Thank you for the explanation. I thought “grind joints” meant places where you get off-the-books lap dances or something…
My greatest problem with La Bayou going away is that their daiquiris with the “awful liquor” were also awfully good deals for refills. My wife and I (and some siblings) kept and reused our same elongated cups for over six years! It had become a family tradition for us.
Those also-ran daiquiri stands out in front of the D and the Golden Gate (horrible location by the way, unless you enjoy screaming your order at the girl, a foot away from your face), do not offer 50% off on refills. And they very well may use better liquor but they don’t seem to use a whole lot it. I know I can get an extra shot but I’m already paying 24-26 bucks for basically a Slurpee. So I’d be better off spiking it with my own stuff.
We make quarterly trips to Vegas. It’s just very disappointing for us to have a tradition pulled out from under us. You may laugh, but La Bayou was one of the staples that kept us off of the strip. You just cannot get daiquiris like La Bayou’s, anywhere that I know of…
I mean all of this with all due respect. I understand with progress always comes the people who hate change. This is one bit of change that is going to be tougher for me to swallow is all…
Good day sir.
]]>Well, the “grind joint” label usually gets applied when a casino offers little else but slots (often tight ones) in the way of amenities. La Bayou did serve great daiquiris, but the liquor quality was awful. Often, “grind joint” refers to a small, locals-oriented casino, without the negative connotation.
]]>Thank you Dora. That would be so awesome.
]]>Randall, I’m sure I have some shots, let me go through my albums and see what I have. I’ll get back to you.
]]>Lots of commenters here saying, “lousy drinks”. Well my question is, compared to what? As I posted earlier in a different thread, if you are daiquiri person, La Bayou was the absolute BEST. There is just no comparison. Those outdoor daiquiri stations are overpriced, water-down junk. La Bayou and Mermaids did these drinks the right way. They were always flavorful, had plenty of alcohol, and refills were half price. Nobody else does that.
So exactly which drinks are you guys talking about? Let’s compare apples to apples here please.
]]>Family-friendly? You mean the old guy in the diaper and cupid outfit? Or the topless, skinny cowgirl with only her nipples covered? I’m sorry but throwing in a Sponge Bob here and a Minnie Mouse there, doesn’t mean it is family-friendly.
]]>Dora, my wife and I love the Vegas club. We have been making quarterly visits to Vegas ever since getting married (we spent our honeymoon there). We were devastated last year when we went to make our “rounds” on Fremont and saw that the LVC doors were closed!
And now this year we were blindsided yet AGAIN, this time with the closing of Mermaids and La Bayou. We didn’t care about the deep-fried desserts or hot dogs. We loved the daiquiris.
Those second-rate outdoor daiquiri stations, in front of The D and the Golden Gate, are just not going to cut it for us. For one, it’s just too damn loud to place an order. Who’s bright idea was it to put a bar a mere 15 or 20 feet away from a stage?!
But also, the quality of the daiquiri mixtures compared to Mermaids and La Bayou are simply inferior (especially the strawberry mixture). There is very little alcohol in them and they only give you two dollars off on refills. Paying 17 bucks for a Slurpee that we need to lace with our own alcohol, is not what we call a reasonable alternative.
But anyway, getting back to the LVC, Dora if you have any interior photos of the Vegas Club, or if you know where I can find some, those would be like gold to me and my wife.
Thank you for reading. Take care.
]]>I’m not sure closure and putting it’s dedicated long term employees on the street as a great step forward…but hey, whatever is best for the casinos, not the people who work to make them special.
]]>Thanks so much for your thoughts, Dora! You’re so right about the evolution (de-evolution) of Las Vegas Club. It suffered from neglect, and the closure is a great step forward. Think you’ll be surprised with what’s in store. A fitting legacy.
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