California West Coast Adventure

Day 291 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Co., Laughlin

It's hot outside and so today's main goal is stay inside. The Firehouse Coffee Company is quiet today with just a few folks eating a light lunch. I'm enjoying the time trying to catch up on some planning, writing, reading, and resting.

I've put in more than 160 hours of poker this month in eight different poker rooms, including three trips to Las Vegas. I've had one tooth pulled, met four Canadians, changed the oil in my car, observed drunken college students on a late night river taxi ride, become intimate with the Las Vegas rail system, flopped a straight flush at the Red Rock, heard a country band play before a mob on Fremont street, discovered that blending cranberry juice and pineapple juice is a good idea, and laughed often with guys like Bruce, Lee, and Tim.

It's been an interesting month in the desert. But I'm ready to hit the road again.

I will drive to Las Vegas on Monday and stay there until Wednesday. On Wednesday I head west to Bakersfield, California. On Thursday I'll be in Solvang, a Dutch community founded in 1911. I've had many people talk about Solvang, so I'm going to check it out. Once in Solvang, I'm not sure of my plans. The Chumash Casino Resort is near Solvang, and so I'll be checking out the poker room there. I might decide to just hit the infamous coastal Highway 101 and drive north along the California coast until I run out of money for gas.

By this time next week, I'll be on the Pacific Ocean thinking about what to do next.

Marathon Man

Day 290 on the road.
Starbucks, Aquarius Casino, Laughlin

My Memorial Day weekend was like a scene from the movie, "Marathon Man." I'm just now getting over it.

"Marathon Man", one of my favorite movies, starred Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier and was released in 1976. Directed by John Schlesinger from the screenplay by William Goldman (who also wrote the novel), the story features Olivier as a Nazi war criminal who loves to torture people with the kindness of a grandfather. Hoffman is innocently caught up in a search for diamonds when his brother (played by "Jaws" star Roy Scheider) ends up dead in his apartment. Olivier wants his diamonds and he believes Hoffman knows where to find them.

When Olivier kidnaps Hoffman, one of the most infamous torture scenes in film history unfolds. Olivier finds a cavity in Hoffman's tooth and begins to stick and probe until he finds just the right nerve.

Everyone can relate to tooth pain. That's why this particular torture scene is so riveting.

On the Thursday before Memorial Day I developed a tooth ache. At first it wasn't severe, but by Saturday it was clear I needed immediate help. I did not sleep Friday night at all. The over-the-counter pain killers at Walgreens were worthless, so I sat up Friday night thinking about the movie "Marathon Man."

On Saturday I was scheduled to stay in Boulder City. I drove there thinking I might be able to find a dentist office open. I was delusional, of course, in so much pain my brain was preoccupied with keeping me from jumping off the Hoover Dam into the Colorado River. On Memorial Day weekend no dentist was going to be available.

As I sat there in downtown Boulder City at the Starbucks, drinking nothing, I knew I needed relief. There was no way I could wait until Tuesday (Monday being a holiday) to find a dentist. Therefore I went to the Boulder City Hospital emergency room to buy some drugs.

After a 45 minute visit and paying $385 in cash, I walked out with a prescription for Hydrocodone and an infection medicine. I went to my motel in Boulder City, took the meds, and spent the next 24 hours in bed.

Back in Laughlin on Tuesday I found a nice dentist (thanks, Dr. Larsen) and he finally ended the torture. I had an upper molar pulled and will later have a root canal done on another tooth.

But for now, I'm at least getting back to normal.

Long Journey Update Me

Current Location: Laughlin, Nevada.

Okay, so sue me. I've neglected this blog for weeks now. I've been reguarly hanging words on my site at 1100 Miles to Vegas (also known at "MyRoadArt.com"), but for whatever reason I've not done much writing here. In fact, I've been neglecting my writing schedule altogether.

At least today I've checked in. How's it going with you?

Day 281 on the road.
Starbucks, inside the Aquarius Casino Hotel, Laughlin

Unfortunately, the River Palms doesn't have a decent coffee shop with internet access so I'm forced to go somewhere else for a morning brew. On most mornings I'll travel into Bullhead City and hang out at the Firehouse Coffee Company. This morning I wanted to avoid the drive. So I came here to the Aquarius Casino Hotel, just two blocks north of the River Palms. A Starbucks is located inside the Aquarius and you get free internet access.

I'm checking my email and preparing for another day of fun in the desert. My main goal is to stay out of the heat. A cold front is expected to blow in sometime today or tomorrow and will drop the temps back to the upper 80s. Yesterday it got up to 112 degrees here.

Vincent, the Fiesta, and a Horseshoe Trip

Day 280 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Company, Laughlin
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I'm back in Laughlin for the week, after spending the weekend in Boulder City, Henderson, and Las Vegas. Mid-May weather in the area has become very hot. Today's temperature in Laughlin is expected to be 112 degrees. But a cold front is moving in mid-week and will drop the heat back to a more humane 82 degrees.
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This past Saturday morning I drove to Boulder City hoping that Vincent had an available room. I had reservations at the Fiesta Casino Hotel in Henderson for Sunday night. So when I left Laughlin I was hoping to get lucky and find a room in Boulder City for Saturday night.

Vincent owns a 16-room hotel in downtown Boulder City called the Western Inn. Each room has a small kitchen and the beds are comfortable enough. It's also a really quiet and easy-going place. When I first met Vincent a few weeks ago, he said, "I keep it quiet around here. Since I'm the owner, I can say who stays here and who doesn't." Guests also get free Internet access. For me it's a no-brainer to stay at the Western Inn unless I find a special at a casino and receive a nice room rate.

When I arrived in Boulder City I stopped for gas and then drove to the Western Inn. The office was closed and Vincent was nowhere in sight. So I left my business card on his office door with the note, "Vincent, if you have a room available give me a call. I'll be down the street at Starbucks." I had been at Starbucks for about 20 minutes when Vincent gave me a call. "Hey, Mitch, I've got a room for you. If I have to, I'll kick someone out."

So I checked into the Western Inn about 1 p.m. on Saturday and began thinking about where to play some poker for the evening. I decided to drive to downtown Las Vegas and play in the historic poker room at Binion's Gambling Hall and Casino, formerly Binion's Horseshoe Casino.


The Horseshoe is the place that first hosted the World Series of Poker in 1970 and was the birthplace of modern day poker, at least in Las Vegas. Harrah's Entertainment bought The Horseshoe, including rights to the WSOP. Harrah's subsequently sold the downtown casino hotel to MTR Gaming in 2004 but retained ownership of the "Horseshoe" name and all rights to the World Series of Poker. Thus, the WSOP main event and the series events are now played at Harrah's properties around the world.

(Photo right: I took this picture of the "signature board", containing the signatures of famous poker players and WSOP champions, etc. The "Poker Hall of Fame" is in another exhibit nearby, but I wasn't sure about taking photos in the poker room.)

But the old gambling hall still stands and is now known as Binion's Gambling Hall. It is coming under new ownership once again. This time, the new owners are promising upgrades and an expansion plan.

When I first walked in to the poker room at Binion's I immediately was struck by the history of the place. For one thing, the poker room was the sight of the final table for the World Series in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker won the Championship and became the catalyst for the so-called "poker boom" that has seen the game explode in popularity around the world. It was a very cool place to play poker.
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(Photo above, from left to right: Johnny Moss, Chill Wills, Amarillo Slim, Jack Binion, Puggy Pearson, at the 1974 World Series of Poker at The Horseshoe.)

I played at Binion's until 9:30 p.m., about 7 hours or so. I then walked out into the "Fremont Street Experience" to check out the country and western bands who were playing concerts. The Academy of Country Music Awards was scheduled for it's live broadcast from Caesar's Palace Las Vegas on Sunday night, but on Saturday night on Fremont Street many of the bands were scheduled to play. The crowd was enormous. The Freemont Street Experience is weird and crowded enough on a regular night with tourists and hookers. But when you add the bands, concerts, and celebrities on this particular night, what you get is a mass of humanity that is unbelievable. (See photos of the mayhem below.) I didn't stay long.
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On Sunday I moved from the Western Inn in Boulder City over to the Fiesta Casino Hotel in Henderson, about a ten-minute drive west on Hwy. 93 toward Las Vegas. I spent the afternoon playing poker at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson.

My room at the Fiesta was okay, but noisy. The bed was compfy and the plasma flat-screen TV was a nice upgrade. However, my room had a door leading the room next door and it was not sound-proofed at all. I could hear every movement from the family staying in the room beside me. Plus the AC fan was cutting on and off (no way to keep the fan on at all times...a real dumb design flaw) all night. So I doubt I'll be back to the Fiesta. The hotel and casino itself are topnotch. I watched "Iron Man" at the cinema (great movie) and ate at their buffet (not bad). But I didn't get much sleep.

On Monday morning I checked out at the Fiesta and drove to downtown Boulder City. I drank coffee and read the paper at the little country cafe in the downtown historic district and really liked the small-town environment. The small cafe was an old-style diner, complete with locals sitting on stools at the counter eating pancakes.

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I was back in Lauglin by 1 p.m. and playing poker at the River Palms, earning another free room comp.

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.