our summer trip this year was in laughlin,a quickie,three nites at the river palms.WHAT WAS I THINKING!!! 110 degrees and they make lousy margaritas in town.smooth flight on alaska at 150 rt.no hassle rental from thrifty,got my intrepid.the heat spoils the outside activities so had to stay inside and gamble,to bad,love the river palms-nice casino-good food,and cheap,and the slots pay-no wait fills and pays-and great drink service-but lousy drinks.nice room on the river at 16 a nite!32 for friday.not much to do in town but eat-drink-and gamble,life is good,but that's why i go to vegas anyway.i knew it would be hot when i booked this trip but it's like taking a hair dryer,turn it on,and stick it in your mouth,not fun.we always have fun anyway and i'm starting to like laughlin alot.it ain't vegas but i do like winning.we will stay at the river palms again,but not in august!(nice call on the river palms senator)

DAG,

Glad you liked it. They've always treated me real well. Spent a week there the end of July a couple years ago for our 25th anniversary. It sure was hot but we still had a nice time.

jm

DAG,
I'm guessing you had a winning trip then???
I've never stayed over night in Laughlin, the drive down & back was a killer when your tired!
So when is your next Las Vegas trip or Laughlin trip???
Thanks for the report!

winning trip yes,but we are not talking k's here blew most of it on booze and cigs to haul back to seattle.food report--great dinner at the hickory pit at the edgewater--great buffet at the flamingo.lunch and seafood buffet--great,cheap food at the river palms,bacon n eggs for the wife,steak n eggs for me total bill 3 bucks with club card coupons.

lee-i work for a school so my time off is limited to when school is out. i do get 11 weeks off a year.may try to do vegas over xmas break,for sure in feb for winter break.would love to do vegas over thanksgiving but it's only a two day holiday for me.

DAG...I'll be there, over thanksgiving! Ya know, Wednesday night flight out and a sunday flight home ain't a bad gig!

but i miss wendells gig

Thanks for the preview, DAG ...I'm headed for Laughlin for 2 days in September, and you've got me drooling ....for eats and wins<g>.

daisy--top casinos in town--river palms,ramada.flamingo,<imo> i'm sure tater can fill you in as to the best vp in town.i like my food daisy (to much)do try--hickory pit at the edgewater,gourmet for twenty bucks,best quality/value,flamingo lunch buffet i think it was 6 bucks with club card have fun!

DAG,

At Thanksgiving time, school dismisses at 2:30 P.M. Go home, grab suitcase, head for airport. Get on plane by 4:30. One hour flight to LV. One hour to get to hotel. Fifteen minutes to get to meet. Now it is 6:45 P.M. Many wil be at the meet but you won't be the last to show up. A couple from Detroit usually takes that honor.

Hope to see you in November.

fred--you and lee are stirring the travel juices here!!i'm going to give it a shot but i'm sure the wicked witch of the west will put the kabosh on it

Daisy, I believe you'll enjoy Laughlin. I find it very relaxing and a lot less frantic than Las Vegas. I'm not a big VP player. I do enjoy it for a break from table games. My favorite places for VP are 1) Ramada 2) Harrah's 3) Flamingo 4) Riverside. If you want to watch a movie you have 6 screens in the Riverside and an equal number in the Horizon Outlet mall. My buffet experience is limited to breakfast and the Flamingo would be my choice. The line can be long, though.

If all else fails, go across the river to Bullhead City and get a tattoo. :rolleyes:

I like Laughlin too. We started going there when Las Vegas was too crowded on the weekends. That was way back when there were just a couple of casinos along the riverbank.

A few years later, it grew like a weed and expected to rival Las Vegas, but the boom came to a screaming halt a few years back.

I don't know if they still offer boat service from the parking lot on the Arizona side but back then a lot of those little boats were in constant operation delivering folks from casino to casino and it was really jumping.

But like most towns that grow too fast, they made a major mistake. They failed to buid a riverfront walkway from one end to the other.

That river makes the big difference in Laughlin and they failed to capitalize on it with a simple path along its edge.

Great bargains there now though. Cheapest rooms in the state and a great place to retreat to on crowded Las Vegas weekends.

Will, the water taxis still run up and down and across the river. There is a walkway from the Riverside to the Golden Nugget (and maybe as far as the River Palms).

Laughlin is always a few degrees hotter than Las Vegas but I figure if it's 105, or even 125, as long as I can find air-conditioning, a cold Sam Adams and a good dice table I've got it made.

the river walk runs from the river palms to the riverside--the water taxis are 3 bucks a trip per person so not cheap--river walk or not,at 120 degrees you ain't gonna walk far!!

DAG,
did you happen to cross the street to the Ramada (only casino not on the river??? On my visit, that is the casino I liked best. Thought the railroad theme was clever.

one of my favs--large casino-plenty to play for all players.

I have a question about Laughlin. Last time there was a few years ago and had a bad experience. What was that experience you say?
Way tooooooooooo many blue haired people. Now I will be one someday soon and I have nothing against them but my idea of fun isn't standing in line to get on a slot machine watching granny puts one nickel at a time in the slot.

Seriously this happened. Just when I thought granny lost her nickels, she reached into her purse and grabbed another roll. When I was sure she lost all her nickels and I could sit down and play, she leaned over and her husband gave her a 20.

Thats when I got into the rental and drove back to vegas. Laughlins a great place for the retirees. They stay there, I'll take vegas.

Did you see any of that? Albeit they have a couple more casinos now then they did then but doesn't it get crowded.

Oneboater, thanks for sharing your experience. That's frustrating, isn't it?

You're right, there are more casinos and machines now. I get to Laughlin 3 to 4 times a year, and I've never yet waited to play a slot or VP machine. If a particular one is in use I simply go find another.

You will find a lot of retirees there, I'm one of them. On the other hand, I also see a lot of young (anyone under 64) people and if you are there at the right time you can mingle with the bull rider fans, the bikers, and who knows what else.

Laughlin is not for everyone, and neither is Las Vegas. We each pick and choose as we feel like at a particular time. You did have an unpleasant experience. there's no denying that. I've never been in that situation so I have an entirely different outlook. I'll be there again next month and I know I will enjoy myself even if the dice don't roll my way. It's great when they do, though.

Chris,

I thought the same thing as you on my first few visits which were just day trips while staying in Vegas. Since I've stayed in Laughlin a few times, I find that's really not true. You get a lot of young people bringing their boats to the river.