Summer of Cal/Nev – Day 3
Because the concert got out at 10:30 and everyone at it seemed to be housed in the Central Tower of the hotel along with me, the line at the elevator was 100 people deep…at least. Rather than wait, I chose to play a little 9/6 Jacks for quarters to while away the time (yes, there are two lonely quarter single line machines that have 9/6 on them…no doubt an oversight). I played for about an hour and actually broke even: a hundred in—a hundred out. But it also meant that I didn’t get to bed until midnight…very late for me these days.
I woke up later than I like, which is fine. Unlike most of my trips in the past, I have no need to rush, to get the next place, to make a certain time. On my National Casino Run, there were times I’d have to be up and on the road because I needed to drive 500 miles to my next destination in order to make my hotel reservation. This summer, I can actually take my time. Yes, there’s a couple of long drives in California later on, but for the next couple of weeks, I can really sit back and relax.
I had a nice breakfast in the café and read the Sunday paper, dedicated to Father’s Day (yes, I hope all you Papas out there had a wonderful day) and casually headed back to the room to pack and head out on my next destination, the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. It’s only an hour and fifteen minute drive from Laughlin. I made a quick stop in Bullhead where gas is only $3.25 per gallon and was on my way. My kids called to wish me a Happy Father’s Day while I was on the road…I cheat sometimes and put it on speaker phone, so technically, I’m not holding my phone.
Highway 95 to Las Vegas is now a 75 MPH zone. I decided to make a few stops along the way to take some pics of the casinos along the highway and step inside to see if anything has changed since I last reported them in the Hit ‘em All Nevada reports. However, before that I pulled into a rest stop. A few years ago, I took some pics of some earth mover tractors that seemed to be leveling the desert in the middle of nowhere. I continued to do that the next couple of years and finally…finally the new Nevada rest stop was completed (Henry and Humberto seemed to really take their time). It turned out to be a very nice stop and a cook, different design.
The newly opened rest stop along Hwy 95 between Laughlin and Searchlight
Many of these picnic tables at the rest stop
I drove further down the highway until I came to the Cal Nev Ari Casino. This place has been here about as long as the highway’s been here. The name comes from the fact that somewhere behind the building the three states meet—I’ve never confirmed that. I walked inside for a moment and it was a pretty busy (by their standards). It’s really just a small café with a few machines against the wall. Like the last time I was here, when I opened the door, every head seemed to turn and stare at me…very unsettling.
Cal Nev AZ Casino
Next stop was the town of Searchlight, which made the national news recently because the entire town has been put up for sale. So, if you’re in the market to own your own town, this is for you. After all, it is the birthplace on the Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid. In the center of town is the Chevron/Terribles/McDonalds casino stop. Terribles casino is cute little joint with about 100 machines…all with pretty bad VP schedules and but real note here is that the machines are neither coin-fed or ticket games. Which means, every time you hit the cash out button, whether it’s for a $125 or twelve cents, the bartender has to come over and pay you by hand…what a mess! They’ve also put in one these mini-bowling alleys.
Terribles Casino in Searchlight
An addition of the little bowling alley in Terribles, Searchlight
A couple of blocks down is the Nugget Casino. This is another café/casino with about 125 machines. There’s also one poker table and two blackjack tables (these are only open on weekend nights). These machines are coin-fed and there are actually a couple of playable machines here: 9/7/5 Double Bonus and 8/6 Bonus Deluxe. The scrolling marquee outside advertises: All draft beers $1.00! Is this really what you want to offer tired drivers? One final note about Searchlight and that is its elevation is around 4000, which is hard to believe when you’re surrounded on all sides by barren desert. I mention this because at least two or three times a year, Highway 95 is closed down because of snow in Searchlight.
The Nugget in Searchlight
As you finally get off the 95 to head towards Henderson, there’s a lonely casino that was built in 1931 called The Railroad Pass Casino and Hotel. For many years this was the only casino between Boulder/Hoover Dam and Las Vegas and catered to the many workers on the dam. It has an old school cafeteria that has an endless list of specials. There are three or four blackjack tables and a lot of machines. The games were mostly short pay and an interesting find here was that all of their Bonus Poker schedules were 7/5, their Bonus Aces (which have the exact same schedule except you get 4000 coins for quad Aces in a particular order) were 8/5. Go figure!
It was almost 1 PM and since it was still a little too early to check in at the Strat, I pulled into Ballys valet to leave the car and walked over to the Flamingo. When I stay a Ballys at the end of July, I wanted to get a couple of tickets to the Donnie and Marie show, so I needed to talk to a host to see if I could pick up some kind of “deal.” I sat down with Host Eleonor Cantu and explained the situation. She said that I didn’t have any show “deals” but that she would call and see if she could score me a couple of seats for their “sold out” show on the 23rd. She made some calls, hit a few strokes on her keyboard and finally told me that she confirmed my tickets and already charged them to my room so that I could choose to pay for them when I checkout with my reward credits or call a host at that time to check my play during my stay to see if they will comp them. Either way, I’m not going to have to lay out any cash because I have more than enough reward credits; however, I hadn't intended to play all that much during my stay (7/5 Bonus Poker is the best they got), I suppose I will give a day of some serious play and see what happens. Of course, you’ll read it all here when the time comes.
I hadn't been in the Flamingo in quite awhile and found that they’ve been doing quite a bit of remodeling as well. Where the sports book chairs used to be is now a Mexican restaurant called Carlo’s and Charlie’s and they've knocked out a wall or two and have put in a new food court with a Jonny Rockets, an Asian cuisine joint, a sub shop, and of course, a pizza place (serving authentic New York style pies—what else could they say? “Serving imitation New York style pies”). In Las Vegas nowadays, you can’t walk fifteen feet without walking into some kind of food place.
The newly opened Carlos and Charlies Mexican Restaurant in the Flamingo Sports Book
The new food court inside the Flamingo
As I left the Flamingo to walk back to Ballys to pick up my car, I had to stop and take a picture of our beloved Barbary Coast (later Bills). The wall was completely torn away and inside was the cavity of what used to be a pretty fun joint where Big Elvis sang every night. RIP as it makes way for another “Boutique hotel and casino.” Just what they need.
The gutted out Barbary Coast/Bills Gambling Hall...Goodbye secret parking spot at the top!
I picked up the car and headed to the Stratosphere by way of Paradise Ave. I parked in valet and had the bell hop (do the really still call them that?) take my luggage (something I almost never do). Check-in went fast and easy. The registration clerk told me that because the rooms were comped, there’d be no resort fees; however, Internet is not included…damn! My room is on the 24th floor (as high as they go) with a view of the downtown area. I haven’t stayed here in many years, but I’d heard they remodeled all their rooms, and indeed they have. Though my room is narrow, they’ve done a very nice job of decorating. My only beef is that the bed is a little stiff for my liking, but that’s just a quibble and I’m sure there are others who prefer it.
My room at the Stratosphere...quite nice
The view from my 24th story room facing the downtown area
After unpacking, I walked down to the casino and found a place completely void of any good VP games at all (8/5 DDB; 6/5 BP; 7/5 Jacks); however, I found three machines that had 8/5 Bonus poker and almost began to play when I saw the sticker just under the glass, “due to the generous pay schedule, this machine does not give slot club points.” Bull shit! I suppose this will be the last freebie I get from here as I have every intention of stiffing them.
I have no plans to go out tonight. There will be many days and nights in Las Vegas to come, so I’m just going to hang out here, take a walk perhaps along the retail floor and buy some dinner to take back to the room and perhaps take a ride up to the top and watch the morons bunji jump off the side (it’s free for hotel guests…sweet). So, that’s about it for today.
More tomorrow.
Because the concert got out at 10:30 and everyone at it seemed to be housed in the Central Tower of the hotel along with me, the line at the elevator was 100 people deep…at least. Rather than wait, I chose to play a little 9/6 Jacks for quarters to while away the time (yes, there are two lonely quarter single line machines that have 9/6 on them…no doubt an oversight). I played for about an hour and actually broke even: a hundred in—a hundred out. But it also meant that I didn’t get to bed until midnight…very late for me these days.
I woke up later than I like, which is fine. Unlike most of my trips in the past, I have no need to rush, to get the next place, to make a certain time. On my National Casino Run, there were times I’d have to be up and on the road because I needed to drive 500 miles to my next destination in order to make my hotel reservation. This summer, I can actually take my time. Yes, there’s a couple of long drives in California later on, but for the next couple of weeks, I can really sit back and relax.
I had a nice breakfast in the café and read the Sunday paper, dedicated to Father’s Day (yes, I hope all you Papas out there had a wonderful day) and casually headed back to the room to pack and head out on my next destination, the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. It’s only an hour and fifteen minute drive from Laughlin. I made a quick stop in Bullhead where gas is only $3.25 per gallon and was on my way. My kids called to wish me a Happy Father’s Day while I was on the road…I cheat sometimes and put it on speaker phone, so technically, I’m not holding my phone.
Highway 95 to Las Vegas is now a 75 MPH zone. I decided to make a few stops along the way to take some pics of the casinos along the highway and step inside to see if anything has changed since I last reported them in the Hit ‘em All Nevada reports. However, before that I pulled into a rest stop. A few years ago, I took some pics of some earth mover tractors that seemed to be leveling the desert in the middle of nowhere. I continued to do that the next couple of years and finally…finally the new Nevada rest stop was completed (Henry and Humberto seemed to really take their time). It turned out to be a very nice stop and a cook, different design.
The newly opened rest stop along Hwy 95 between Laughlin and Searchlight
Many of these picnic tables at the rest stop
I drove further down the highway until I came to the Cal Nev Ari Casino. This place has been here about as long as the highway’s been here. The name comes from the fact that somewhere behind the building the three states meet—I’ve never confirmed that. I walked inside for a moment and it was a pretty busy (by their standards). It’s really just a small café with a few machines against the wall. Like the last time I was here, when I opened the door, every head seemed to turn and stare at me…very unsettling.
Cal Nev AZ Casino
Next stop was the town of Searchlight, which made the national news recently because the entire town has been put up for sale. So, if you’re in the market to own your own town, this is for you. After all, it is the birthplace on the Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid. In the center of town is the Chevron/Terribles/McDonalds casino stop. Terribles casino is cute little joint with about 100 machines…all with pretty bad VP schedules and but real note here is that the machines are neither coin-fed or ticket games. Which means, every time you hit the cash out button, whether it’s for a $125 or twelve cents, the bartender has to come over and pay you by hand…what a mess! They’ve also put in one these mini-bowling alleys.
Terribles Casino in Searchlight
An addition of the little bowling alley in Terribles, Searchlight
A couple of blocks down is the Nugget Casino. This is another café/casino with about 125 machines. There’s also one poker table and two blackjack tables (these are only open on weekend nights). These machines are coin-fed and there are actually a couple of playable machines here: 9/7/5 Double Bonus and 8/6 Bonus Deluxe. The scrolling marquee outside advertises: All draft beers $1.00! Is this really what you want to offer tired drivers? One final note about Searchlight and that is its elevation is around 4000, which is hard to believe when you’re surrounded on all sides by barren desert. I mention this because at least two or three times a year, Highway 95 is closed down because of snow in Searchlight.
The Nugget in Searchlight
As you finally get off the 95 to head towards Henderson, there’s a lonely casino that was built in 1931 called The Railroad Pass Casino and Hotel. For many years this was the only casino between Boulder/Hoover Dam and Las Vegas and catered to the many workers on the dam. It has an old school cafeteria that has an endless list of specials. There are three or four blackjack tables and a lot of machines. The games were mostly short pay and an interesting find here was that all of their Bonus Poker schedules were 7/5, their Bonus Aces (which have the exact same schedule except you get 4000 coins for quad Aces in a particular order) were 8/5. Go figure!
It was almost 1 PM and since it was still a little too early to check in at the Strat, I pulled into Ballys valet to leave the car and walked over to the Flamingo. When I stay a Ballys at the end of July, I wanted to get a couple of tickets to the Donnie and Marie show, so I needed to talk to a host to see if I could pick up some kind of “deal.” I sat down with Host Eleonor Cantu and explained the situation. She said that I didn’t have any show “deals” but that she would call and see if she could score me a couple of seats for their “sold out” show on the 23rd. She made some calls, hit a few strokes on her keyboard and finally told me that she confirmed my tickets and already charged them to my room so that I could choose to pay for them when I checkout with my reward credits or call a host at that time to check my play during my stay to see if they will comp them. Either way, I’m not going to have to lay out any cash because I have more than enough reward credits; however, I hadn't intended to play all that much during my stay (7/5 Bonus Poker is the best they got), I suppose I will give a day of some serious play and see what happens. Of course, you’ll read it all here when the time comes.
I hadn't been in the Flamingo in quite awhile and found that they’ve been doing quite a bit of remodeling as well. Where the sports book chairs used to be is now a Mexican restaurant called Carlo’s and Charlie’s and they've knocked out a wall or two and have put in a new food court with a Jonny Rockets, an Asian cuisine joint, a sub shop, and of course, a pizza place (serving authentic New York style pies—what else could they say? “Serving imitation New York style pies”). In Las Vegas nowadays, you can’t walk fifteen feet without walking into some kind of food place.
The newly opened Carlos and Charlies Mexican Restaurant in the Flamingo Sports Book
The new food court inside the Flamingo
As I left the Flamingo to walk back to Ballys to pick up my car, I had to stop and take a picture of our beloved Barbary Coast (later Bills). The wall was completely torn away and inside was the cavity of what used to be a pretty fun joint where Big Elvis sang every night. RIP as it makes way for another “Boutique hotel and casino.” Just what they need.
The gutted out Barbary Coast/Bills Gambling Hall...Goodbye secret parking spot at the top!
I picked up the car and headed to the Stratosphere by way of Paradise Ave. I parked in valet and had the bell hop (do the really still call them that?) take my luggage (something I almost never do). Check-in went fast and easy. The registration clerk told me that because the rooms were comped, there’d be no resort fees; however, Internet is not included…damn! My room is on the 24th floor (as high as they go) with a view of the downtown area. I haven’t stayed here in many years, but I’d heard they remodeled all their rooms, and indeed they have. Though my room is narrow, they’ve done a very nice job of decorating. My only beef is that the bed is a little stiff for my liking, but that’s just a quibble and I’m sure there are others who prefer it.
My room at the Stratosphere...quite nice
The view from my 24th story room facing the downtown area
After unpacking, I walked down to the casino and found a place completely void of any good VP games at all (8/5 DDB; 6/5 BP; 7/5 Jacks); however, I found three machines that had 8/5 Bonus poker and almost began to play when I saw the sticker just under the glass, “due to the generous pay schedule, this machine does not give slot club points.” Bull shit! I suppose this will be the last freebie I get from here as I have every intention of stiffing them.
I have no plans to go out tonight. There will be many days and nights in Las Vegas to come, so I’m just going to hang out here, take a walk perhaps along the retail floor and buy some dinner to take back to the room and perhaps take a ride up to the top and watch the morons bunji jump off the side (it’s free for hotel guests…sweet). So, that’s about it for today.
More tomorrow.
