Hit ‘em All Nevada – Day 19
It was another day to be able to really just take my time in morning as the drive to Ely is only a couple of hours. The drive is south for 120 miles, and it’s two hours of a two lane road down a desert that is, as far as you can see, a whole bunch of nuttin’.
Two hours of this!
Eventually you begin to start to climb. Ely (pronounced E-Lee) was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express route. It grew as thanks to copper mining and lately gold. There are only about 4000 residents, and as I drive around the town, it doesn’t look anything new has been built here in years. It is the county seat of White Pine County and the County House stands in the center of downtown.
The County Building in Ely
There are four casinos here and three brothels. I did manage to get a picture of one of the brothels this time as there was no one out front.
Apparantly, not a lot of customers today
Though there is a couple of small museums here, but other than that, I really have no idea how this town supports these four casinos or what brings tourists here, but there are a few of us. The casinos are small and they only one that has tables is the one I’m staying in, the Nevada Club. I arrived at a little after noon, but the girl at the registration said that they adhere to the no check-ins until 3:00 PM rule. So, I thought I’d go ahead and check out the casinos here. As you come into town, the first one is called the Ponderosa and very small, about 30 machines. None of the machines had any blackjack in it, so no play here.
Notice the stretch limo in the front, no doubt for those high rollers that fly into town
Down the road is the Ramada Inn Copper Queen Casino. Though this is slightly larger than the Ponderosa, it also had a very limited amount of machines as well. What made this place stand out was that the hotel pool is located indoors directly behind the machines. The indoor pool makes sense. The town of Ely sits at 6200 ft., which no doubt means they get plenty of snow here during the winters.
Bad day at the machines? Just dive in.
The Jailhouse Motel and Casino is another small place. It has a nice bar and about 75 machines. To kill a little time, I played some nickel Triple Bonus, hit a couple of quads and netted about ten bucks.
Elvis wasn't singing about this joint, though in the restaurant, every booth is a cell
Across the street is my hotel for the night, The Nevada Club. This building was built in 1929 (there’s a plaque in my bathroom that apologizes for the fluctuation in the hot/cold water due to the building’s age and the hope we will can understand and appreciate the historic nature of the building. In short, “deal with it”). As you can see in the picture, this is a tiny room and the bathroom is by far the smallest one I’ve ever seen. They did install a flat screen TV on the wall, and they Wi-Fi is free and is strong. For $49, a pretty good deal.
Built in 1929, the Nevada Club has a rich history
My room in the Nevada Club--old school, but nice
The view from my room
I went down to the restaurant for dinner and had a patty melt. There are three table games in the basement. There were two blackjack tables and a craps table, but only one blackjack table was open with two players. I put down my $10 bet and promptly lost. I thought I’d at least play a couple penny machines before going to bed and came across some old buffalo penny game that was $.40 a game. I got a bonus, and it retriggered four times and I end up cashing out $120 ahead. It was a good way to end the day.
The inside of the Nevada Club. There were elk, bear, and dear heads everywhere
Trip totals: Casinos visited 159; bet balance +$103
More tomorrow
It was another day to be able to really just take my time in morning as the drive to Ely is only a couple of hours. The drive is south for 120 miles, and it’s two hours of a two lane road down a desert that is, as far as you can see, a whole bunch of nuttin’.
Two hours of this!
Eventually you begin to start to climb. Ely (pronounced E-Lee) was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express route. It grew as thanks to copper mining and lately gold. There are only about 4000 residents, and as I drive around the town, it doesn’t look anything new has been built here in years. It is the county seat of White Pine County and the County House stands in the center of downtown.
The County Building in Ely
There are four casinos here and three brothels. I did manage to get a picture of one of the brothels this time as there was no one out front.
Apparantly, not a lot of customers today
Though there is a couple of small museums here, but other than that, I really have no idea how this town supports these four casinos or what brings tourists here, but there are a few of us. The casinos are small and they only one that has tables is the one I’m staying in, the Nevada Club. I arrived at a little after noon, but the girl at the registration said that they adhere to the no check-ins until 3:00 PM rule. So, I thought I’d go ahead and check out the casinos here. As you come into town, the first one is called the Ponderosa and very small, about 30 machines. None of the machines had any blackjack in it, so no play here.
Notice the stretch limo in the front, no doubt for those high rollers that fly into town
Down the road is the Ramada Inn Copper Queen Casino. Though this is slightly larger than the Ponderosa, it also had a very limited amount of machines as well. What made this place stand out was that the hotel pool is located indoors directly behind the machines. The indoor pool makes sense. The town of Ely sits at 6200 ft., which no doubt means they get plenty of snow here during the winters.
Bad day at the machines? Just dive in.
The Jailhouse Motel and Casino is another small place. It has a nice bar and about 75 machines. To kill a little time, I played some nickel Triple Bonus, hit a couple of quads and netted about ten bucks.
Elvis wasn't singing about this joint, though in the restaurant, every booth is a cell
Across the street is my hotel for the night, The Nevada Club. This building was built in 1929 (there’s a plaque in my bathroom that apologizes for the fluctuation in the hot/cold water due to the building’s age and the hope we will can understand and appreciate the historic nature of the building. In short, “deal with it”). As you can see in the picture, this is a tiny room and the bathroom is by far the smallest one I’ve ever seen. They did install a flat screen TV on the wall, and they Wi-Fi is free and is strong. For $49, a pretty good deal.
Built in 1929, the Nevada Club has a rich history
My room in the Nevada Club--old school, but nice
The view from my room
I went down to the restaurant for dinner and had a patty melt. There are three table games in the basement. There were two blackjack tables and a craps table, but only one blackjack table was open with two players. I put down my $10 bet and promptly lost. I thought I’d at least play a couple penny machines before going to bed and came across some old buffalo penny game that was $.40 a game. I got a bonus, and it retriggered four times and I end up cashing out $120 ahead. It was a good way to end the day.
The inside of the Nevada Club. There were elk, bear, and dear heads everywhere
Trip totals: Casinos visited 159; bet balance +$103
More tomorrow
