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| - Back in the early 90s I was a regular at this place and its sister property, the Opera House Casino just a little further up the strip.
The Opera House was my favorite of the two properties. It was super small. But what it lacked in size, it made up for in filth, grime and smoke. It was the casino from hell: the dirtiest, most disgusting low-life casino in Las Vegas and, God help me, I loved it.
There were maybe 100 slot machines, tops, and only 2 or 3 blackjack tables. I never saw more than one blackjack table operating at a time. The felt on the tables was so stained you could just barely discern it had once been green.
For years the websites of both casinos had a button you could click to become an "email friend." If you signed up they gave you $20 worth of promo chips when you visited the casino. It probably was intended to be one-time offer, but the website designer messed up. You could sign up as often as you wanted.
I signed up before every visit, and got $20 worth of free gambling action from both casinos each time. At the Opera House they made you gamble the chips. At the Silver Nugget they let me take them to the cage and collect a $20 bill.
One afternoon at the Opera House I ran into a blatantly corrupt blackjack dealer. He must have been pissed off at the house because he was paying off losing hands. I hit on a 16 and drew a ten. He paid me. I was like, uh, what just happened? Then a few hands later, he did it again. I was betting the minimum, $2 a hand. I busted, he paid me $2. So, I think, hmmm, maybe I should tip this guy. He didn't pay all my losing hands, but often enough to keep me going and keep his tips coming in. By the time I finished playing out my $20 worth of promo chips I was up $30, even after toking the crooked dealer.
This visit, I was already staying in North Las Vegas, so I decided to visit my old haunts. I drove up the Strip, past Jerry's Nugget. Past this place, the Silver Nugget. Just a little further to the Opera House.
But it ain't there. They tore the son of a bitch down! There is no more Opera House. Nooooooo! Not the Opera House!
So, I backtrack to the Silver Nugget. I pull in to the parking lot and do a search to find out what the hell happened. I find nothing. So, I search the Silver Nugget site to see if it has any information. Immediately its obvious the casino is under different management. This isn't Mahoney's anymore.
I check the Yelp reviews for the place and I read the stories about the rampant bed bugs and other problems plaguing the place. Well, whatever, I'll pop in and size the place up myself.
As I climb out of the car I'm aware of a loud and intense argument going on about fifty yards away. F-bombs are raining down and the storm is moving to my left. I bear right and skirt the edge of the system and make my way into the casino.
Inside is almost as crazy as outside. There are nearly as many security people as patrons. Good thing, too, because they had their hands full. I saw three separate heated arguments inside.
I spotted a machine I like to play. It's called Hexbreaker. It has a Black Cat theme. Minimum bet is 13 cents. It's tag line is "Change Your Luck." I put in $7.
A couple spins later I'm up a couple bucks. Right as I was pressing the button to cash out, a hooker comes and sits next to me. For some reason, I am like candy to them. She wasn't the least bit subtle. In one quick motion I stood up, pulled the ticket for a cool $9.32 out of the machine and turned to walk away. As I stood up I noticed her pimp a few yards away sizing me up.
OK, Silver Nugget, that's it for me. I spot a ticket changer and cash in.
For me, the Silver Nugget is beyond the Pale. Why bother with this noise when Jerry's Nugget is so close by?
Mikey C says: come for the drama, stay for the bed bugs.
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