liked Joe Walsh, but I was so upset that I could not enjoy the concert. I could only recognize three of the songs the band played: (1) Life in the Fast Lane, (2) Rocky Mountain Way and (3) All Night Long. Overall, the Joe Walsh concert was a disappointment.

My husband and I were so angry about the way the volunteer forced us to miss half of the concert that we left immediately after the concert ended. We refused to buy any food or drinks or gamble because we didn't want to give any of our money to the casino.

This was the first time my husband and I have ever attended a concert at the Little Creek Casino. I'm not planning to attend any more concerts there. I don't have anything against Native Americans -- I just don't like the way the Little Creek Casino treats its guests.