For the first time in many years, I did not spend New Years in Vegas. My wife and I were invited by 9 other couples to go to Laughlin. I didn't know but I had actually been there before.
Hotel: I called Harrah's and they comped our hotel stay for New Years weekend. Personally I thought the hotel was crap but I was repeatedly told by taxi drivers that it was the best property in town.
Laughlin: Not much there except a bunch of older folks. Most casinos had a poker room (except the Golden Nugget) and a gazillion slots. I immediately noticed that casinos in Laughlin don't enjoy the same air circulation systems as the casinos to the north in Vegas. It reeked of cigarette smoke everywhere - including our rooms. Very good steakhouse in the Ramada Express and fortunately there was an In-N-Out very centrally located.
Poker: One of the guys that went with the group is a well known pro (to remain nameless) and we cleaned up on a small scale. Unfortunately, there were no high stakes games in town. The biggest game I could find was at the River Palms (1-2 NLHE). We routinely walked away with $500 - $700 during each session. We played the BIG Laughlin tourney on Saturday at the Ramada Express. It was so soft that 7 players in our group finished in the top 20. In fact, my wife played in her first tourney and finished 11th (1 out of the money and the final table). I took third.
Chips: I know some of you asked for chips and I did manage to get brand new commemorative Bud Jones from Ramada Express (from the motorcycle run) and some Paulsons from the Golden Nugget (motorcycle run and new years eve). Some of you wanted these chips and they are available for trade. I'll post scans from work next week. PM with your interest.
New Years: It was a crazy night. We didn't have reservations which we found out was required everywhere. We were told that TARZAN in the Golden Nugget was the best party in town. We showed up early (around 9:00 pm) to see if we could get in. There was already a line of 150 people waiting so we decided to check the front of the line. We pulled the doorman aside and told him that we had a reservation for 20 under the name Franklin... Benjamin Franklin. He says I have a table for 10, but not for 20. So $200 buys us the best tables in the house next to the dance floor (that's how cheap Laughlin is). The night gets really crazy when most of our girls become hammered and start removing clothing. We tried to keep cameras out of our area but it was impossible. The girls were having a blast and we were enjoying the show. I know... I'll go ahead a post this myself to save you the trouble:
No pics that I can publish... sorry. Ironically, we ended up getting tossed from the club when one of the guys took his shirt off on the dance floor. It was a double standard but it was no big deal. We needed to go before something worse happened anyway.
Final Thoughts: Laughlin is a dump and I would not recommend it to anyone. It was only tolerable because we went in a big group.
VEGAS SLOGAN: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
LAUGHLIN SLOGAN: It's your own fault, you went to Laughlin.
.. do they sell tshirts with that on it?
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