ONLINE GAMBLING AND CASINO GUIDE

I went to check out the Grand Opening of the Gold Spike today.

It’s a very “soft” Grand Opening, but it still represents a new age for the GS.

One of the main reasons I went over was because someone tipped me off that the Spike had a limited edition run of only 500 gaming chips, and they were giving them out at the cashier’s cage on a first-come/first-serve basis.

Getting these chips could not possibly have been easier.  Parking at the Gold Spike is incredibly convenient.  The parking lot is literally twenty steps from the casino.  It may very well be the easiest place to “pull up and play” in the entire City of Las Vegas.  It’s free too. None of that validation nonsense.

When I got inside, I quickly walked up to the cage and asked for “All of your limited edition chips, please”.

The Filipino lady behind the counter did not speak English very well, and really didn’t know what I was asking for.  I explained it a few more times, and she eventually understood me.

“Only one limited chip each”, she said.

She meant one chip of each denomination, $1, $5, and $25.

I talked to her a little more, and she eventually agreed to give me slightly more than one each.  I especially made out well on the $1 chips.

Luckily, I prepared for this little “one chip” possibility and brought a small posse with me, who I instructed to wait outside.  After I came out with my chips, each one of them went in to try to do the same thing.

Oddly, they were only able to obtain one chip each.  The lady was inflexible with all of them.  Apparently my winning personality was a hit at the Gold Spike.

Life is full of small victories.

Lest you worry that I am a chip scalper unfairly depriving the collecting community of their treasures, rest assured that you won’t see them on Ebay and you won’t see me trying to sell them for above face value.

I am not a collector.  I get collectable chips to give as gifts and to give to my readers as prizes for various silly contests.  Most of my readers are not able to come to Las Vegas during casino Grand Openings, so I try to collect as much memorabilia as I can so that our online community may have access to them.

Anyway, after I was sure that we had procured all the Limited Edition chips that we could, we went back into the Spike with the intent to play.

For the first time for me, there are gaming tables in the Gold Spike.  They now have two Blackjack Tables and one Roulette Table.  Unfortunately, as you can see by the photos, none of the tables were staffed.

So much for that idea.

So I walked over to the bar and talked to some of the patrons for awhile.

So how is the new Gold Spike?

Well, it is absolutely an improvement over the “old” one.  The place is very clean, they have two security guards constantly roaming the small casino.  The bar is very friendly, clean and modern … and sports a generous number of monitors.

It’s a very intimate casino, and that is its main selling point.

The Gold Spike has been a running joke in Las Vegas for a long time. After the Western, it was arguably the most filthy, rundown casino in town.  Due to its reputation as a hangout for prostitutes and drug addicts, some people simply called it “The Syringe”.  It was dark, foreboding, and frankly … scary.  Especially after the sun went down.

Various groups have vowed to give the hotel a makeover for a long time.  A couple of years ago, someone bought the Spike with the intent to turn it into a $300/night boutique hotel. Instead, the buyer turned around and sold the hotel for a quick profit.

The Spike has had a hard time catching a break … until now.

While the renovations are not complete (a restaurant and other niceties are still under construction), you can already feel the change in atmosphere.

I talked to the security folks and the bartender, and the staff was very friendly, as were the patrons.

It is clean, the machines are new or close to new, and table gaming is a huge step in the right direction.  I can finally see this place becoming a niche’ hotel with a cult following.

Will I play here?

After what I saw today … absolutely.

I am very eager to get my first Blackjack bet down on the table.  Of course, a dealer and a couple decks of cards might help, but at least it’s coming.

With the parking setup, I will be able to practically drive-thru to get my gambling fix.

While it is still kind of empty since it will take some time for word to get out, the Gold Spike has taken a tremendous step in the right direction.  I like what I see so far.

I may go back on Wednesday and see if I can get a few more of those limited edition chips.  I’m thinking of putting on cologne and stuffing a sock in my crotch before going.

If the Filipino cashier liked me yesterday, she’s going to love me tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

• Keep updated through Newsletter or on Facebook

  E-mail:
  

  Subscribe
  Unsubscribe