Perhaps the reason that they couldn't remember what Las Vegas hotel the Losers Lounge is in is because it's not in a Las Vegas hotel at all. In fact, we think that Las Vegas takes itself way too seriously to even consider having a little fun at the expense of "losers."
No, the Losers Lounge is at the Riverside, the original hotel-casino in Laughlin, the casino town 90 miles south of Las Vegas on the Colorado River and across from Bullhead City, Arizona. It's one of the most fascinating and imaginative bars in Nevada; a lot of thought, planning, and collecting went into its decorations, which dare to point out that the emperor isn't really wearing anything.
The setting is typical for a bar: stage, dance floor, balcony, bars, barstools, and tables. But the décor is anything but typical, especially for a casino town: an homage to bust-outs. The ornamentation is of many of recent history's most famous fall guys and gals, who wound up on the wrong side of some track or another and went down in high-visibility flames.
John Belushi, for example. His image is framed and hangs on the wall. On his face is one of the most desperate expressions ever photographed.
A big presidential-campaign mirror decorates the main bar, touting "Nixon and Agnew -- a Team of Honesty and Integrity." The Hindenburg, Ma Barker and her boys, General Custer, Moamar Khaddafi, Buffalo Bill, Mike Tyson -- a lot of shooting stars are captured in this room.
Famous flops are represented by big movie posters of, for example, the forgettable Attack movies: Attack of the 50-Foot Woman and Attack of the Puppet People, to name a couple.
On the stairs up to the balcony are displays of Timothy McVeigh, Tonya Harding, O.J. Simpson and Marcia Clark (side by side), and Ted Kazcynski. The balcony walls are (dis)graced by Imelda Marcos, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (in an old poster for a movie they co-starred in), Edsel Ford, Bonnie and Clyde, and Gary Hart.
And that's just a few of the displays.
Deke Castleman says that whenever he has occasion to blow into Laughlin, he tries to stop first at the Losers Lounge. "I'm always a little surprised that my picture isn't up on those walls," he tells us. Why? "Simple. I'm a loser. I lose. A tinhorn. A piker. I go to the casino and get ground into chopped meat. Still, I keep on going -- for a lot of reasons. Sure sure, it's about the fun, the recreation value, spending the same money on gambling that I'd use to buy tickets to a concert, a ballgame, an amusement park. And yeah, it's about risking my gambling bankroll for the excitement of the casino, the adrenaline of the action, and, to some extent, the dream of a once-in-a-lifetime monster run. But mostly it’s about seeing how my luck is holding up lately, which usually isn't too hot. So it's really about trying for the acute fun of winning, but having to fade the chronic pain of losing to do so. That's why I always tip my proverbial cap at the Losers Lounge when I first arrive in Laughlin."
