Burt grills Matt, Dan, and their guest Phil on the crummiest, dirtiest, smelliest, and most fun casinos they ever wandered into or escaped from. A philosophical discussion breaks out about what makes a casino a shithole, the difference between good and bad shitholes, and why the dumps can be more fun. Stick around and learn where you can go today to have your clothes indelibly marked with stench of tobacco, bodo odor, and failure.
A Postcard circa 1980s from the Peppermill Casino, famous for its dollar blackjack, “Super Sandwiches” and for being a place of liberal fun! (Peppermill Casinos, Inc., University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries. Special Collections and Archives. 1984-2007)
The Peppermill Casino’s Famous 25-Cent strawberry dacquiri. And it tasted like every damn cent of it, but not the two cents tax that brought the total price to $0.27. (Peppermill Casinos, Inc., University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries, Special Collections and Archives. 1984-2007)
The welcoming exterior to Little Caesars which lived in a strip mall where Paris now resides. It offered jackpots and souvenirs in equal amounts. Twenty-five cent craps insured there would be plenty of rat biscuits.
Stevie Fine Print girds himself before entering the sinister Western Hotel and Casino to play some dollar craps and drink sambuca.
After a long night of cheap blackjack, Mark and Phil somehow sneaked onto the rooftop of the Gold Spike to compensate for their losses that ran into the twos and threes of dollars.
Slots-a-Fun a couple decades back when the “Fun” part wasn’t a lie. Crowded and noisy. Cheap beer, free popcorn, a fair deal at the tables.Cheap craps could be played right on the edge of the Strip, with the giant casino opening at your back
In modern times, sometime in the 2020s, Slots-a-fun has ditched table games, the free popcorn, the bar, and any semblance of fun. It feels as though its owners have forgotten it even exists. Note across the top where a string of bulbs are all burnt out except a single lonely one that hangs in there. Note that as of 2024, Slots-a-Fun is undergoing a bit of a renaissance with some new life and fewer pallets stacked up on the casino floor.
Lounge king Cook E Jarr serenades Amy at the Casino Royale while Phil and Mark try to horn in on the tender moment.
Matt and Mark get funky with Lady Denim and Miss Middle Management at one of Cook E Jarr’s party-like shows.
The blood red exterior to the Poker Palace casino. Abandon all hope for clean air all ye who enter. The dollar blackjack now costs a little more than that, assuming anyone showed up to deal it.
Third base was played at the blackjack table by a bucket on this stormy night at the Poker Palace in North Las Vegas. The bucket tipped well.
The derelict steam trays in the Klondike Sunset’s coffee shop from the 2010s. Out in Henderson, the Klondike Sunset was a casino we ventured to because it looked abandoned from the outside. In reality, it existed somewhere between open and closed and was staffed by the living dead. It has since cleaned up but is no more lively. Now it’s just a generic neighborhood slot casino
When he was alive, El Cortez owner Jackie Gaughan invited people into his home. It literally was. He lived on the 15th floor, and the casino was his basement. We actually stayed in a plain old room on the same floor as his suite once. Note the reflection of Mark practicing his golf swing.
