Casino Camping

March 1 -7/2015 Weather Temp dropping to 64 - storm front coming; then forecast is 74 for the rest of the week. BUT wind gusts of 30 mph too for a day.  Storm coming across from L.A. to Arizona.  Rain? Wind? Cooler?
And the rain came late in the afternoon and stayed all through the next day, more of a drizzle but lots of gloomy looking clouds. Then the sun came out but very windy for the day.   No motorcycle riding for a couple of days.  We haven't seen disturbed weather in well over a month.  We have been very spoiled with excellent weather this winter.

AVI Casino KOA  campground - nice view in the background

We moved just outside of the main strip of Laughlin, Nevada today.  This is the first we will have camped at a Casino.  Maybe it doesn't really count to most Casino Campers as they stay right in the parking lot, often dry camping.   We are taking the full hook ups across the street at the Laughlin/Avi KOA.   It is pretty much a parking lot too, but we pay $21 a night for full hookups vs $8 a night for nothing.   We figure its worth it as we would have to run our generator for power and that takes diesel fuel or liquid gold plus the noise !

Casino Camping - no hookups just park where you will $8

Just moving 55 miles and crossing the state border from Arizona to Nevada we lost an hour in Nevada.  This state also has legal prostitution in brothels and no state income tax.  Quite a change just crossing the river!!!!

So tonight we will walk across the street to the Casino and take advantage of the early bird 1/2 price dinners.    Not often do we stay where we can walk to restaurants, bars, gambling, bingo, movie theatres so it will work great with the couple of days of inclement weather. 

Riverside Casino and the RV Park

Harrah's Casino in Laughlin - view from across the river Bullhead City, AZ

We kept wondering why Laughlin was a casino town when only 90 miles away Las Vegas awaits with all its glory or sin......  Haha.  In the 50's it was a small town of miners and Davis Dam construction workers.   Don Laughlin owned the 101 Club in Las Vegas in 1964 and saw this town as a potential tourism spot right on the Colorado River.   He bought the town and put up a motel with 8 rooms, and 12 slot machines, 2 gaming tables. If you were hungry he had a 98 cent chicken dinner!  Now it is known as the Riverside Casino.  The town flourished up until 1997.  There are about 9 other casinos still on the strip and riverfront.  Our first ride around it looks a little quiet and sedate to us.   Someone had told us it was Vegas on Geritol.  Hmmm......  Maybe.

Old slot machines on display at Don Laughlin's Riverside Casino