Day 275 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Co., Laughlin

I'm sitting on a comfortable couch at the Firehouse Coffee Company in Laughlin enjoying a cup of coffee. After 17 days straight of playing poker for at least 6 hours a day, I've decided to take a day off from the poker room and relax. My brain needs a break from figuring pot odds and keeping track of player tells. The truth is, I'm exhausted.

I have with me my Rand McNally road atlas to contemplate a possible trip to northern California. For the remainder of this month, I've planned a routine of staying in Laughlin weekdays, Monday through Saturday, then spending weekends in Las Vegas. Essentially, I've got two weeks left in Laughlin and three weekends left in Las Vegas for this month, the last weekend being the Memorial Day weekend. I'm considering returning to the road in June, perhaps moving northward.

Looking at my atlas, I'm looking north toward Reno and Lake Tahoe, then perhaps west into northern California. For one thing, it's getting hot in Laughlin and Vegas, with temperature forecasts for next week topping 105 degrees. I'm not thrilled with the idea of being in Las Vegas or Laughlin when it reaches 115 degrees or more.

The average temps in Reno for the summer are the upper 80s. Lake Tahoe is even cooler, of course. Temperatures in northern California at the upper elevations are also in the 80-degree range throughout the summer. Susanville, California, for example, rarely gets above 90 degrees. Eureka, California, on the Pacific coast in northern California rarely gets above 80 degrees during the summer! According the national weather map, the average temperatures for the year in Eureka are between 40 and 80 degrees. Although Eureka receives an average of 40 inches of rain each year, it stills looks like a nice place to visit.

Of course, it may come time to settle down for a while in the Vegas area and put off visiting northern California. I'm still taking one day at a time and have no real plans for the future beyond Memorial Day.

Las Vegas Revisited

Day 273 on the road.

Firehouse Coffee Company, Laughlin

I'm back in Laughlin for another week. Last weekend's trip to Vegas was a successful. I played poker at the Bellagio, Mirage, and Red Rock casinos. I also utilized the monorail system on the Vegas strip to get around.

On Saturday I left Laughlin for the 90-minute drive to Vegas. I arrived at the Sahara Hotel and Casino on the northside of the Strip and checked. My room wasn't available until after 3 p.m., so I had about some time to kill. I decided to visit the Bellagio poker room for some afternoon gaming.

The Sahara has a Monorail Station at its location, so it was an easy walk to the rail. I paid $9 for a 24-hour unlimited ride ticket, and took the monorail to the Bally's Station. Bally's casino is located across the street from the Bellagio.

(Photo right: the Monorail at the Sahara.)

Once you depart from the train at Bally's you have long walk through the casino to a monorail walkway that provides an easy standing-ride to the street. From the front of Bally's, an escalator takes you to the bridge that crosses the street. After walking across the bridge, you enter the Bellagio and have an easy walk to Caesar's Palace.

(Photo left and below: the monorail walkway to the street from Bally's.)

I left the Sahara just after 12 o'clock noon, and it took about 30-40 minutes to arrive at the Bellagio using the rail system. The longest walk was making my way through the Bally's casino after exiting the monorail.

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(Photo left: looking south from the bridge crossing the street from Bally's to the Bellagio.)

(Photo above: The Bally's Monorail Station.)

Once inside the Bellagio, it's a nice stroll through their retail mall before entering the casino itself. The poker room was busy, not unusual for a Saturday afternoon. I waited about 30 minutes for a seat to open up for a $4-$8 Limit Holdem game.

I played poker at the Bellagio until 5:30 p.m., then cashed out and headed back to the Sahara via the monorail. I picked up my key at the Sahara and checked into my room for the evening. I stayed on the 23rd floor of the Alexandria Tower, giving me a nice view looking west over the city. The room itself was spacious, but outdated. The furniture was old, vintage 1970s, and well-worn. The carpet was clean, but stained and just about worn out. The bathroom fixtures worked, but were below average in condition.

The Sahara is an aged, musty, smelly, crowded, and nostalgic casino dating back to the vintage days of old Vegas when the Rat Pack performed and Hollywood stars walked the floor. Old photographs throughout the property reflect its history: there's Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performing in the nightclub, and a photo hanging behind the registration desk shows Cary Grant and Alan Ladd with their wives standing in one of the Sahara's courtyards. Elvis also performed here.

While the Sahara has a history and nostalgia that permeates the place, and I'm sure many ghosts and old Hollywood spirits live throughout the place, the hotel needs a facelift. The rooms are cheap enough on certain nights, especially condsidering its location on the Strip. But the condition of the place is below average.

After resting for a while, that night I took the monorail to the Mirage for dinner and some late night poker. I ate at the California Pizza Kitchen located inside the Mirage, next to the poker room. After playing cards for a couple of hours I was ready to return to the Sahara for some sleep. The view I had of the Vegas skyline at night was the best feature of my room at the Sahara. (See photos below.)

(Above: Day time view from my room at the Sahara.)

(Above: Night time view from my room at the Sahara.)

(Above: View from the bed.)

On Sunday morning I moved about a mile west, off the Strip, to the Palace Station. The Palace was the first casino that began the Station Casinos empire, being built back in the 1970s. The Palace is a nice hotel and casino, a definite improvement over the Sahara in condition and amenities. I stayed in the Courtyard, which is an area surrounding the pool. Although these rooms are among the oldest at the hotel, my room was remodeled and updated to an above average condition. The bathroom had ceramic tile and new fixtures. The TV and furniture were all new, and the king-sized bed was comfortable. The room was small, but that was no concern.

After checking in Sunday at noon, I left the Palace and drove west toward Summerlin and the Red Rock Casino. The Red Rock is another Station casino (like the Palace and Green Valley Ranch) and it's a great place. I'll be back to the Red Rock for sure. I played poker until 6 p.m., then ate a Mother's Day dinner at the Feast Buffet, located inside the casino. I "feasted" on BBQ, turkey and dressing, shrimp, mashed potatos, corn, macoroni and cheese, green beans, salad, soup, breads of all kinds, apple cobbler, ice cream, and pecan pie.

After a peaceful night at the Palace, I checked out and drove to Boulder City for a quick visit before returning to Laughlin.