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Rolling the tables is Las Vegas
By John Tipping, PNGA Media
The entertainment capital of the world is working hard to become the
golf capital as well.
With dozens of golf courses in the region from Mesquite and St.
George in the east, through the city and out to Primm and Laughlin in the
west, this is a golfer's paradise.
With so much to see and do in Sin City, I mean Lost Wages, I mean Las
Vegas, you need a simplified game plan, and we offer it from A to Z.
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| American Golf's Badlands Golf Club |
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| Painted Desert Golf Club |
American Golf has courses all over the world and Las Vegas is no
exception. The great thing about American Golf is your membership gets you
certain playing privileges at all of its properties, and that includes
discounted green fees and preferential tee times.
The American Golf offerings in Las Vegas vary a great deal. Badlands
Golf Club, northwest of town, boasts 27 holes and is the epitome of a target
desert course.
Las Vegas National takes you back in time. Built in 1961, LVN was the
home away from home for the Rat Pack. To honor their association, pictures
of Sinatra, Martin and others hang on the clubhouse walls and you really can
imagine them there. The course is just minutes from the strip and it will
make you forget you're in the desert at all as palm trees and grass create
an oasis.
Other courses include the challenging target golf at Painted Desert Golf
Club, designed by award-winning architect Jay Morrish; Desert Rose, an
alternative to the higher green fees of Las Vegas; and the executive-length
Las Vegas Golf Club located within 15 minutes of Las Vegas Boulevard.
For more information on American Golf and what membership benefits are
available, log on to www.americangolf.com.
Ever wonder why Blackjack is so popular with the masses? Statistically
speaking, blackjack has some of the best odds in any casino.
The CasaBlanca
Hotel, Casino, Golf & Spa (the name really says it all)
is located barely an hour north of Vegas just off Interstate 15, and is an
oasis for golfers, gamblers and those who love them. The Golf Club is an
18-hole, 7,011-yard course designed by Cal Olson. While the course might
appear to be tame as it rolls like the Virgin River, peacefully across the
landscape, water comes into play on 13 of the holes and puts a premium on
shot-making.
The Casino is large by Northwest standards, but compared to the mammoth
gambling centers in Vegas, it seems quaint and just the right size. Plenty
of tables, plenty of slots, plenty of everything you want.
And take it from someone who knows first hand about the spa
(www.casablancaresort.com), this is the perfect end to any day in Mesquite.
Double Down, Dealer, Dice, Draw, Dollars are just a few of the gambling
terms to come in handy.
Entertainment, from Cirque du Soleil to Celine Dion, from local legend
Clint Holmes to the outrageous Penn & Teller, it's always showtime in Vegas.
Frank, as in Frankie Blue Eyes. You know, Sinatra. Need I say more?
Gems glisten all over Vegas, and one of the golf gems is Silverstone
Golf Club, which presents an enticing opportunity to play an intriguing new
design by Robert Cupp and enjoy Meadowbrook Golf's Sterling Commitment to
Customer Service that guarantees a five-star golfing experience. Silverstone
was developed to set new standards in course conditioning with the best
tees, fairways and greens in Las Vegas.
Located just minutes from the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, Silverstone
Golf Club (www.silverstonegolfclub.com) offers all skill levels a winning
hand with 27 holes. The three nine-hole layouts are the Desert, Valley and
Mountain nines. The Mountain course's third hole is a 653-yard par-5, the
longest hole in Nevada. The club also is home to Nevada's only Golf Digest
School.
The craze that is Texas Hold
'em poker has swept me right up. From
watching on television to playing online (not real money games), this seems
to be the biggest craze since PacMan.
"I wish
I were in Vegas right now." This thought creeps in with every
chore I do around the house, which my wife will attest are few. Not the
thoughts, the chores.
Jackpot!
We have Arnold Palmer in the golf world, but in Vegas, Elvis is still
the King.
The Lights are bright on the Vegas strip, but my favorite lights in the
city are at Angel Park's lighted par-3 course, The Cloud Nine. This is a
great little track. It opened in 1993 and these holes can be a test in the
daylight, but at night it is a "Hole new experience." There also is a
lighted, real grass putting course and driving range. So if you need a
challenge after dinner, check out the Cloud Nine at Angel Park
(www.angelpark.com).
McCarron International Airport, with daily arrivals and departures of
every gambler's dreams.
There's plenty of Nightlife year-round for golfers and non-golfers
alike.
Odds, Overlay, Off the board, more gambling terms to know ... or not.
Located 30 minutes Northwest of Las Vegas on U.S. Highway 95, three
magnificent Pete Dye courses wait at the Paiute
Golf Resort. Snow Mountain,
Sun Mountain and the Wolf (my personal favorite) are cut beautifully into
the natural landscape and take much of the rolling hillside below the Spring
Mountains and put them in play. Unlike many Dye courses, these courses have
the resort golfer in mind. You'll find more gently rolling fairways, a clear
vision of how the course should be played. In short, more fun.
With all this, Pete Dye still incorporated the weather. Like golf in
Scotland or even the Oregon coast, wind can play a major role in how these
courses are played. The 15th at Wolf, for example, is a seemingly tame
island-green hole. I used a 3-wood from the blues (162 yards) as it was dead
into the teeth of a late afternoon gust. (By the way, the earlier your tee
time the better…wind is generally up later in the day.)
Paiute makes for a peaceful, almost isolated day. And I would make it a
day. Play 36 while you're here.
Quads. Great in poker, lousy in golf.
Value and quality don't always match up, but with the Red
Rock Golf Trail in St. George, you will find a little slice of golfer's paradise.
There are blue skies, a very pleasant year-round climate, and all just 90
miles from Las Vegas. And after you pass through one of the most picturesque
valleys, you will find a group of courses now known as the Red Rock
Golf Trail. If you have ever made the trip, it's easy to understand the
name.
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| St. George's Entrada at Snow Canyon |
Entrada at Snow Canyon, Coral Canyon, Sunbrook, Dixie Red Hills, Sky
Mountain, Southgate, St. George Golf Course and Sun River make up the trail.
These courses are as varied as you could find under one banner, but each has
its own unique and challenging design. The cost to stay and play here is far
below that of Las Vegas, and Entrada and Coral Canyon can stand up to
anything.
Slots, Side pot, Sucker bet.
Three of a kind, Token, Trey, Trips, Tapped out!
Underlay (A bad bet).
Viva Las Vegas. Who can forget Elvis and Ann-Margaret in early 1960s Las
Vegas? Great anthem for the town, too.
In 2003, the World
Series of Poker, the highest stakes game on the
planet, was won by a guy name Chris Moneymaker. No joke!
X-Rated. What happens in Vegas (according to the Las Vegas Visitors &
Convention bureau advertising campaign) stays in Vegas.
From Yakima to Yachats, Yarrow to Yellow Pine, You know you want to
visit.
Zero & Double Zero (Paying 35-1 on the roulette wheel). Hopefully it's
not what you are left with when you leave the casino.
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