Thanksgiving at the Avi

The Avi sounds exotic…yes?...not much.  It’s a casino on the Colorado River…the very south tip of Nevada.  It’s an Indian owned facility and I spent yesterday evening enjoying the buffet and movie at the inside theater.  The food was very good but the movie, “Burlesque” was only middling.  Cher was great, Christina over-done, plot was trite, but costumes and sets worth putting up with it all.  The Avi has a free RV dry camp as well as a full hook-up across the street.  I’m dry camping which means I have no electricity or other services.  The weather has turned cold and got down to 28 degrees last night but I was perfectly comfortable.  The winds blow strong and steady all day…the kind you have to lean into to move forward.  My poor van shakes and rolls all the time…similar to being on a boat.   

I came here to Laughlin rather than Las Vegas because I’ve  done Vegas  many times, but never tried the surrounding spots.  Just north of here and also on the river are about 10 major casinos…Harrah’s Laughlin, Tropicana, Golden Nugget.  My favorite was the Colorado Belle with architecture simulating an old riverboat.  The food and other prices are SO much lower than Las Vegas and the casinos are busy.   I did a bit of the River Walk that joins all the casinos but although the sun is shining…it is a cold wind.  While at the casino I talked with a man from Minnesota who has been here for a month.  He says the weather was warmer last week (wooden ‘cha know it).  He also explained that Laughlin is only a casino and residential town.  Shopping and services are directly across the river at Bullhead City, Arizona.  I had always figured that with such an ugly name it wasn’t worth visiting.  So,  this afternoon I drove it and found a shopping mall and a Goodwill.  Just the places I need to be tomorrow, the biggest shopping day of the year.   Their “park ‘n ride” is a boat that goes across the river and docks at the casino side.  These two towns have a nice symbiotic relationship.  Important note:  Buy gas in Arizona…it’s much cheaper at $2.65 a gallon versus $3.49 in California only a few miles away.

My Thanksgiving dinner was at the Avi buffet.  Since Thursdays are 2-1, I made a friend and shared the cost of the great buffet.  I had joined the players club so I used my free $5 up then played with $20 until I left with $27...a net $7 winner for the evening.  All-in-all it was a great and inexpensive few days.