Laughlin Buzz

Jan 31, 2014

Loading Dock Update - getting closer

Laughlin, Nevada

We were at the Colorado Belle today and stepped out to the RiverWalk to enjoy some of the beautiful weather.  Even though it was cloudy and a bit of a breeze it was nice.



Progress continues on the construction of the Loading Dock Bar and Grille. Just a week or so ago they put the Lighthouse beacon in place (see pictures here).  The Loading Dock is set to open sometime in March.  Below are a couple of the latest pics we snapped.   Click on each picture for a larger view.

Update  February 20th:  The Loading Dock Opened - See pictures, menu and more here.

Workers busy on the top section below the Lighthouse beacon. 

Loading Dock Bar and Grille at the Colorado Belle Hotel and Casino

Around the front of the Casino we noticed they have walls up on that side of the Loading Dock.






For more about Laughlin visit our home page here

*All content of this blog are from our own personal experience and are presented for informational purposes only.  We received no compensation from the properties or restaurants in this blog post and are not in any way affiliated with them.  

Jan 30, 2014

Bullhead City Farmers Market is back in new location

The Bullhead City Farmers Market resumes for the 2014 season on February 15th.



The market is at a new location.   

See the press release (text) below for complete details:

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BULLHEAD CITY FARMER’S MARKET PRESS RELEASE
We Have A New Location
Community Park
1251 Hwy. 95, Bullhead City
8:00 am to 12:00 p.m.
3rd Saturday of the Month

Bullhead City Farmer’s Market will return at a new location at Community Park. The market will be held at Community Park with free parking and admission. Market hours are 8am to Noon on the 3rd Saturday of every month.

Products to look forward to include farm-fresh eggs, specialty baked goods, Kimchi, specialty homemade soaps, homemade relishes, preserves, candies, sauces, dips, handmade pasta and gluten free pasta, homegrown plants and herbs, and of course an array of locally grown product.

Over fifteen, farmers and bakers will participate at the market. Meet and greet with friends and neighbors, support your local economy - come visit our Farmers Market and enjoy the magnificence of produce and products!

The Bullhead City Farmer’s Market opens on Saturday, February 15th from 8am to Noon, rain or shine. It continues every 3rd Saturday supplying locally grown fresh produce from local farmers.
If you are a backyard farmer or have a homemade product you would like to sell at the market please let us know.
Bullhead City Farmer’s Market is a non-profit organization whose mission is to encourage local entrepreneurial opportunities, service opportunities and a family friendly environment that enriches and nourishes the culture of our community.
# # #
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Tamara Powers at (928) 444-4424 or email at Tamara@TriStateWebsiteDesign.com

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We look forward to getting over there and checking it out.  Last year it was very popular.  Get there early! We love the easier to get to (for us!) new location.  Coming from Laughlin, cross the bridge into Bullhead City and just a short distance on the left you will see Community Park.  



Visit our homepage at LaughlinBuzz.Com

Laughlin International Film Festival 2014

The 3rd annual Laughlin International Film Festival (LIFF) will take place October 16-19, 2014

Liff has announced a call for film entries in all the competitive film categories for this year's festival.

Films of all genres and lengths are screened in state-of-the-art digital movie theaters in Laughlin, Nevada. LIFF also offers filmmaker workshops, panel discussions, social networking events and after-parties.  

Visit the LIFF website at: 
for more information or to learn how to submit your film.




Jan 27, 2014

Lighthouse in Place at Loading Dock


Just the other day they placed the Lighthouse portion of the new Loading Dock Bar and Grille at the Colorado Belle Hotel and Casino in Laughlin.

 


Construction continues. 








Management apparently has pushed the opening date to March rather than February as previously announced.   Progress is continuing steadily.  Most recent pictures are below:














For more about Laughlin visit our home page here

*All content of this blog are from our own personal experience and are presented for informational purposes only.  We received no compensation from the properties or restaurants in this blog post and are not in any way affiliated with them.  

Jan 24, 2014

Capriotti’s at Edgewater - Restaurant Review


Capriotti's at Edgewater





The well-known Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop has made its way into Laughlin with its 100th store.  Having tried Capriotti’s on the East coast, I was happy to hear it was going to open in our little gambling town.  They are known for real turkey sandwiches with birds roasted each night to perfection.  The signature sandwich is “The Bobbie”, which is like Thanksgiving dinner (albeit cold) on a bun.  Real sliced turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and mayo on a very nice bun.

They don’t make wimpy sandwiches.  Their large is 20 inches long which can easily be shared by 3-4 people if you get chips along with it.  The rest of the menu consists of cold and hot sandwiches and a few salads at reasonable prices for the portions.
The location is right next to the revamped sports book in the Edgewater where Nathan’s hot dogs used to be.  The store is very modern in appearance almost to a fault.  It’s very plain looking but still in a good location for people watching and planning your next slot adventure. 

In my visit, I was greeted by a very friendly cashier.  It took about 10 minutes for my order to be ready.  I was happy to see a steady stream of customers for a place that had only been open for a month when I ate there.  The Bobbie I ordered was just as I remembered from other locations.  It was very good and quite filling.  The selection of chips and sides is very limited however.  I’m hoping they expand the selection as time and foot traffic increase.  Overall I was very pleased with the experience and suggest other Buzz readers give it a try.

Review by Laughlin Buzz Contributor, Todd Carnes

For more reviews and current happenings in the area, visit LaughlinBuzz.Com 

The review above is based on our contributor's personal experience.  Your own experiences may vary based on tastes, preferences, and other variables.  Information contained herein, such as pricing, hours, menu items, etc., is subject to change by the restaurants. Reviews are presented for informational and entertainment purposes only.  We receive no compensation from the properties or restaurants and are not in any way affiliated with them.  

Latest Restaurant Inspections from Laughlin

2-8-14  See an update* at the end of this post.

Did you know you can check on the latest health inspections for restaurants you may want to dine at in Southern Nevada?    This includes Laughlin and Las Vegas.

We always find it a good idea to check it from time to time or if we are going to visit a new place.   It never hurts to be safe.

Laughlin restaurants (in the past 3 years) have almost always have had "A" ratings in the restaurant inspections performed by the Southern Nevada Health District.    But a check today showed several who slipped up a bit.   They didn't fail or get closed but apparently need to fix some of the violations.

Here is a screenshot of the newest ones for Laughlin.


Claim Jumper (Golden Nugget), Cafe Aquarius (Aquarius Casino), and Coco's (Edgewater Casino) all received a B with 19 demerits.   Most related to hand washing, proper storage of food, etc.  You can go to the SNHD site and see what the actual violations are.

Bikini's Sports Bar received a C rating with 29 demerits.   The Edgewater (Hot and Cold Line) received a C as well with 30 demerits.  We are not sure what the hot and cold line is, though we certainly would like to know.

C is apparently the lowest grade.  The SNHD will routinely close down any restaurant that receives 40 demerits (or more).

All these restaurants were inspected on January 15, 2014.   While none of the places failed, you can't be to cautious, especially to avoid food born illness from something that has not be stored properly or is contaminated due to these kinds of violations.

*We have always found Claim Jumper to be nice and clean, even when it was previously Harlow's.  The same for Cafe Aquarius (although we have not been there in quite some time).  We no longer frequent Coco's due to the bad service and conditions (cleanliness) we encountered the last two times.  In our opinion, if a place can't keep the front and dining section of their establishment looking nice and clean, we don't even want to know what is going on back in the kitchen.  And, Bikini's isn't somewhere we go and definitely not a place we would look to eat.  We didn't even know they served food. 

Visit the SNHD  website here to look up restaurants in Nevada.  There is a search feature.  For Laughlin put in Zipcode 89029.

You can even file a complaint using the online form if you find a problem with somewhere you dined.
Go here for the complaint form process.


*Update, 2-8-14: All the restaurants received an A grade on a re-inspection.  
See details here.

For more about Laughlin visit  our home page here

*All opinions in this blog are from our own personal experience and are presented for informational purposes only.  We received no compensation from the properties or restaurants in this blog post and are not in any way affiliated with them.  

Jan 18, 2014

Progressive 25 cent slot hit

Congrats to the person who got lucky!

We noticed last week that a progressive 25 cent slot jackpot that had grown to well over 55 thousand dollars must of been hit recently.   This machine must of taken years to grow to that size.  We recall seeing it in the 40 thousand range three years ago.  Last week it was reset to just 4000.

Here are the before and after pictures we found in our files.


Well we have never played it (and you can't win if you don't play), someone got lucky for just a 50 cent spin.  
Share your best hit or closest almost hit in the comments below.

Who knows which Casino this was?  

P.S.  The 25 cent progressive slot on the opposite side of these machines has not been hit in years either and is over 60 thousand.



All views, pictures, and opinions in this blog are from our own personal experience and are presented for informational and entertainment purposes only.  We receive no compensation from the properties or restaurants and are not in any way affiliated with them.  



Jan 16, 2014

It's Still Lights Out at the Pioneer

Back in September (of 2013) we wrote about the ridiculous lack of maintenance of the signs and lights around the Pioneer Gambling Hall and Casino in Laughlin, NV.   See the original piece here.

A few days ago we happened to be on the Riverwalk in Laughlin again and thought to see if anything has changed for the better.   Unfortunately, it has not.


Many of the large globe style lights that line the otherwise nice portion of the Riverwalk behind the Pioneer Hotel rooms are burned out.


The clock still continues to display the wrong time and more burned out bulbs.


River Rick (the cowboy sign) still looks terrible at night, with over half of the sign burned out or not working on both sides. 





Both sides of the main sign underneath River Rick have letters burned out or not lit up.   A group of tourists walked by, laughed and joked about the "HO BLING" message being displayed.  We overheard one of them comment about how they wouldn't play at the Pioneer because if they can't even afford to change a light bulb, the slots are sure to be very tight.   Needless to say this isn't true as gaming percentages and payouts are governed by the licensing regulations.  Still the perception isn't a good one.  





Around the front of the Casino, the situation is not much better.   Even the very front entrance to the Casino has burned out letters.  At least in September the LING was not burned out, so it is worse not better.



The very tall sign that is one of the most noticeable in all of Laughlin has not been lit up properly in the past as well.   See the pictures from September here.  

On this night when we went past the sign the scrolling part was burned out in the middle of the message. 


A short time later they had completely turned off the lights to the same sign (both sides)



Two days later the sign was still displaying the half a message on the scroll again.  

We were happy to see someone had finally taken down the ripped sign by the entrance to the Riverwalk. This had been hanging torn since we had a small monsoon rain in August of 2013. 



The sign itself leading the the Riverwalk is in rough shape.  A little repair and some paint would go a long way to make it look nicer.



We previously noted that Sue Lowden is the former president of the Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall and currently serves as a member of the board of directors and secretary-treasurer of Archon Corp (the owner of the Pioneer).    She recently announced plans to run for Nevada Lt. Governor (see the Las Vegas Review Journal article here).

An article last year in the Review Journal also addressed her leftover campaign debt from a failed 2010 Senate run.   Following this, the Las Vegas Sun reported on January 16th of this year that despite claims otherwise, she is still dealing with unpaid debt.

While this campaign debt has nothing to do with the lighting situation at the Pioneer, Sue Lowden is on the board of directors and presumably has ownership shares as well.   As a (part-time?) resident of Laughlin and influential member of the company that owns the Pioneer, we would hope she could help them divert some cash toward fixing River Rick and the poor image the lighting problems give to Laughlin.  

We noticed the Casino seems fairly busy most of the time, the hotel seems popular, they recently put in some new slot machines, and have remodeled and created a new restaurant.

We were walking past the hotel and an older gentleman was leaning on the post by his hotel room smoking a cigarette.   He smiled and called out,  "Hell, this is still nice, it sure beats sitting at home!"    We agree, but now is the time.  Make it nicer, change the light bulbs!

You can help encourage them to have some Laughlin Pride.

Send Sue Lowden a tweet on Twitter at   https://twitter.com/SueLowden 

Go to her facebook page and let her know what you think.  
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sue-Lowden/194038416113




For more about Laughlin, Nevada, visit our homepage at:



Jan 15, 2014

McDonalds closed at Edgewater Casino


  
It's nice for a wish to come true...even if it is only in the form of the closing of a McDonalds!

Back at the end of December we commented on how some things were looking up at the Edgewater Hotel and Casino.   We also mentioned that the McDonalds located there was in severe need of a cleaning and better service.  Then we heard it was closed.  We cannot say we will miss it.


It looks like they gutted it completely, everything is gone, the signs, the booths, etc.


There is an empty spot on the outside of the Casino where they tore the McDonalds sign down.  Perhaps something interesting will go in the empty space soon.     

Yet as of the last week of January they still haven't had someone climb way up and take it off the other side of the Hotel.  


With the closing of the McDonalds at the Edgewater and the earlier closing of Sbarro and Nathan's, that leaves only the new Capriotti's on the Casino floor as a spot to eat.  Unless you want to count the Coffee, etc.  and  Yogurt-A-Go-Go which are farther down the hall by the elevators to the hotel rooms.  Downstairs is still Coco's, the Hickory Pit, and the Grand Buffet.   

In spite of the low quality (our opinion) the Buffet still remains popular.  Probably due to the low price.  



This is one buffet we would not wait in line to get into, at any price.  As we said before, perhaps this will be improved sometime in the near future too.  We hope so.  

Visit   LaughlinBuzz.Com for more about the Laughlin area. 

All reviews, views, and opinions in this blog are based on our own personal experience, based on our tastes and preferences, and are presented for informational and entertainment purposes only.  You experiences and results may vary.  We receive no compensation from the properties or restaurants and are not in any way affiliated with them.  



Jan 14, 2014

Laughlin Event Center - under construction!

Laughlin Event Center

Marnell Gaming, which owns the Colorado Belle and Edgewater casino-hotels in Laughlin is building a new event center that is set to open in February of 2014.

We took a drive by the site to see how the construction is progressing.    So far, other than a set of bleachers, landscaping, etc, there wasn't too much to see.   These pics of from the second week of January 2014.

Click on the pictures to see a larger view of each one.



The seating has been called modular.  At this point, the only seating noticeable appears to be one set of very large metal bleachers.   

Close up zoom shot of the bleachers


We hope this will differ from the very uncomfortable and small seating on the bleachers that were used at shows last year at the temporary Laughlin Amphitheater on the River. 

The rear of the outlet mall and the Riverside Casino in the backdrop on Casino Drive





The Edgewater Hotel Casino is at the end of Bruce Woodbury Drive as it connects to Casino Drive. 

Large Lighting fixtures ready to be put in place

The Laughlin Event Center (when complete) will be on 15-20 acres behind the Laughlin Outlet Mall on Bruce Woodbury Drive.   This is just a short walk (uphill) of about a long block from Casino Drive.  Estimated cost of the project is 4 million dollars.  So far our pictures don't show this expenditure, but the project is far from complete.




Reba McEntire is set to return to Laughlin as the first concert at the new venue (March 15th).   The seating chart for the Laughlin Event Center is available where they are selling tickets.  See the seating chart (for Reba only) here. 

In addition to concerts they will host bull riding, rodeos, boxing, festivals, and comedy acts.  The event center is being built in modular sections so they can accommodate  9,300 to 21,000 guests.

Already scheduled for 2014 are Alan Jackson, Los Tigres Del Norte/Paquita, and Larry the Cable Guy as the headliner for the Laughlin Comedy Festival on October 4th.

No parking is expected to be on site.  Shuttles will most likely be used from the other Casino properties, and it is only a short walk from the center section of Casino Drive.

Visit   LaughlinBuzz.Com  for more about Laughlin, Nevada