Photos by Lucy Nicholson
LAUGHLIN, Nevada – There is an name for the kind of gambler that comes to this town in this northern southern tip of the state: “low rollers.”
Las Vegas, some 90 miles to the north, is infinitely more famous,action-packed and expensive. Laughlin is calmer, cheaper and caters to a different crowd, mostly retirees from California or “snowbirds” – a somewhat derogatory term for retirees from northern states who flock here for the winter – who have settled here.
“This ain’t Vegas, Toto,” said John “Mac” McCollum, a realtor over the Colorado River in Bulhead City, Arizona, who refers to the Laughlin crowd as “Q-tips and erasers” (“lots of white hair or none at all,” he explains).
Casinos love high rollers, who spend big and gamble big, looking for a good time, late nights and a lot of fun.
Their more lowly kin are a sedentary bunch on fixed incomes. They drink less, party less, tip less and – most importantly for the gambling industry – they gamble less. They are an interesting bunch to observe, quietly and intently wiling away the hours gambling, often sitting on their own at slot machines.
A few miles away from Laughlin proper is the Avi Resort & Casino, which is owned by the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe. The tribe (and duty manager Jay Johnson, a really pleasant, easygoing man) let Lucy Nicholson wander about to take pictures of the clientele after the security guards had outlined certain restrictions on what she could and could not photograph.
Over the course of an hour Lucy found that the average age of the people she photographed was about 85. Amusing themselves by gambling while they await death in Laughlin, they really didn’t care whether she took their pictures or not.
In the meantime I found myself, purely by accident, at the bar, where the bartender had to shout at his elderly customers to make himself heard, even though we were somewhat removed from the constant cacophony of slot machines and other devices with flashing lights, bells and whistles designed to coax money out of your wallet.
Welcome to the world of the low roller. Vegas it most certainly ain’t, Toto.
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27 comments so far
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Well, if slot machines aren’t rigged…why would anyone care if your a low roller or not playing here or Vegas or anywhere for that matter. The comment 85 and waiting to die is absurd..I’m 58 but the comment should have been keep to them selves….
- Posted by ABI prefer to gamble on the fate of our grandchildren and how The Great 0 will pay them back.
- Posted by Rick A HyattWill the House now renig on us all, I wonder?
Good, to see the look of panic on Nancy Pelosi’s face, as she knows that eventually she’ll either be annointed “Commissar” in the new American Communist Party - Or face a firing squad in the near future, for treason.
I’ll be happy to be on that firing line, should I ever be asked - And don’t give me that blank round, either.
Notice? The security anti-spam question is “Rent.” Like, uh, wow, just what us seniors need to be terrorized about, just now…
Figures..
There’s something tragic about the scene. I live about 5 miles from an Indian Casino in California, and the pictures might as well have been from there. Yes, some of us are waiting to die. Some of us aren’t. It is beyond the imagination of a young person to understand what it really means to be alone with a slot machine and why. Find a mature writer next time.
- Posted by AJ FranksSheesh. I also thought it was a tongue in cheek article about lowballers. The “…waiting to die” crack was pretty cynical. Amateur writer.
- Posted by ThomasinPhoenixSome of the comments are definitely written by “testy” people. I took it as a “tongue in cheek” article. I know that the statement that the average age of people gambling in Laughlin is 85. I will be 75 this month and have been to Laughlin, Vegas, Reno and Tahoe. I love Laughlin as it is never crowded and you can always find a vacant slot machine.
- Posted by Frank P.Oh my Chester - without saying so - you are showing your age! Give me paper-ticket machines anyday. No more germ filled coins, dirty fingers and swiping the money out of a catcher filled with ashes! You’d better stay home and try finding a new attitude.
- Posted by GeriBeen to Laughlin several times and really enjoy it. I’m heading back this winter
- Posted by Le 17