It’s all about pacing yourself.

You hear that a lot, but when it comes to gambling and golf, it’s capital. After all, the twin challenges define the getaway, the vacation, the retreat. The lights and sounds of the casino forge a sense of impact, action and celebration. Contrast that with the outdoors, where the calls of the wild, the scent of the flowers and trees and the feel of the soil, the grass, the sand unite to create a respite from the hoopla.

So, how do you pull it off? How do you find a way to merge the solitude with the stir? A fine place to look for answers is Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course in nearby Lewiston.

The towering resort on the American side of Niagara Falls welcomes visitors with an expansive gaming floor (more than 4,000 slot machines), separate rooms for high-limit slots and poker, and more than 100 tables for other dice and card games.

The slot machine mega-jackpot keeps the action mega-interesting as an intricate system of linked progressive machines offers a chance at an enormous payout. If table games are more your style, make a run at the traditional games of poker and blackjack, or any of their variants like Pai Gow, Spanish 21 and Let It Ride.

And if cards aren’t your measuring stick, slide over to the roulette wheels for some roly-poly action. What better place to spend the evening and late-night hours, near North America’s most romantic natural destination?

When you need a break from the flurry of activity, select from eight unique dining establishments and emporia to wet your whistle, sate your hunger or rest your weary legs. Opt for Asian at Koi, Italian at la Cascata, steaks at Western Door or a little bit of everything at Thunder Falls buffet. If you need a quick bite or sip, head to Morrie’s for sandwiches or over to Java Café for a warm one.

If you still need that something extra, despite the comfort of your room and the culinary delights of the food and beverage community, make an appointment at The Spa for a massage, facial or body wrap.

The full complement of services from Seneca Niagara Casino will invigorate you with enough energy to challenge golf course architect Robert Trent Jones II’s latest opus, Seneca Hickory Stick.
Hewn from woodlands and fields below the Niagara Escarpment, Seneca Hickory Stick plays anything but narrow, despite the tapered tract of land it occupies. Jones and his team created a thought-provoking layout that demands forethought and bearing on every hole. A combination of aerial and ground games is required to appreciate and ultimately surmount the course. Fortress-like greens rise from flat ground on two par-3 holes, requiring high and heroic irons to hold the putting surfaces; streams of no apparent threat bisect par-4 holes, forcing a decision to lay up or risk a watery grave; long 5-pars wind their way over crumpled fairways and through wooded corridors, finding their terminus across ponds and above swales.

Director of Golf Fran Roach couldn’t come up with a favorite hole.
“If you’re looking for one signature hole on our golf course, I think that you’re short-changing the other 17.” Each of Trent Jones’ holes works seamlessly with its surroundings to provide a fair challenge across the board. Although there are eye-catching features like large water hazards and enormous sand bunkers, nothing is out of scale or out of place and there’s seldom an improbable forced carry. As with any strong course, you’re forced to pay attention — definitely not too much to ask in such stirring surroundings.

Then again, it really is all about the pace. Seneca Niagara Casino and Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course will guarantee quickness and relaxation; the amount of each that you enjoy is your decision.

www.senecahickorystick.com