Hit ‘em All Nevada – Day 1
For those of you who have been following my summer trips the past few years (Summer of ’55; National Casino Run, etc), you know what you’re in for. Thanks to the suggestions of the LVA members, this year I’m going to attempt to place a $10 bet in every casino in the state of Nevada, and I’ll be calling it Hit ‘em All Nevada.
If you’re a new reader to these reports, perhaps I should let you know that they’re daily (assuming I can find a place with a hot spot to send it in, and if not, the next day for sure), and they will seem at times to be repetitive; especially this year, as I’ll be going into casino after casino after casino. Most of the LVA readers have been to these hotels and casinos many times here in Las Vegas, so I won’t be saying much about them other then how the bet went and the tally as we go along. However, I’ll spend a little more time writing about the places most will not be familiar with in cities like Beatty, Winnemucca, Ely, and Mesquite.
The difficult part of planning this trip is to actually FIND every casino in the state. Fortunately, the American Casino Guide gave me a very comprehensive list of them; however, I have noticed they’ve left some out, and some have changed names or have closed since the publication (Sahara) or have opened (Cosmopolitan). When I’m in the hinterlands of Nevada, I’ll talk to the locals to find any I might have missed. I am only going to casinos that have table games. I’m not going to bother with the slot houses (Dotties and others), but full-fledged casinos. I’m pretty sure I’ll be looking at between 150 and 200 of them. I’ve emailed the American Casino Guide and have offered to give updated information for them as I get it.
The irony about the bets being made is that I don’t play table games. I’m a video poker player (and succumb to the damn penny machines as well); however, I want the bets to be clean and easy to keep track, so I’ve chosen one bet of $10 per casino. Now, there will be some exceptions as I know enough to take advantage of blackjack double downs, craps full odds, and coupons, which I will try to use as often as I can. So, though the $10 per bet is the goal, there will be the occasional exception when the odds are right. Also, note that I will be keeping track of the number of hotels and the “table bets.” I will certainly be betting on my own when I play video poker and other games, but these will be strictly for me and my usual gaming when I play, so those numbers I won’t be mentioning.
Here’s my itinerary:
June 30 to July 3: Hilton Hotel
July 3 to July 6: Laughlin
July 6 to July 8: Ballys
July 8 to July 10: Sam's Town
July 10 to July 13: Harrahs Reno
July 13: Carson, NV (City Carson Hotel)
July 14: Winnemucca, NV (Holiday Inn Express)
July 15 to July 17: Elko, NV (Holiday Inn Express)
July 17: West Wendover, NV (Mutany Bay Casino)
July 18: Ely, NV (Nevada Hotel)
July 19: Mesquite, NV (Eureka Hotel)
July 20 to July 22: Las Vegas (Suncoast Hotel)
July 22 to July 25: Harrahs, Laughlin
July 25 to July 27: Silverton
July 27 to July 29: South Point
July 29 to July 31: Hilton Hotel
July 31 to August 2: Ballys
August 2 to August 4: Silverton
So, now let’s begin:
I left Pine Valley this morning early. The drive through Riverside and San Bernadino is much less congested than the drive through Corona. I arrived in Primm at about 10:00 AM. Without hesitation, I began at the Primm Hotel and Casino. I put $10 down on the Blackjack table and was dealt a 15 with the dealer showing a 2. I stood and she turned over an Ace, but then end up busting. First bet, up $10. I cashed in the chips and walked around a little bit.
Of the three casinos here on the Nevada/California border, this is the best of the three. All the machines are new and the place has been kept very clean.
(Sorry about the monster size of the pics, I'll adjust my camera for the next reports!)
The Primm Hotel and Casino in Primm, NV
The casino floor at the Primm Hotel
Next, it was across the street to Buffalo Bills Hotel and Casino. This time, I went for Roulette. $10 on Red. I should have picked black because I lost. Back to even for the trip. Buffalo Bills has been remodeled since I was here last. I was surprised to find that my favorite café in the center is now gone and a food court has been added. Also, the rollercoaster now goes through the casino and there were tracks entering and exiting the casino above everyone’s heads. It wasn’t running while I was there, but it looks pretty cool.
Buffalo Bills across the street from the Primm
A view of the roller coaster that flies over and through the hotel
The inside of the casino at Buffalo Bills
Another shot from the inside of the casino at Buffalo Bills.
Next, I drove across the street to Whiskey Pete’s. I was really surprised to find that not only is the hotel completely closed, but all the table games were taken out as well. This once very hot place has been relegated to a slot house with a café, a little sad. I did take a pic of the Bonnie and Clyde “death” car for those of you who may not have seen it.
Whiskey Pete's - the once proud property now just a slot house
Bonnie and Clydes bullet ridden car inside Whiskey Pete's
Back on the I-15 and the next stop was Jean, NV at the Gold Strike Hotel. This is an old hotel that’s seen better days, but the table area ceiling with its stained glass and chandeliers are reminders that this place used to be a great stop for those who couldn’t wait to get to Vegas to start their gambling. Unfortunately, the table games didn’t open for another hour and I really didn’t want to hang around. So this gives me a small problem. Should I make a special trip back to make the one bet? We’ll see how this trip goes. When I’ve made the entire trip and I’m back in Vegas for the last time, I’ll make the call. I might have this problem a lot as I head out later to the smaller casinos in the boondocks of Nevada.
The Gold Strike Hotel - the last remaining casino in Jean, NV
Inside the Gold Strike
I drove the 15 more minutes to arrive at my first Las Vegas hotel, the M Resort. I parked and headed into this very familiar place as I’ve stayed here quite a few times. It’s one of my favorite hotels. The rooms are on par with Caesar’s Augustus Tower and the view of the Strip is amazing. I chose Blackjack once again, and after being dealt a 19 with the dealer’s 8 as the up card, I had a good feeling and sure enough, she had a face card, so I was a winner again, now up $10 for the trip once again. I had $20 in free play here and I added a hundred to the 8/5 Bonus Aces poker I like to play here. Unfortunately, no quads leads to no money. Oh well, it’s going a long trip.
Pulled off the side of the road to grab this pick of the M
It’s now a little before noon, and I needed to go to Caesars to the box office to check on possibly getting tickets to Celine Dion for the end of the month. I parked at Bill’s Gambling Hall across the street and walked over. I was pleasantly surprised to find there was no line. The attendant told me that the room was dark tonight, and I was a little lucky. Fellow LVA member and friend Terry (dorianmac) and he wife want to see Celine and he called to see if I’d like to go as well. Yes, I do, but the tickets, which start at $110 for the nose bleed sections and up to $450 for the cool orchestra seats in front of the stage, were simply a little too steep for me. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I wanted to see this show, which I’ve heard nothing but great things.
It occurred to me that I could use my reward credits to pay for the seats. I checked it out at the Total Rewards booth, and I did have enough (three tickets were $750…whew!). I told Terry that I’d use my reward tickets and he could save $250 by paying what Caesar’s would have given me in free play (they give you 50% of face value when you use your points for free play and full value when using your points for rooms, food, and such). So this is a win-win. Terry saves money, I use the reward points that I would have a hard time using up anyway, and we all get to see the show. The box office lady took my diamond card voucher and said, “Let me see what I can do for you.” She went into the back room for about five minutes and came back and said, “I can get these seats,” pointing to three seats about six rows up from the stage almost center. It seems the Diamond card still carries a few perks.
After getting the tickets, I sat down in the sports book at Caesars to watch a little of the ballgame. I’m going to be doing a lot of running around this trip, so I’ve told myself that when I can, I need to just stop and take it easy.
I next drove over to the Hilton, which would be my home for the next three nights. Because of my play with Caesars, the Coast casinos, and some others, I never have to worry about rooms as I end up having more free offers than I can use. However, these offers rarely cover the weekends. As much as it burns me to pay for a Las Vegas hotel room, the Hilton sends me a great deal every summer: Three nights (including weekends), two spa passes, two buffets, two drinks, $10 free play and a few twofers all for $119.00. This is just too good a deal to pass up for a weekend, so I booked it twice during this trip.
I paid an extra $10 for a remodeled room. As you can see in the pics, it’s a nice room, but the bathroom is still really small (the old 70s style was bitty bathrooms), but the furniture is nice and the TV is HD, so it’s all good. I will say the mattress is not as nice as some others, but all in all, I great deal. (noahcat: Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries) I took one of the buffet coupons and had lunch/dinner. The buffet is okay but not on par with the better ones around town.
The bed in the Hilton
Another angle of the room. Those familiar with the rooms here will note the differences
After getting my room, I went down to take care of my bet for the Hilton. This time around, I chose craps. I gave the dealer $10 and he gave me the two $5 red chips. I put one on the pass line. The roll was an eleven, so I won. I put the other $5 chip down and the number was a nine. I played the odds for $6 (as I noted earlier, I will have to occasionally go over the $10 bet limit if the bet requires it). The number hit and I walked with a $19 profit.
It was almost 6 PM, and being that I had very little sleep last night and tomorrow is such a big day and it’s the SYTYCD results show tonight, I drove over to the Albertson’s to pick up some soft drinks and a few other things for the next few days.
Today’s results: 6 casinos; +$29
More tomorrow.
For those of you who have been following my summer trips the past few years (Summer of ’55; National Casino Run, etc), you know what you’re in for. Thanks to the suggestions of the LVA members, this year I’m going to attempt to place a $10 bet in every casino in the state of Nevada, and I’ll be calling it Hit ‘em All Nevada.
If you’re a new reader to these reports, perhaps I should let you know that they’re daily (assuming I can find a place with a hot spot to send it in, and if not, the next day for sure), and they will seem at times to be repetitive; especially this year, as I’ll be going into casino after casino after casino. Most of the LVA readers have been to these hotels and casinos many times here in Las Vegas, so I won’t be saying much about them other then how the bet went and the tally as we go along. However, I’ll spend a little more time writing about the places most will not be familiar with in cities like Beatty, Winnemucca, Ely, and Mesquite.
The difficult part of planning this trip is to actually FIND every casino in the state. Fortunately, the American Casino Guide gave me a very comprehensive list of them; however, I have noticed they’ve left some out, and some have changed names or have closed since the publication (Sahara) or have opened (Cosmopolitan). When I’m in the hinterlands of Nevada, I’ll talk to the locals to find any I might have missed. I am only going to casinos that have table games. I’m not going to bother with the slot houses (Dotties and others), but full-fledged casinos. I’m pretty sure I’ll be looking at between 150 and 200 of them. I’ve emailed the American Casino Guide and have offered to give updated information for them as I get it.
The irony about the bets being made is that I don’t play table games. I’m a video poker player (and succumb to the damn penny machines as well); however, I want the bets to be clean and easy to keep track, so I’ve chosen one bet of $10 per casino. Now, there will be some exceptions as I know enough to take advantage of blackjack double downs, craps full odds, and coupons, which I will try to use as often as I can. So, though the $10 per bet is the goal, there will be the occasional exception when the odds are right. Also, note that I will be keeping track of the number of hotels and the “table bets.” I will certainly be betting on my own when I play video poker and other games, but these will be strictly for me and my usual gaming when I play, so those numbers I won’t be mentioning.
Here’s my itinerary:
June 30 to July 3: Hilton Hotel
July 3 to July 6: Laughlin
July 6 to July 8: Ballys
July 8 to July 10: Sam's Town
July 10 to July 13: Harrahs Reno
July 13: Carson, NV (City Carson Hotel)
July 14: Winnemucca, NV (Holiday Inn Express)
July 15 to July 17: Elko, NV (Holiday Inn Express)
July 17: West Wendover, NV (Mutany Bay Casino)
July 18: Ely, NV (Nevada Hotel)
July 19: Mesquite, NV (Eureka Hotel)
July 20 to July 22: Las Vegas (Suncoast Hotel)
July 22 to July 25: Harrahs, Laughlin
July 25 to July 27: Silverton
July 27 to July 29: South Point
July 29 to July 31: Hilton Hotel
July 31 to August 2: Ballys
August 2 to August 4: Silverton
So, now let’s begin:
I left Pine Valley this morning early. The drive through Riverside and San Bernadino is much less congested than the drive through Corona. I arrived in Primm at about 10:00 AM. Without hesitation, I began at the Primm Hotel and Casino. I put $10 down on the Blackjack table and was dealt a 15 with the dealer showing a 2. I stood and she turned over an Ace, but then end up busting. First bet, up $10. I cashed in the chips and walked around a little bit.
Of the three casinos here on the Nevada/California border, this is the best of the three. All the machines are new and the place has been kept very clean.
(Sorry about the monster size of the pics, I'll adjust my camera for the next reports!)
The Primm Hotel and Casino in Primm, NV
The casino floor at the Primm Hotel
Next, it was across the street to Buffalo Bills Hotel and Casino. This time, I went for Roulette. $10 on Red. I should have picked black because I lost. Back to even for the trip. Buffalo Bills has been remodeled since I was here last. I was surprised to find that my favorite café in the center is now gone and a food court has been added. Also, the rollercoaster now goes through the casino and there were tracks entering and exiting the casino above everyone’s heads. It wasn’t running while I was there, but it looks pretty cool.
Buffalo Bills across the street from the Primm
A view of the roller coaster that flies over and through the hotel
The inside of the casino at Buffalo Bills
Another shot from the inside of the casino at Buffalo Bills.
Next, I drove across the street to Whiskey Pete’s. I was really surprised to find that not only is the hotel completely closed, but all the table games were taken out as well. This once very hot place has been relegated to a slot house with a café, a little sad. I did take a pic of the Bonnie and Clyde “death” car for those of you who may not have seen it.
Whiskey Pete's - the once proud property now just a slot house
Bonnie and Clydes bullet ridden car inside Whiskey Pete's
Back on the I-15 and the next stop was Jean, NV at the Gold Strike Hotel. This is an old hotel that’s seen better days, but the table area ceiling with its stained glass and chandeliers are reminders that this place used to be a great stop for those who couldn’t wait to get to Vegas to start their gambling. Unfortunately, the table games didn’t open for another hour and I really didn’t want to hang around. So this gives me a small problem. Should I make a special trip back to make the one bet? We’ll see how this trip goes. When I’ve made the entire trip and I’m back in Vegas for the last time, I’ll make the call. I might have this problem a lot as I head out later to the smaller casinos in the boondocks of Nevada.
The Gold Strike Hotel - the last remaining casino in Jean, NV
Inside the Gold Strike
I drove the 15 more minutes to arrive at my first Las Vegas hotel, the M Resort. I parked and headed into this very familiar place as I’ve stayed here quite a few times. It’s one of my favorite hotels. The rooms are on par with Caesar’s Augustus Tower and the view of the Strip is amazing. I chose Blackjack once again, and after being dealt a 19 with the dealer’s 8 as the up card, I had a good feeling and sure enough, she had a face card, so I was a winner again, now up $10 for the trip once again. I had $20 in free play here and I added a hundred to the 8/5 Bonus Aces poker I like to play here. Unfortunately, no quads leads to no money. Oh well, it’s going a long trip.
Pulled off the side of the road to grab this pick of the M
It’s now a little before noon, and I needed to go to Caesars to the box office to check on possibly getting tickets to Celine Dion for the end of the month. I parked at Bill’s Gambling Hall across the street and walked over. I was pleasantly surprised to find there was no line. The attendant told me that the room was dark tonight, and I was a little lucky. Fellow LVA member and friend Terry (dorianmac) and he wife want to see Celine and he called to see if I’d like to go as well. Yes, I do, but the tickets, which start at $110 for the nose bleed sections and up to $450 for the cool orchestra seats in front of the stage, were simply a little too steep for me. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I wanted to see this show, which I’ve heard nothing but great things.
It occurred to me that I could use my reward credits to pay for the seats. I checked it out at the Total Rewards booth, and I did have enough (three tickets were $750…whew!). I told Terry that I’d use my reward tickets and he could save $250 by paying what Caesar’s would have given me in free play (they give you 50% of face value when you use your points for free play and full value when using your points for rooms, food, and such). So this is a win-win. Terry saves money, I use the reward points that I would have a hard time using up anyway, and we all get to see the show. The box office lady took my diamond card voucher and said, “Let me see what I can do for you.” She went into the back room for about five minutes and came back and said, “I can get these seats,” pointing to three seats about six rows up from the stage almost center. It seems the Diamond card still carries a few perks.
After getting the tickets, I sat down in the sports book at Caesars to watch a little of the ballgame. I’m going to be doing a lot of running around this trip, so I’ve told myself that when I can, I need to just stop and take it easy.
I next drove over to the Hilton, which would be my home for the next three nights. Because of my play with Caesars, the Coast casinos, and some others, I never have to worry about rooms as I end up having more free offers than I can use. However, these offers rarely cover the weekends. As much as it burns me to pay for a Las Vegas hotel room, the Hilton sends me a great deal every summer: Three nights (including weekends), two spa passes, two buffets, two drinks, $10 free play and a few twofers all for $119.00. This is just too good a deal to pass up for a weekend, so I booked it twice during this trip.
I paid an extra $10 for a remodeled room. As you can see in the pics, it’s a nice room, but the bathroom is still really small (the old 70s style was bitty bathrooms), but the furniture is nice and the TV is HD, so it’s all good. I will say the mattress is not as nice as some others, but all in all, I great deal. (noahcat: Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries) I took one of the buffet coupons and had lunch/dinner. The buffet is okay but not on par with the better ones around town.
The bed in the Hilton
Another angle of the room. Those familiar with the rooms here will note the differences
After getting my room, I went down to take care of my bet for the Hilton. This time around, I chose craps. I gave the dealer $10 and he gave me the two $5 red chips. I put one on the pass line. The roll was an eleven, so I won. I put the other $5 chip down and the number was a nine. I played the odds for $6 (as I noted earlier, I will have to occasionally go over the $10 bet limit if the bet requires it). The number hit and I walked with a $19 profit.
It was almost 6 PM, and being that I had very little sleep last night and tomorrow is such a big day and it’s the SYTYCD results show tonight, I drove over to the Albertson’s to pick up some soft drinks and a few other things for the next few days.
Today’s results: 6 casinos; +$29
More tomorrow.
