We were Golden

We spent time in the old part of glitzy Las Vegas. With the Stardust demolished to dust, where were we going to eat to be totally "old school" Las Vegas? Well, we found the Golden Nugget, one of the oldies but goodies. When I was about to walk into the place, I was expecting to see the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino decorated in the era of the Rat Pack, but with 50 years of wear. I was expecting a worn-out ratty carpet, buzzing fluorescent lights, old worn out felt on the gaming tables, many broken slot machines, cigarette burn marks on everything, and leathery faced employees who have seen better days.

To my surprise, I found a modern, clean, and exciting hotel and casino that would appeal to most anyone who was looking for a Las Vegas vacation. The Golden Nugget was not completely over the top and expansive like the modern lower strip hotels and casinos, but it was large enough to have a little for everyone. We ate at the Golden Nugget buffet and had a view of the pool.

One option at the buffet was roast beast.

On the other side of the room was the dessert counter.

I opted for some of the roast beast, green beans and sushi. There was a sushi guy rolling some sushi, but 1/2 way through my roll, I asked him for just salmon sashimi. He looked at me, a bit annoyed, and then plopped a few slices of salmon on my plate.

Because this was my 2nd buffet outing, I really had to step back from the dessert table and pick wisely. I opted for fruit and jell-o. The berries and jell-o were good. The papaya was not as ripe as I would hoped.

Well, I and my dinner mates pigged out again, so we had to walk it off. To my surprise, we made to down to the pool area. It was really cool! It is a small pool, in Las Vegas terms, and it is located in the center courtyard of the Golden Nugget. There are pool chairs in the shallow part of the pool, so sunbathers can stay cool in the water, but be above water for sipping on a tropical drink. The coolest part of the pool is the giant aquarium in the middle of it. I think that the water slide goes right through the aquarium, for fishy fun.

I really liked going to the Golden Nugget because it is still standing as one of the original and famous casinos in Las Vegas. I like the history of the place back to the days of when gambling, booze and alcohol were "racy". It has not torn-down and mega-rebuild like so many others, rather it has updated the insides. It is like updating the counter tops in your kitchen without changing the structure of the kitchen. I keep hoping that the Golden Nugget continues on holding down the tradition of the old Las Vegas Strip!


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