My stay at the Tropicana is over. I moved across the street to the River Palms yesterday and my room is in the west tower overlooking the Colorado River. The room is entirely comped by the poker room at the Palms, so I can't complain.

I had a problem with the the TV when I first moved in. Someone ripped out the cable connector from the back of the TV, and therefore when I turned it on I got snow and static. I called room service and it was quickly fixed. So I'm happy about that. The other issue I've had is with the bath water: it's the color of iced tea. The hot water looks rusty-brown and nasty, but when you turn the sprocket to cold water it clears up. Go figure.

The room itself is nice enough, and has a sitting area with table and plenty of room. The bed is comfortable and I haven't detected any smoke-smell or odd odors. So, I guess I'm set for a while. As long as I play in the poker room for a few hours each day, the room is free.

The only other minor issue I have with the Palms (as compared to the Tropicana), is the parking. The Palm's parking garage is detached and I have to walk outside the casino and venture next door to go to my car. It's not a bad walk for me, but for a senior adult or person with limited walking range, it would be a chore. At the Tropicana, the parking garage is attached and you have direct access to your room and the casino directly from the garage.

My opinion of the Tropicana? Very nice and I would stay there again. I like the Tropicana's cleanliness and central location on the strip. It's buffet is lousy, however, so avoid it. I like the Starbucks at the Aquarius, but there is no poker action at that casino. I like the poker room at the River Palms, and they certainly have the best comps on the strip. So, if I could build me a new casino, I'd take the Starbucks from the Aquarius, the poker room from the Palms, and the amenities of the Tropicana and put them all under one roof!

I played Omaha H/L last night with a very nice group of people in the Palms poker room. We seemed to hit it off and had a great time playing together. There were no crazies or drunks or nut-jobs playing. We all agreed to meet back today for another long session, so I'll be at the felt most of the day and early evening. With this group, there's the possibility we'll play all night.

Day 233 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Company, Bullhead City, Arizona

I left Prescott Monday morning and drove north and caught I-40. Then a few miles west I took the scenic and historic Route 66 to Seligman, the beginning place of Route 66. A strange little town…I need to read up on the history of Route 66 and see just how Seligman fits in to the story.

I shot this video in Seligman. It's posted on YouTube.



I made it to Laughlin around 2 p.m., checked in with no problems and settled into my room on the 16th floor…Room 1656. A very nice room. So far, I’m pleased with the visit here.

Last night I was uploading photo and video clips from my Route 66 adventure but my laptop ran out of disc space…not a surprise. So this morning I went to WalMart and bought an external hard drive with 320 GB…that should last a while. Video clips and photos take a lot of space, creating huge file sizes. My laptop is not equipped for a lot of video and picture editing. But the WD My Book drive is so far working great. I’ve spent the last hour backing up my files and cleaning up my laptop hard drive.

The best place to work in the Laughlin area is across the river in Bullhead City (dumb name). The Firehouse Coffee Company has internet access and enough room to spread out and work. All the Starbucks locations are in the casinos, and it's too noisy to get any work done there. So I'm glad I found this place.

After settling in yesterday I walked the northern half of Casino Drive and visited the poker rooms at various casinos along the river front. The poker rooms are small and there was very little action going on. You can read more about my poker playing adventures on my poker blog at www.7Seat.com. Part of the fun of playing poker is writing about the characters I meet and the poker rooms I visit.

A total of 13 casinos are lined up in a row along the Colorado River. I'm staying until Friday at the Tropicana Express. For the weekend I will move to the River Palms where I have a free room thanks to the kind folks in the River Palms poker room. As long as I play for a while each day in their poker room, my room is free.


The Tropicana is the tall one in the back. I'm on the 16th floor. The room is above average, very nice, and the hotel/casino is also very nice (not smoke-filled at all as some had written on the TripAdvisor.com forums).

A look at Casino Drive to the northeast from the Tropicana parking garage.

I like the location of the Tropicana. It's right in the middle of the strip, so you can walk to many of the other casinos without a problem. The Outlet Center (see below) is just two blocks away and has numerous retail stores plus a McDonald's. There are plenty of cheap eating places if you are watching your budget (like me). With free rooms comped by the poker room and eating cheaply, I should be able to get by here with very little out of pocket expenses.

Day 230 on the road.
Wildflower Bread Company, Gatewall Mall in Prescott

I'm enjoying my cup of coffee and bagel this morning at the Wildflower Bread Company at the Shops located in the Gatewall Mall shopping development just east of downtown Prescott. They have free internet access, so I've got my laptop and thought I'd do a little work before leaving town.

I've enjoyed my visit to Prescott. I could certainly live here. It's such a pretty place. The elevation is about 6,000 feet above see level (Phoenix is about 2,400 feet I think), and therefore the temperatures are much cooler. During the summer, I'm told it can reach 90 degrees but "you really don't feel it." I'm also told that people from the Phoenix area come here during the summer to escape the heat. Just a short drive for about an hour through the mountains from Phoenix and you can leave the desert behind and live in the mountains.

I'm driving to Laughlin, Nevada today and will be there at least until Friday. I'll then decide what to do next. I may stay in Laughlin for a few more days if I like it. If not, I'm thinking my next stop will be Mesquite, Nevada, a town to the northeast of Las Vegas. I will probably be in Henderson (suburb of Vegas) in a week or two. Then I'll settle down for while and see what develops. I plan on being in the Vegas area for at least a month, if not longer.

Laughlin, Here I Come

I've made reservations through TravelWorm to stay four nights in Laughlin at the Tropicana Express. Reading reviews of this place on TripAdvisor makes me a little nervous, but the price is right. I get four nights for $89, using a "two nights booked, two nights free" promotion available since I'm coming in on a Monday.

A Visit to a Timeshare Near Sedona and March Madness

Day 229 on the road.
Starbucks on Iron Springs Rd., Prescott, AZ

I drove northeast from Prescott yesterday morning to check out the poker room at the Cliff Castle Casino on I-17 near Sedona. A local man told me the casino was only about 40 minutes away. I drove east on Hwy. 69 out of Prescott, then turned northeast on Hwy. 260 with the idea of catching I-17 just south of Sedona.

Once on I-17, I headed north looking for the casino. When I arrived at the cutoff, I noticed a Starbucks, a couple of motels, some retail shops and gas stations. Of course I had to stop at Starbucks for a cup of coffee. Next door to the Starbucks was a "Tourist Information Center," so I went there first.

In the tourist shop I met Michael. He told me about a resort nearby that was giving tours (to sell timeshares), so I took him up on his offer of a gift ($100 cash "to help me play at the casino") and decided to take the tour.

The clip below is a glimpse of my visit to the Highlands Resort at Verde Valley and the Verde Santa Fe Golf Course.




After the tour I went back to Starbucks for a while, then made it to the casino around 3 p.m. I played cards for about four hours and had a great time. I won $400 in a March Madness pool (my numbers matched the final score of the Xavier and UNC game) and so I was glad I made the trip. I drove back to Prescott to spend the night and plan to take today (Sunday) off and do nothing but do some writing, reading, and hanging out in beautiful Prescott.

Tomorrow I plan on heading west toward Laughlin in the southeast corner of Nevada.