As I usually do, I stayed cheap at the Longhorn on Boulder for two weeks to be close to relatives and to 10/7 Double Bonus VP at Sam's Town where I can play in dimes all day, but this was a 75th birthday trip, so I treated myself to an additional five nights at Southpoint.
Quite a contrast.One thing that the Longhorn has that is better than Southpoint is the television selection. Southpoint has mostly stations with commercials and fewer movie stations.
It also has great access to the BHX bus to go downtown and the 202 bus to go to the strip.
Also, the nonalcoholic beer at Southpoint is O'Doul's which is the worst alcoholic beer made. I know it is the oldest, but every other NA beer is better, even the 00 Heineken that the Long Horn serves.
I am waiting for some casino to discover Athletic Brewery choices, but even Bush NA would make a good choice.
I went to a Vegas pool room and they had Buckler. There are plenty now to choose from. I've been reading about them on a Facebook group dedicated to nonalcoholic beer.
And one could argue that getting food at the Longhorn, while there are often waits, requires no line. We can play VP until they call us.
However, it is hard to beat the buffet at Southpoint.
The rooms at Southpoint are as nice as any I've stayed in on the strip. Clean, spacious, comfortable. They will certainly draw me back again.
I always have a dilemma when asking for a room because I want to be close to the elevator and the ice, but I don't want to hear the elevator all night long.
At Southpoint there is a fine gap between the elevator, or the ice, and the first room. They did not build rooms into the noisy section.
Also, I think there must be ice on every floor, unlike the Longhorn which has ice only on the casino level.
I like getting ice in the middle of the night in my pajama tops, shorts and slippers.
The wifi at Southpoint was fast and easy to access.
The wifi at Longhorn was in and out.
There was a safe and a refrigerator at Southpoint. And there was an ice bucket that actually kept the ice as ice for a few hours.
Ice is important to me.
The bathroom double sink counter had fine space for all my meds and junk.
Kherig is their coffee offering, but I made my own with my little folding hot pot and stainless steel funnel which fit easily on the counter. And I boiled water for hot tea and iced tea as well and for chicken broth.
The sink and shower water was very hot. Each room has a small tub, so I could do my oatmeal baths that are doctor recommended for my skin.
The tubs are just designed perfectly for me. I can get in and out with no trouble at all. Actually, they are easier than those I have at home except that they are much more shallow, so I can't easily soak my chest area.
But I had a delightful time soaking with John Pizzarelli's Radio Deluxe radio music, playing on my computer on a chair facing into the tub area.
The shower and toilet have a separate room from the sinks. Perfect for a couple.
I was glad to have a few bag clips that could be used to end the sunlight leak where the curtains meet. I did not need those clips in the Longhorn, but I'll take this fine Southpoint picture window over the Longhorn view any day.
One of the hardest sights at the Longhorn is looking out at the closed Eastside Cannery casino. So sad.
At Southpoint I was on the 21st floor and enjoyed the high view of the mountains. I watched one sun rise that was very nice, even if short of cloud patterns that morning for reflective color.
At night the lights of homes and cars were just delightful.
AAA TEN PERCENT DISCOUNT.
I had not known about this when I booked but read about it on a board post. When I checked in, the check in girl did not know how to apply it, but I came back later as she suggested, and they readjusted my rate to give me the discount.
THE FOOD
I arrived on a Friday and did not expect to have the seafood buffet. I had read about the lines, and they were here again. Perhaps I should have waited, but I did not.
There were waits everywhere. The Coronado Cafe had a line. The Primarily Prime Rib had a three hour wait for walk-ins (make reservations.)
I could eat at the Oyster Bar, but as a solo eater I would sit at the bar. I'm not comfortable sitting shoulder to shoulder with unmasked folks. And I don't like the high chairs anyway.
So, I went back to my room and that was the better choice anyway. There I could turn off all the lights and have a grand view from the 21st floor of all the lighted residential areas and the tiny cars moving like ants along the highway. For a solo eater this was really better than a fancy restaurant. I had one diet cactus tortilla topped with no sugar/no salt Crazy Richard's wonderful peanut butter sprinkled with the last of some mixed unsalted nuts. With that I ate the fruit I saved from my Denny's free Veterans grandslam breakfast and a couple jalapeno peppers my nephew had raised and given to me. Okay, just one pepper was plenty.
It was a fine meal, and I was actually glad that the crowds had pushed me toward it.
I could have walked across the street to Denny's, or McDonald's.
On Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday I just decided to brave the line. It took a little under or over a half hour each time, and that did not seem bad at all.
I have trouble waiting in long lines because meds make me use the bathroom often. As soon as I was assigned a table and ordered drinks, I could just walk to the bathroom outside and nextdoor and come in the exit again. That made it easy to deal with old age bathroom issues.
Once a drink waitress told me they had a provision for holding a spot in line if I were to tell them that I could not wait that long standing up. Perhaps next time I'll use that for the long, long seafood buffet wait. But for a half hour, I was fine.
I had two lunch buffets and two supper buffets. Using the half off coupons that came with the room, an old American Casino Guide coupon they still honored, poker comps and VP points, the four meals cost me $1.90 total. Pretty good.
I liked the buffet; it felt like old Vegas.
I had Mexican menuda soup, taking just the broth. I think the meat flavor is tripe, and the corn in that soup always seems a bit tasteless anyway. The broth is just grand.
The ribs were good. The chicken fried steak with sausage gravy was good. The carving station chicken was a bit dry, but fine.
The supper time prime rib was just wonderful. It is as good as any I have had in a restaurant.
The salmon was not good at all. It is the worst salmon I've eaten in a while. Nor was the sword fish.
The catfish was fine. The second day the salmon was better seasoned in some sauce, but having tasted it the day before, I just could not bring myself to try much of it.
I loved the deep fried shrimp. Very fresh and tasty.
I made a plate with blueberries and nice whole walnuts topped with just a bit of strawberry yogurt. The canned peaches were good. The pineapple was sweet and juicy.
For dessert I ate no sugar added vanilla iced cream and had a couple of these very decadent candy pops on a stick. I had the dark chocolate dipped. They were amazing, like a treat from a fine chocolate shop.
I ate one buffet each day with just snacks in between from my dwindling room food.
A bit of left over ham, cheese, Marie's blue cheese, tumeric and black pepper and slices of jalapeno all spread on cactus tortilla was good room food along with some low sodium pork rinds. I did not shop around Southpoint, but brought my room food from my stay at the Longhorn.
It was a fine supper in front of the picture window a couple nights, watching the lights.
I checked out the upscale Michael's menu. Very, very pricey. If I wanted a fancy meal, I would have eaten it at Primarily Prime, but that was closed Monday and Tuesday.
I laughed that many of the steaks were $79. As if folks would be more apt to have one than if they were $80.
Actually, I think Sam's Town Angry Butcher has spoiled me for solo upscale eating because there I could arrange to sit on the balcony outside the restaurant and in the Mystic Garden and so be better entertained with the sounds of animals. It is hard to eat solo and fancy and not be a bit bored.
I understand the attraction of the oyster bar for those who eat raw oysters. I need mine to be cooked, but I don't really like them breaded or covered with Rockefeller gunk.
I'm spoiled by the oysters I eat in the winter in Florida. I like those pan simmered in their own juices or topped with just spice that brings out oyster flavor. If they were prepared to do oysters in their own juices, I'd have eaten there.
I did try the Kherig in the room coffee once, but it is not as good as the Don Francisco vanilla nut blend I brought at Walmarts. If I brew my own coffee I can adjust the strength, and I generally like it strong. Also, I am not pleased at the environmental impact of those cups.
Room iced tea I made by steeping it in a soup cup, and putting the cup in the refrigerator and then adding ice.
A soup cup is a very handy thing to bring along. I also bring a ceramic coffee cup.
For most of the trip I had a bottle of lime to add to the iced tea.
Seltzer in the room was very handy. Sometimes I carried one to the VP machines up on the Bingo floor.
FALSE ALARM
I go to sleep early, and on Friday was awakened by a loud beep and a voice that said, “We have a report of an alarm.” I dressed and went to the lobby area on my floor, but it did not seem that anyone was evacuating. So I did not attempt descending the stairs from 21 floors up.
Some security guards passed and let me know that evacuation was not necessary. Actually, they laughed it off. I was not pleased at that.
Nothing more was said about it on the intercom.
On Saturday things were almost as crowded in the casino. I decided to play some live poker, thinking that the limit players might be very different, but they were not. They were the same. Most of them are regular locals working to get their 100 hours in for the local bonus. I lost money. I also lost on the VP.
BOWLING
In the early morning. 7AM to maybe 9am they have bowling for a dollar a game. I did not manage it this trip, but what a great deal.
MOVIES
The most popular movies these days give me nightmares. I just missed seeing the French Dispatch, and after that there were animated or rough and tumble movies. Dune was there and attractive because it is so popular, but I knew I would not do well afterwards.
However, other movie tastes would find senior price of $4.
SWIMMING POOL
This pool is large and not designed in a rectangular, but in a series of half circles, each one with good access. The water is shallow. This was perfect for November. The pool is not heated, but by 2:30PM the sun had warmed it enough. Mostly on my first visit it was kids in it; I was the only adult. One day there were just a few Hawaiian kids who never seemed to tire of it.
The same was true on my second visit. Lots of folks left at 2:30 as I arrived. I suspect it is because the sun is just starting to dip behind a part of the building, so sun bathing loses its possibility.
Tucked in the back corner was a grand Jacuzzi, a huge circle with an island of rocks and a palm tree with palm trees and other green trees surrounding the area.
The water was bubbling away and rushing around.
I have never seen a better jacuzzi.
While the rest of the casino was crowded, there was no crowd in the pool or jacuzzi, at least not on Monday or Tuesday afternoon.
It was easy to access from the room elevators. And although I was on the 21st floor, the elevators were very fast and easy, a grand convenience when I left the pool with a wet suit.
In fact, I liked the room layout. Without going to the main casino floor I could go to the spa or pool or up to the movies and bowling center or a less congested spot for playing VP.
I finished up with a tub of oatmeal bath treatment in my room, getting rid of any chlorine and setting up my skin for a healthy feel.
When I don't do this, my skin itches from pools.
GAMBLING
The live limit poker was a bust. Same local folks, even on Saturday afternoon when I expected more tourists in this crowded casino. I just play 3/6 limit, but I've pretty much decided to play NL at my home casino until I get the game down, or perhaps just to quit and stick to the VP. Without some interesting talk from other players, I find the waiting for hands a bit boring.
I miss the days when there was more talk at the casino, and between playable hands I could get stories and learn a bit from strangers and jokes abounded.
I don't find that anymore.
I don't even find it at the Golden Nugget downtown. Some of it may be the masks. It is harder to talk with a mask.
With the VP I seem to have a better ultimate score. And I get to play every, single hand. I was going to play 9/7 Double Bonus, and I did for a while, but actually, unlike 10/7 Double Bonus,the math favors 8/5 Bonus over 9/7 DB, and the Bonus poker strategy is just easier to remember for my old brain.
Also, I really don't like playing 9,7 with less chance of a royal flush, I don't like playing for flushes, I don't like never getting paid extra on two pair, and I hate Holding an Ace and three cards to a wheel straight. Those are emotional reasons to play 8/5 bonus.
I found a great spot off the main floor to play. It is up the escalator in the Bingo and arcade area. It was somewhat quieter, sometimes very quiet. There was a bathroom right there and a ticket redemption machine.
There was not drink service. I guess when the bingo is on, we can duck in for a nonalcoholic drink. I just stuck a can of LaCroix in my pocket and that was enough. I can't drink alcohol, so giving up free drinks is not a sacrifice.
Also, I found a machine I like. I like to be able to play slow. I don't like the cards to come in one speedy rush all at once where I'm paid before I experience the hand I have caught. I like to hold a pair and see the trips come and still have time to experience the anticipation of quads. I don't want the machine to rush my experience of the game.
I also like the noise of the game if it is set at gentle. I like a ding to remind me I have a winning hand. I like the click, click, click of each individual card. There is such a machine in this Bingo area.
As crowded as the casino seemed always to be, I never played with anyone next to me and rarely with anyone in my row of four up in this area.
Distance is a deterrent to COVID and to the flu and to those Vegas colds I always seemed to get until we started keeping away from germs and wearing masks. The fight against COVID is also a fight against the common cold.
I won't say it is dead quiet in this area. There is one slot that hits a million noise hits in a row and can be annoying. There is the occasional walker who just has to shout at unexpected moments, and kids pass because the Arcade is nearby. Cleaners are always noisy. If I were in charge, I'd do an in house workshop on limiting noise when cleaning. Cleaners do not have to shout greetings from down a corridor. They do not have to bang and clang cleaning equipment and wake me from my naps.
Here the Longhorn as the advantage. The room cleaners are very quiet, and I hear very little although Longhorn walls are rather thin.
On a Tuesday morning it seemed the Southpoint time share was parading its intended prey right down in front of that area, so I had to listen to the same pitch over and over and finally I quit.
The Bingo hall was closed for remodeling, and that was explained dozens of times.
However, I can see why they would show potential customers the bingo area, the movie theater, the bowling alley.
So, I guess Tuesday at 10 AM is not good timing.
Still, over the din of the overwhelming cacophony of the casino floor, the area in front of the Bingo Hall is very pleasant in general and at off hours.
Now, if they could just play a little Sinatra in the late after hours like the Fiesta Rancho casino across from Texas Station used to do for a few hours in the morning.
Well, those times seem gone forever.
In dimes I do play 10/7 Double Bonus at Sam's Town when I am staying at the Longhorn. There the small bets offset the volatility. I bring a strategy sheet and look up the hard choices. The math for 10/7 DB is better than 8/5 Bonus.
I did hit Aces a few times and a Royal on the 9/7 Double Bonus at Southpoint.
But it all dwindled away and I left $522 down for the trip.
I wanted to play for straight flushes, and may have played sometimes against the best odds. I got two; one was dealt to me.
Randomness is very strange. This video poker is a grand way to encounter the fundamental arrangement of the universe, to encounter randomness and know it is not chaos, and know that reasonable choices can be made, but that if the end results go against us, we are not to blame.
And to face all that with joy just to be in life.
For me video poker metaphorically replicates how reality is arranged.
I've been more lucky in life than at the VP. Perhaps life offers a bit more power in a good life strategy than my Tomski Strategy maker offers in VP.
GETTING TO THE AIRPORT
A relative took me from the Longhorn to Southpoint, but getting to the airport was supposed to be by free shuttle.
However, the reservations were all taken by the time I checked in. Next time I'll make reservations when I book the room, but actually my flight changed after my booking, so that may not have helped.
There is a shuttle that makes the rounds and it is first come, first serve. Luckily both that shuttle and the Uber pickup are just out the Valet entrance. Just as I arrived, a shuttle pulled in and there was room for everyone. Two women said they had been there ten minutes earlier and found a packed shuttle, but the driver told them another was on its way. That is very helpful.
I also thought that I might have to be dropped at Ground Zero at the Airport where many of the shuttles and buses go, but this one dropped right at Departures. It is about a fifteen minute ride.
And as far out as Southpoint is, the Uber would have been just $20 to the airport. It is less to the strip.
I'll certainly go to Southpoint again. Perhaps I'll get a room offer next year. I'll probably shorten my Long Horn stay and book longer at Southpoint. For old folks it is just a perfect place with more offered than any other casino I know.
The live limit poker was a bust. Same local folks, even on Saturday afternoon when I expected more tourists in this crowded casino. I just play 3/6 limit, but I've pretty much decided to play NL at my home casino until I get the game down, or perhaps just to quit and stick to the VP. Without some interesting talk from other players, I find the waiting for hands a bit boring.
I miss the days when there was more talk at the casino, and between playable hands I could get stories and learn a bit from strangers and jokes abounded.
I don't find that anymore.
I don't even find it at the Golden Nugget downtown. Some of it may be the masks. It is harder to talk with a mask.
With the VP I seem to have a better ultimate score. And I get to play every, single hand. I was going to play 9/7 Double Bonus, and I did for a while, but actually, unlike 10/7 Double Bonus,the math favors 8/5 Bonus over 9/7 DB, and the Bonus poker strategy is just easier to remember for my old brain.
Also, I really don't like playing 9,7 with less chance of a royal flush, I don't like playing for flushes, I don't like never getting paid extra on two pair, and I hate Holding an Ace and three cards to a wheel straight. Those are emotional reasons to play 8/5 bonus.
I found a great spot off the main floor to play. It is up the escalator in the Bingo and arcade area. It was somewhat quieter, sometimes very quiet. There was a bathroom right there and a ticket redemption machine.
There was not drink service. I guess when the bingo is on, we can duck in for a nonalcoholic drink. I just stuck a can of LaCroix in my pocket and that was enough. I can't drink alcohol, so giving up free drinks is not a sacrifice.
Also, I found a machine I like. I like to be able to play slow. I don't like the cards to come in one speedy rush all at once where I'm paid before I experience the hand I have caught. I like to hold a pair and see the trips come and still have time to experience the anticipation of quads. I don't want the machine to rush my experience of the game.
I also like the noise of the game if it is set at gentle. I like a ding to remind me I have a winning hand. I like the click, click, click of each individual card. There is such a machine in this Bingo area.
As crowded as the casino seemed always to be, I never played with anyone next to me and rarely with anyone in my row of four up in this area.
Distance is a deterrent to COVID and to the flu and to those Vegas colds I always seemed to get until we started keeping away from germs and wearing masks. The fight against COVID is also a fight against the common cold.
I won't say it is dead quiet in this area. There is one slot that hits a million noise hits in a row and can be annoying. There is the occasional walker who just has to shout at unexpected moments, and kids pass because the Arcade is nearby. Cleaners are always noisy. If I were in charge, I'd do an in house workshop on limiting noise when cleaning. Cleaners do not have to shout greetings from down a corridor. They do not have to bang and clang cleaning equipment and wake me from my naps.
Here the Longhorn as the advantage. The room cleaners are very quiet, and I hear very little although Longhorn walls are rather thin.
On a Tuesday morning it seemed the Southpoint time share was parading its intended prey right down in front of that area, so I had to listen to the same pitch over and over and finally I quit.
The Bingo hall was closed for remodeling, and that was explained dozens of times.
However, I can see why they would show potential customers the bingo area, the movie theater, the bowling alley.
So, I guess Tuesday at 10 AM is not good timing.
Still, over the din of the overwhelming cacophony of the casino floor, the area in front of the Bingo Hall is very pleasant in general and at off hours.
Now, if they could just play a little Sinatra in the late after hours like the Fiesta Rancho casino across from Texas Station used to do for a few hours in the morning.
Well, those times seem gone forever.
In dimes I do play 10/7 Double Bonus at Sam's Town when I am staying at the Longhorn. There the small bets offset the volatility. I bring a strategy sheet and look up the hard choices. The math for 10/7 DB is better than 8/5 Bonus.
I did hit Aces a few times and a Royal on the 9/7 Double Bonus at Southpoint.
But it all dwindled away and I left $522 down for the trip.
I wanted to play for straight flushes, and may have played sometimes against the best odds. I got two; one was dealt to me.
Randomness is very strange. This video poker is a grand way to encounter the fundamental arrangement of the universe, to encounter randomness and know it is not chaos, and know that reasonable choices can be made, but that if the end results go against us, we are not to blame.
And to face all that with joy just to be in life.
For me video poker metaphorically replicates how reality is arranged.
I've been more lucky in life than at the VP. Perhaps life offers a bit more power in a good life strategy than my Tomski Strategy maker offers in VP.
GETTING TO THE AIRPORT
A relative took me from the Longhorn to Southpoint, but getting to the airport was supposed to be by free shuttle.
However, the reservations were all taken by the time I checked in. Next time I'll make reservations when I book the room, but actually my flight changed after my booking, so that may not have helped.
There is a shuttle that makes the rounds and it is first come, first serve. Luckily both that shuttle and the Uber pickup are just out the Valet entrance. Just as I arrived, a shuttle pulled in and there was room for everyone. Two women said they had been there ten minutes earlier and found a packed shuttle, but the driver told them another was on its way. That is very helpful.
I also thought that I might have to be dropped at Ground Zero at the Airport where many of the shuttles and buses go, but this one dropped right at Departures. It is about a fifteen minute ride.
And as far out as Southpoint is, the Uber would have been just $20 to the airport. It is less to the strip.
I'll certainly go to Southpoint again. Perhaps I'll get a room offer next year. I'll probably shorten my Long Horn stay and book longer at Southpoint. For old folks it is just a perfect place with more offered than any other casino I know.
