Beyond Las Vegas
There are large casino/hotels beyond Las Vegas near the Nevada border,
not including Reno. Right at the boarder of Nevada and California on
the interstate is Primm Valley. On both sides of the freeway is a
theme casino, Whiskey Pete's (left) and Primmadonna on the
other side. A monorail connects the two plus Whiskey's side has a
roller coaster and fashion outlet mall.
Only a few miles into Nevada at the Jean exit this pattern is repeated
with Nevada Landing,(right) a riverboat theme in the middle of
the dessert, and another casino on the other side. Considered
truck-stop casinos, these gambling islands are great values for hotel
rooms and meals.
But, the greatest vacation value in the American West has to be
Laughlin, Nevada on the Colorado River and Arizona Border. Rooms can
be had most nights for $17 (no hotel taxes, either) and buffets are
the cheapest anywhere. The town of Laughlin is just eleven casinos
and was started not long ago by a man named Laughlin who
opened the Riverside casino and hotel. Don Laughlin is a car buff and
his collection is a main attraction at the Riverside, along with the
world's largest watch shop and six movie theatres.
Laughlin is a laid-back Las Vegas with human scale attractions like a
steam locomotive and riverboat cruise. A few of the big names are
here like the Flamingo, Golden Nugget, and Harrah's. Yet, the best
reasons to stay in Laughlin might be the many natural and manmade
attractions nearby.
The Colorado River runs past with a beach at
the AVI casino. Davis Dam is here and another dam is just 90 miles
away at Lake Havasu where the old London Bridge ended up. Bullhead
City, Arizona is right across the river and offers all the
middle-class shopping and services of any small city. Old Route 66
runs just 25 miles away at Oatman, Arizona where wild burros still
roam. Of course, Las Vegas and Hoover Dam are also just a couple
hours drive. Laughlin is the REAL desert southwest.
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