Las Vegas is a weekend town. All those special low room rates you see advertised normally come with fine print that reads “Sunday-Thursday only”, as the casino hotels can usually come close to selling out on weekends, especially holidays and conventions. This is why if you do secure your reservation there you can try an online casino dominoqq which is just like a perfect way for you to enjoy your trip to Las Vegas.
CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, is one of the city’s biggest conventions and the weekend of CES, rooms can go for ten times their normal rates due to overwhelming demand. There have even been years I have been there when rooms are simply not available, for any price.
My partner and I had to make a last-minute trip to Las Vegas during CES as she was to receive an award at one of the many presentations at the convention. We did not book a room in advance, and drove in from Los Angeles on Saturday, arriving in time for her to prepare for the awards ceremony taking place later that evening.
The award ceremony went well and the evening was a success. We planned on meeting up with friends and staying with them but things get crazy in Vegas and we all got separated. So now it was 11 PM on Saturday night, we had driven to Las Vegas from Los Angeles that day, then spent the evening doing interviews and promotions and attending the awards and parties and we were both tired.
It was time to find a room to crash out, but I knew everything in town would be booked or outrageously expensive. We found some rooms at smaller, off-strip properties, like The Orleans, for $100 and $150 a night, these are rooms that normally go for $50., even on weekends.
I remembered always passing those casinos right on the border, as soon as you cross over from California and knew that was our best bet. I looked up a few numbers on Google using my phone and started making calls. The Gold Strike Casino, located on the border of California in Jean, Nevada had rooms available, for only $49.99 a night, $54.50 with taxes. And this was a Saturday night, during the CES convention.
We finished up our business and got in the car and started driving back south on the 15 freeway, towards Los Angeles. I must tell you, it was tempting to attempt the 3.5-hour drive back to Los Angeles and just sleep at home. But for $50., split between us, it was worth it to get 8 hours of sleep first.
It took about 25 minutes to drive out of the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. The Gold Strike is the second casino from Las Vegas, the first ones are at Primm Nevada, where people may remember there is a roller coaster. The Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall, as they call it, is closer to the California border.
It was now about 1:30 AM and when we arrived the casino was practically empty. It’s an older place, reeking of cigarettes and that Las Vegas 1970’s Old West-style design. There was no one in line to check-in, and we were greeted promptly. At that time I asked about a AAA discount and was told it was $5.00, which was appreciated. Check-in was fast, although the clerk first forgot to take the AAA discount, until I noticed this, then she re-did the bill. I attribute this mistake to the late hour and her tiredness.
The room was clean, but typically 1980’s Vegas-style. The beds were clean and comfortable. When we checked for the bathtub, we were disappointed to find only a shower, no tub. I was looking forward to a relaxing bath after a stressful day. I called the desk and asked if any tub rooms were available, they told me no. They informed me the majority of their rooms did not have a tub, only a shower. The shower did have two seats, so I prepared to at least have a nice hot shower.
Well, it was not to be, as the water was only lukewarm. I ran the water and waited for about ten minutes and then called the desk. They said to wait longer, but they would send someone up. Even for $50., I was beginning to get a bit angry. Fortunately, the water finally heated up after about 25 minutes of running the shower. I called the desk and canceled the visit from the maintenance person.
It was about 40 degrees outside and we were eager to get the heat going. We set the old looking heater/air conditioner unit to hot and pushed the fan button, a light breeze began blowing. I turned it on as soon as we entered the room, on full hot, and after my shower, the unit was still just blowing cool air. I got on my knees and looked underneath and there was a control box with a fuse. I reached under to tap it and the fuse visibly sparked and buzzed, almost shocking me. But, the heater jumped to life, as I had switched it on fully by doing whatever I did. It finally began to heat the room.
The room was quiet and we slept nicely and woke up in time to check out at noon, as they had given us an extra hour from the normal 11 AM checkout. We made our way downstairs to the lunch buffet, which was offered for $10.99 a person. The buffet was average at best, but worth the cheap price.
The hotel also has a heated pool open year-round. We noticed the parking lot was filled with big rig trucks, and most professional truckers know places that offer clean, comfortable rooms for a good value. That’s what you get here, nothing fancy, nothing luxurious, basic accommodations priced accordingly.