A Weekend in Laughlin, NV.

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When we left Las Vegas the weather was marvelous. It was around 10:30 AM on Saturday morning and morning traffic had long since died down. We stopped for our second cup of coffee before we left town, and an hour-and-a-half later we were in Laughlin. The first thing we noticed was that the wind was a little stiff down by the Colorado River. Other than that, it was a good day.

We checked into our room at the Tropicana Casino/Hotel, got settled in and  headed for a walk-around. The Tropicana sits between an In-and-Out Burger joint with a Terrible Herbst Convenience Store next to it. North of that there is an RV park. To the south of the Tropicana Casino/Hotel, there is a single building with about a dozen small businesses in it. Frank and I made our way across the street, turned back and took a few photographs of the Tropicana before continuing through the Colorado Belle Casino/Hotel, and down to the River Walk.

It was almost 01:00 PM. The casinos were busy inside, but traffic was light on the River Walk. Although there were only a few boats on the river the tour boats were packed and busy. Our goal for this walk was just to take the scenery in and get some photographs. I was happy for the lack of people that were out and about.

Three hours later we had walked north past the Edgewater Casino/Resort, Aquarius Casino Resort, and up to the Riverside Casino/Hotel just taking photographs of both sides of the river enjoying the scenery. But, by then it was beer-thirty, so we headed back to the Tropicana. It was 04:30 PM by the time we sat down to a beer in Tango’s Lounge.

After a 35-year sedentary career as a trucker my legs were already worn out, and I had work to do back in our room. Frank stayed behind at the bar for a couple of hours, but we were both in bed by 10:00 o’clock. Such is the life of old men. However, we were up with the sun on Saturday morning. By mid-morning, we were out cruising the big city of Laughlin. My main reason (excuse) for making this trip was to check out what kind of housing there was for senior citizens. We visited a couple of complexes in Laughlin before crossing the river and doing the same thing in Bullhead City. As it turns out there are a couple of nice places in both towns, but they were multi-storied apartment units, and I need to be on the ground floor. I will not rule out moving to the area, but Boulder City still may be my better choice. My worry about Boulder City is that it is too close to the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas. I belong in a small town.

So, we finished our tour of the east side of the river with a ride up to Davis Dam where we walked around and took more photographs before heading back across the river and down to Harrah’s Casino/Resort on the south end of Casino Drive in Laughlin.

Harrah’s, to me, is the crown jewel of today’s Laughlin. Ultra-luxury is the only way to describe the whole property, from the beach-front on the Colorado River through the casino area to the bars, lounges, eateries, entertainment venues, and rooms. The next time I visit Laughlin I hope to stay at Harrah’s.

Harrah’s also turned out to be my money hole. This whole trip came to me by accident. The third person that lives in our house is Roberto, and he is currently having some health issues. So, he decided not to go on the trip. I was never planning to make the trip, but Frank asked me to go with him, saying he would pay all of my expenses. He just didn’t want to go alone. Anyway, I very seldom win on the slots, and don’t gamble at the tables (I stopped gambling on my second WesPac cruise back in ’71) I can play no more than 10 minutes on the slots and get bored, or if they are noisy they drive me crazy. Anyway, I gave Frank a $1 to play one spin for me because he gets lucky on the machines sometimes. One spin on a $1 slot and he won me $160. I gave him half of the pot to pay for my share of the trip. It made me feel better about taking the trip, and I think Frank appreciated the gesture too.

Our final stop was the Golden Nugget. There had been a car show there earlier in the day. A few of the contestants were still parked in the front row of the parking lot. It was now Sunday evening, and the tourists were heading home. It had been a busy day for us. We grabbed a meal at Golden and I headed for our motel room while Frank stopped at Tango’s Lounge to watch some football. We were back home in Las Vegas by 09:30 Monday morning.

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