Summer 20 12 – Day 1 (I'm sorry for the massive pics...I'll adjust the camera)
Truth be told, I couldn’t come up with a fancier name (Summer of 55; National Casino Tour; Hit ‘em All Nevada), but considering I was within a fingernail of not doing a trip at all this year, it will have to do. This summer simply isn’t as romantic or adventurist as in the past. I’m going to be commuting back and forth between Las Vegas and Laughlin over the next 40 days with a small detour back to Pine Valley for a dental appointment (yes, they’re that hard to get in Pine Valley). I’ll be playing four or five tournaments—the way to nab free room nights, and will be staying at one new hotel. Otherwise, it’s going to be over well-covered ground. This is why I balked at doing the trip or writing these reports. However, after reading many of your comments, I thought it might be a challenge to see if I could report on something new (interesting might be subjective to the reader), plus I know that there are some many new readers this year, so I’ll try to report on the usual sights as well.
First stop was Laughlin. As most of you know by the weather reports pretty much everywhere, the entire country is in a bit of a heat wave. Needless to say, I can expect Laughlin to right up there. The needle has been fluctuating between 104 and 115 the past week and more of the same is expected this week. I do not like driving in blistering oven, so I packed up the car the day before, set my alarm for 2 AM and went to bed a 7. I was on the road at 3 AM and pulled into Laughlin at 8. The five hour drive was uneventful. I regret not pulling over and taking a picture as the sunrise over the expanse of nothingness was breathtaking—next time! I pulled in to the Fast Gas in Bullhead, which has the gas prices in the area. Prices here are a solid $1.50 per gallon less than in nearby, Needles, CA.
I pulled into the Riverside Hotel and Casino, which would be my home for the next couple of days. I’ve stayed at many of the hotels in Laughlin, but because of my Diamond card status with Caesars, I stay at Harrahs (the free thing is a hell of a lure) all the time. Though this is a favorite place for my parents, I’ve never stayed here. I enjoy playing Quick Quads and this is the only casino in Laughlin that has them and I’ve managed to put in some good time here. About a year ago they started sending me free room offers and I finally am taking them up on it.
It was much too early to check in, so I sat down at the Quick Quads and put in a hundred. I played 5-play at nickels (five games at a time; five coins per hand; $1.25 per deal) at DDB (double-double bonus). I kept going up and down and after an hour or so I quit with $137 on the tally choosing to take the profit. I still had lots of time before check-in, so I went to the movies. The Riverside has six theaters and all are very nice. Though I’d already seen the AVENGERS, I wanted to see it again. At the 9:15 showing, there were only four of us in the huge 3D theater. I’m glad I did see it again, as I saw a lot of things I missed the first time around.
I checked in at 12:30 and was given a room on the 26th floor facing the Colorado River. It’s the highest floor in the tower. In most casino-hotels, the top floors are reserved for the high-rollers and are suites. That’s not the case here. My room was basic with a tube TV. There are no complaints here. The view is outstanding! If I were staying in this room over the July Fourth festivities, it would be perfect as they set off the fireworks from the parking lot directly across the street.
Basic, but a nice room with a view
One of the views from my room
Another view
After putting my bags in the room, I headed downstairs for some more gambling. I played two penny machines (lost—I’ll never learn) and was back at my Quick Quads: another hundred in and after an hour or so, another small profit out. I noticed that there was a bank of coin-drop quarter 8/5 Bonus Poker machines in the non-smoking casino. These are old relics were some of the very first when video poker first took off. I put in a hundred and began playing forcing myself to play slowly as I needed to make sure the hold card button worked properly. I caught a few full houses and other decent hands when I was dealt three eights, I held them and the fourth came up on the re-deal. To my surprise, I was being paid 100 coins. The full pay schedule requires 125. I scolded myself for missing this and immediately cashed out. Of course, half way through the machine ran out of quarters and needed a hopper fill. I did manage a $45 profit, so I’m not too upset.
On the second floor is the bowling alley. I hadn’t eaten today and it was 2 PM, so I picked up a slice of pizza at the snack bar, grabbed a beer from the bar and sat down in the Sportsbook to watch my Padres take on the Rockies. So many times during these casino runs, we tend to go to one place after another to see as much as we can and do as much as we can do. Occasionally, we need to just sit and enjoy a few moments doing nothing.
I sat at a small cocktail table watching the Padres, who were winning 2-0. There were three guys sitting in front of me who seemed to be betting on almost everything they could. They had almost every horse track covered and were also betting on the ballgames. At the risk of sounding snobbish, let me just say these three were “salt-of-the-earth-working-class” types. They were perhaps in their forties. One was wearing a t-shirt that on the front said, “Fuck You” and the back of it said, “Fuck You Too.” Another was in a wife-beater (probably aptly named here) with shorts and sockless tennis shoes. And the third was a somewhat handsome black man in a three piece suited sans tie—admittedly, an odd threesome. All three smoked and all three were drinking long neck bottles of Bud Light and all three were having too good of a time for two o’clock in the afternoon.
They were betting on the game I was watching. The one with FU t-shirt turned to me and asked who I was rooting for. I smiled and asked who he was betting on; he said “those shit Rockies!” Thinking fast as the other two men were waiting for my answer I said, “I’m from San Diego, I’m pulling of the Chargers.” The guy with the wife-beater laughed and classically was missing three or four teeth and said, “Good answer, good answer, let me buy you a beer!” I politely declined as told them my wife was waiting to meet me at the ferry downstairs in five minutes. It turned out all three were locals. I told them I was retired, FU dude was in construction out of Bullhead (business is slow); wife-beater guy hasn’t worked for a couple years; the three-piece suit guy worked for Terribles—never had the courage to ask why he was wearing a suit. On this day all three were winning. Biggest laugh of the day was when FU dude asked if I ever bet on the ponies. I told them my system, always bet on the grey horse.
I walked around a little more and wanted to pick up something for dinner. I considered the new Fatburger outlet (it’s taken over in the far south end corner where the Chinese outlet used to be), but didn’t want it. I settled on pastrami on rye with potato salad from the deli. I paid with my points and took it up to the room. It was only 4 PM but I was tired. I watched some bad TV (I’ll admit Frozen Truckers can be addicting), and went to sleep at around 7. All in all, not a bad day. I got here safely, I made some interesting friends, and I came out ahead gambling. Now, I need to catch up on some badly needed sleep.
More tomorrow.
Truth be told, I couldn’t come up with a fancier name (Summer of 55; National Casino Tour; Hit ‘em All Nevada), but considering I was within a fingernail of not doing a trip at all this year, it will have to do. This summer simply isn’t as romantic or adventurist as in the past. I’m going to be commuting back and forth between Las Vegas and Laughlin over the next 40 days with a small detour back to Pine Valley for a dental appointment (yes, they’re that hard to get in Pine Valley). I’ll be playing four or five tournaments—the way to nab free room nights, and will be staying at one new hotel. Otherwise, it’s going to be over well-covered ground. This is why I balked at doing the trip or writing these reports. However, after reading many of your comments, I thought it might be a challenge to see if I could report on something new (interesting might be subjective to the reader), plus I know that there are some many new readers this year, so I’ll try to report on the usual sights as well.
First stop was Laughlin. As most of you know by the weather reports pretty much everywhere, the entire country is in a bit of a heat wave. Needless to say, I can expect Laughlin to right up there. The needle has been fluctuating between 104 and 115 the past week and more of the same is expected this week. I do not like driving in blistering oven, so I packed up the car the day before, set my alarm for 2 AM and went to bed a 7. I was on the road at 3 AM and pulled into Laughlin at 8. The five hour drive was uneventful. I regret not pulling over and taking a picture as the sunrise over the expanse of nothingness was breathtaking—next time! I pulled in to the Fast Gas in Bullhead, which has the gas prices in the area. Prices here are a solid $1.50 per gallon less than in nearby, Needles, CA.
I pulled into the Riverside Hotel and Casino, which would be my home for the next couple of days. I’ve stayed at many of the hotels in Laughlin, but because of my Diamond card status with Caesars, I stay at Harrahs (the free thing is a hell of a lure) all the time. Though this is a favorite place for my parents, I’ve never stayed here. I enjoy playing Quick Quads and this is the only casino in Laughlin that has them and I’ve managed to put in some good time here. About a year ago they started sending me free room offers and I finally am taking them up on it.
It was much too early to check in, so I sat down at the Quick Quads and put in a hundred. I played 5-play at nickels (five games at a time; five coins per hand; $1.25 per deal) at DDB (double-double bonus). I kept going up and down and after an hour or so I quit with $137 on the tally choosing to take the profit. I still had lots of time before check-in, so I went to the movies. The Riverside has six theaters and all are very nice. Though I’d already seen the AVENGERS, I wanted to see it again. At the 9:15 showing, there were only four of us in the huge 3D theater. I’m glad I did see it again, as I saw a lot of things I missed the first time around.
I checked in at 12:30 and was given a room on the 26th floor facing the Colorado River. It’s the highest floor in the tower. In most casino-hotels, the top floors are reserved for the high-rollers and are suites. That’s not the case here. My room was basic with a tube TV. There are no complaints here. The view is outstanding! If I were staying in this room over the July Fourth festivities, it would be perfect as they set off the fireworks from the parking lot directly across the street.
Basic, but a nice room with a view
One of the views from my room
Another view
After putting my bags in the room, I headed downstairs for some more gambling. I played two penny machines (lost—I’ll never learn) and was back at my Quick Quads: another hundred in and after an hour or so, another small profit out. I noticed that there was a bank of coin-drop quarter 8/5 Bonus Poker machines in the non-smoking casino. These are old relics were some of the very first when video poker first took off. I put in a hundred and began playing forcing myself to play slowly as I needed to make sure the hold card button worked properly. I caught a few full houses and other decent hands when I was dealt three eights, I held them and the fourth came up on the re-deal. To my surprise, I was being paid 100 coins. The full pay schedule requires 125. I scolded myself for missing this and immediately cashed out. Of course, half way through the machine ran out of quarters and needed a hopper fill. I did manage a $45 profit, so I’m not too upset.
On the second floor is the bowling alley. I hadn’t eaten today and it was 2 PM, so I picked up a slice of pizza at the snack bar, grabbed a beer from the bar and sat down in the Sportsbook to watch my Padres take on the Rockies. So many times during these casino runs, we tend to go to one place after another to see as much as we can and do as much as we can do. Occasionally, we need to just sit and enjoy a few moments doing nothing.
I sat at a small cocktail table watching the Padres, who were winning 2-0. There were three guys sitting in front of me who seemed to be betting on almost everything they could. They had almost every horse track covered and were also betting on the ballgames. At the risk of sounding snobbish, let me just say these three were “salt-of-the-earth-working-class” types. They were perhaps in their forties. One was wearing a t-shirt that on the front said, “Fuck You” and the back of it said, “Fuck You Too.” Another was in a wife-beater (probably aptly named here) with shorts and sockless tennis shoes. And the third was a somewhat handsome black man in a three piece suited sans tie—admittedly, an odd threesome. All three smoked and all three were drinking long neck bottles of Bud Light and all three were having too good of a time for two o’clock in the afternoon.
They were betting on the game I was watching. The one with FU t-shirt turned to me and asked who I was rooting for. I smiled and asked who he was betting on; he said “those shit Rockies!” Thinking fast as the other two men were waiting for my answer I said, “I’m from San Diego, I’m pulling of the Chargers.” The guy with the wife-beater laughed and classically was missing three or four teeth and said, “Good answer, good answer, let me buy you a beer!” I politely declined as told them my wife was waiting to meet me at the ferry downstairs in five minutes. It turned out all three were locals. I told them I was retired, FU dude was in construction out of Bullhead (business is slow); wife-beater guy hasn’t worked for a couple years; the three-piece suit guy worked for Terribles—never had the courage to ask why he was wearing a suit. On this day all three were winning. Biggest laugh of the day was when FU dude asked if I ever bet on the ponies. I told them my system, always bet on the grey horse.
I walked around a little more and wanted to pick up something for dinner. I considered the new Fatburger outlet (it’s taken over in the far south end corner where the Chinese outlet used to be), but didn’t want it. I settled on pastrami on rye with potato salad from the deli. I paid with my points and took it up to the room. It was only 4 PM but I was tired. I watched some bad TV (I’ll admit Frozen Truckers can be addicting), and went to sleep at around 7. All in all, not a bad day. I got here safely, I made some interesting friends, and I came out ahead gambling. Now, I need to catch up on some badly needed sleep.
More tomorrow.
