Sue Lowden for Lieutenant Governor?

**Update:  Sue Lowden lost her bid for Lt. Gov on Tuesday, June 10th**

Perhaps now she can focus on FIXING up her Casino

Laughlin, Nevada

If we can't trust you to care for your own company, how can we trust you with our state?

When are you going to fix the lights and the River Rick sign at your Casino?

These are two questions for Sue Lowden.  One of her answers and lack of action on fixing the lights may surprise you. 

Sue Lowden is running for Lt. Governor of the State of Nevada.

Lowden and Hutchinson
(Las Vegas Review Journal picture)

She is in a heated battle for the Republican nomination with state senator Mark Hutchison, who has been endorsed by GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval. Early voting already started and the primary is June 10, 2014.

Among other things, 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 Corporation (the owner of the Pioneer). Her husband Paul Lowden is the Chairman and CEO of Archon. Between the two of them they basically own and control about 90 percent of the company. Chris Lowden is the general manager of the Pioneer.

Back to the first question:

If we can't trust you to care for your own company, how can we trust you with our state?

Although this may seem like a minor issue in the bigger political arena, the look and aesthetics of her hotel and casino does reflect on the image and pride of Laughlin, Nevada. It reflects on the tourism. It reflects on the economy. It also reflects on Sue Lowden. If she can't (or won't) take care of her own company, what does that say about her ability to perform a similar role on a even bigger platform for the state of Nevada?  Tourism and visitors are of vital importance to the economy of Laughlin. We would love to see her be the catalyst for change in her very visible property in Laughlin.

If you have been to Laughlin over the past two or three years you may have noticed the lights and signs are in a bad state of disrepair.  There seems to be no pride in basic maintenance and clean up on the Riverwalk side of the Casino.  Even though the old West Cowboy look and theme masks some of the problems, a walk around shows the place is in rough shape. Paint, picking up trash, changing light bulbs and other little things do matter.

The weathered old west look is fine, but a little paint and touch up is much needed. 

Yet, even with all the little things, ihe biggest glaring problem is the large cowboy sign, known as River Rick. That brings us to the second question:

When are you going to fix the lights and the River Rick sign at your Casino?

This was asked of Sue Lowden by a student during a visit she made to Laughlin High School in the spring.

image from Sue Lowden's Facebook Page

The student said that Sue Lowden was seemingly irritated at the question and bluntly responded by saying fixing the sign is very expensive. She explained that someone from Las Vegas has to come to do the work. She said they had to wait until other similar work needs to be done in Laughlin and then do their signs at the same time. Apparently to save money?  We have seen photos as far back as 2010 showing the same issue.  We would welcome a response or clarification of this answer from the Pioneer or Sue Lowden.  

Why isn't the sign being fixed and when will it be? 

This sign is a highly visible feature and part of the brand of the business  River Rick images are on their logos, signage, even in the grass in front of the Casino.  Yet, there is no urgency to dedicate the resources to fix the actual sign?

Half burned out

LING HALL

   The Pioneer was once proud of River Rick and had the following text on the website.
(from https://web.archive.org/web/20030209174303/http://pioneerlaughlin.com/)

---

The Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall is located in the heart of the Casino Drive strip in Laughlin, Nevada.  Laughlin is noted for it's relaxed atmosphere, and the Pioneer is famous for offering the best down-home hospitality in town.  The property is easily recognizable by our icon River Rick, towering nearly 100 feet above the Colorado River.  Rick's first cousin, Vegas Vic, is perhaps the most recognizable icon associated with Las Vegas, Nevada style gambling, and adult fun.  Many motion pictures, both classics and current releases, have relied upon this universal recognition to tell the viewer where the scene is set.  Visitors cannot arrive in Laughlin from any direction without seeing River Rick looming above the town, waving a welcome to all.  These welcome waves epitomize the warm Pioneer Family spirit that has made this facility a favorite of both locals and out of town visitors, and earned the reputation of "The Friendliest House on the River".  

---

River Rick now resembles an embarrassing eyesore instead of an icon proudly looking over Casino Drive and the Riverwalk.

As far as the neon, there is neon all over Laughlin and none of the signs at other properties are in this state of neglect.  Even the small bar and restaurant directly across the street from the Pioneer have neon that is always working.  One time it was out briefly for a short time but was quickly fixed.

By making even small steps to restore the look of the Pioneer, Sue Lowden would show her commitment to caring about what goes on in and around the community. The Pioneer recently upgraded their restaurant and apparently have plans to revamp their snack bar. In our opinion, they need to take some of their revenue and FIX their signs, especially River Rick. This is the largest problem, but the entire lighting and maintenance of the area on the Riverwalk needs attention.  The clocks on the Riverwalk shows the wrong and different times on both sides. With burned out bulbs.

Pictures taken seconds apart 

Wrong time and burned out lights

Changing the light bulbs in the light globes lining the Riverwalk is simple. As is dusting, sweeping, or cleaning the dirt, webs and stains on them.  Why isn't this done?

Undo a couple of screws and change the bulbs.  Clean the globes too.

And just how hard, and expensive is it, to have an employee do a sweep once or twice a day to pick up litter? One can walk down the area over a period of days and still see the same trash, bottles, or glasses left lying in places like the gazebo or on the grass. Why can't Pioneer management make clean up a normal daily duty of someone on their staff instead of letting it go. 

By the Riverwalk entrance of the Pioneer Casino

Trash sitting in the Gazebo for days, no one bothers to clean up.

Other properties in Laughlin have more pride in their appearance and the reflection of it on the community. For example, Marnell Gaming, the owners of the Colorado Belle and Edgewater Hotel and Casinos have stepped up and shown desire to invest in and help tourism and Laughlin with their building of the new Laughlin Event Center and other projects. When other Casinos have burned out signs or lights, they fix them fairly promptly. Other ones routinely wash down, clear debris, and do better maintenance.  You will often see workers at the Colorado Belle and Edgewater hosing down, sweeping, and cleaning the Riverwalk area between their properties.

Burned out neon everywhere

 The following excerpt comes from Sue Lowden's own website.  It is an explanation of what the Lieutenant Governor does for Nevada and how she believes she is qualified for the job.

from SueLowden.Com

If she wants to serve Nevada, ensure economic development and says she intends to work full time promoting Nevada as a tourism destination---shouldn't she be already doing that right in her own company in Laughlin?

We hope Sue Lowden will look into this at her Hotel and Casino. After all, if she wants to help run the state of Nevada, she certainly can and should be able to manage an issue like this at her own company.  She should be an advocate for tourism and the economics of what we have heard her call "her hometown".

We are not supporting or endorsing Sue Lowden or Mark Hutchinson.  We only calling on Sue Lowden show some pride and do the job she wants to be elected for.  Starting right here in Laughlin, Nevada.


* We do give credit where it is due. The Pioneer at one point in February of this year had a crane and workers at the sign. They did fix a couple letters on the sign, and painted the posts.

The burned out letters on the sign went from reading HO BLING to the current HOTE BLING
Then the crane and workers disappeared and it has been left as is to date.

September of 2013 through February 2014 the sign read HO BLING  See More Pictures Here

A worker at the sign in February of 2014

Below is how it looks after the work was done and how it still looks as of June 2014.

At one point a sign that ripped during an August monsoon stood hanging until January.  A worker could not have taken this down within a day or so after the storm? It looked like this for over 5 months. This was right at the entrance to the Riverwalk by the Colorado Belle.

The top picture above showshow it looked form August to January.
The bottom picture finally shows it taken down and rolled up (five months later).  

Sue Lowden advertisements/signs are in front of the Pioneer Casino

We are also happy to say that the front of the Pioneer and the tall Pioneer signs currently have no problems. This is a recent development, for months those signs also have had burned out letters and lights. See pictures here from earlier this year. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come? We can only hope.

 Visit  LaughlinBuzz.Com  for more about the Laughlin area

*All information, pictures, editorials herein are presented for informational and entertainment purposes only. Laughlin Buzz has no affiliation with and receives no compensation of any kind from or with the people, properties, and entities mentioned and receives no compensation.

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:

LauglinBuzz.Com

Bumbleberry Flats at the Pioneer

Bumbleberry Flats is coming to the Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall in Laughlin

The new restaurant, Bumbleberry Flats should be opening soon in the old Boarding House Restaurant location in the Pioneer Casino.   We just noticed they had released a menu (and prices) on their Facebook page.

As of two days ago when we went passed the location there still seemed to be alot of work to be done.  Apparently, they are serving the new menu in the Santa Fe room at the Pioneer until it is ready.

Here is a look at the new menu.  Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are available. Click on each pic for a larger view.

If you had ever been a patron of the Boarding House restaurant you can see this menu is a definite change.  Higher prices and seemingly a step up in quality.  Many different choices are available and some unique selections.  Dubbed "American Comfort" food on their sign, we easily see this is a competitor to the recently opened Claim Jumper at the Golden Nugget (just down the Riverwalk from the Pioneer).  

We look forward to getting over there sometime this spring and checking it out in person.

If you have tried anything there yet, give us a shout in the comments below and let us know what you thought.

For more about Laughlin visit  laughlinbuzz.com 

New Restaurant coming to the Pioneer Casino

Changes at the Pioneer Gambling Hall and Casino

New Restaurant to Replace the Boarding House Restaurant. 

We heard that the Boarding House Restaurant in the Pioneer Casino was closed for renovations.  According to the Pioneer Casino Facebook page they are instead putting a NEW restaurant in that space. While this is being created, they are still serving items from The Boarding House in Granny's.  

From their Facebook page:  For the month of December the normal Granny's menu is available 7 nights a week from 4-9, and the Boarding House favorites are available from 7 a.m. - 10 pm, Sun. - Thurs. and till 11 pm on Fri. & Sat. 

We also read on their page that they won't be bringing back the popular buffet and will have an all new menu.  We haven't heard if there is a name change coming as well.  We would expect there is.    

Outside the Pioneer the parking lot was filled with the former contents of the Boarding House.  It will be good to see what the new place and menu looks like.  Change is always fun, especially in Laughlin where it happens infrequently and very slowly. 

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