While on our way back from Hoover Dam, Jay steered us toward what he called a "locals" casino, the Hacienda. The Hacienda is definitely off the beaten path if you are in Las Vegas, but it is about 10 minutes from Hoover Dam. If you like history, this is yet another place to visit, but only if you are into gambling. The Hacienda has the lowest limits I've ever seen in a casino, with $3 a hand Blackjack, and $1 craps. The video poker was all full pay, but the place was pretty deserted except for what were clearly the "old regulars". Wheelchairs, canes, and walkers abounded and we were clearly the youngest people in the place by a margin of 10 or more years (with James Geiger being the youngest person to walk through the door in an age I bet).
We sidled up to the craps table, where an aged yet clearly experienced dealer was solo manning the craps table...which was blocked off to half a table due to the complete absence of anyone else playing. He had that "seen it all before" thousand yard stare and eyed us like we were in there to pull some sort of scam. Still, he was personable enough and was happy to take our money. Another older gentleman joined us as we began our run of the dice. "Making a fortune at the Hacienda, eh?" He quipped. The game was small, but it was fun, and when you can lose $2 and play for an hour, it's kind of awesome.
Having our fill of craps, we dropped our asses at the nearest blackjack table, manned by a seasoned veteran dealer. She gave us a tired, but reasonably friendly smile and we sat down to bet. The play continued through the shoe, and while she was shuffling she clearly felt comfortable with us, as she told some incredibly off color jokes. I was flabbergasted and just laughed slightly uncomfortably, because the jokes were funny, but really played into not good stereotypes. Still, she could shuffle cards perfectly with one riffle, leaving them perfectly interleaved. It was hypnotic to watch and frankly, I want to be as good at shuffling cards someday. After I lost a little bit of money, I decided to look for some video poker. At first I thought it wasn't very good, so I ended up playing nickel slots for about 20 minutes, while James was off playing some slot machine and winning $5 or so. As we were leaving, Jay informed me of my error in reading the paytables, so I missed out on some fine video poker. I got to get my souvenier chip from there, and we headed back to the Strip. Overall, I give the place 1.5 smiley faces on a scale of 5 frowny faces to 5 smiley faces. I enjoyed the low limits and the skill of the dealers, but the atmosphere was worn and a little depressing, and it was way out of the way. I'd go back, but only if I were going somewhere else along the way.
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