Laughlin casino strip from the Arizona bank at dusk, lights reflecting on the Colorado River

Laughlin · Nevada · On the Colorado River

Nine Casinos.
One Riverfront Street.

Ninety miles south of Las Vegas, and nothing like it

A man named Don Laughlin bought a failed bait shop on an empty bend of the Colorado River in 1964 and opened a casino two years later. The Post Office named the town after him. Sixty years on there are nine casinos here, strung along one street you can walk end to end, with boats running between them and rooms that cost a fraction of the Strip. It is not Las Vegas and it isn't trying to be — it's a river town that happens to run on gaming, and the river is the reason to come.

Part of the Vantage Corridor Casino Network — thenetwork.casino

Desert highway at golden hour near the Colorado River

Don Laughlin, 1931–2023

He bought a bait shop and got a town named after him

Don Laughlin was running slot routes in Las Vegas when he flew over a bend in the Colorado River in 1964 and saw a boarded-up bait shop with an eight-room motel attached. He bought it. On August 2, 1966 he opened the Riverside — a small casino serving construction workers and fishermen, at a spot with no town, no highway to speak of and almost no people.

When the settlement needed a post office, he suggested Riverside or Casino. A postal official looked at the paperwork and named it Laughlin instead.

He stayed. He built the bridge across to Bullhead City with his own money when Arizona and Nevada wouldn't. He kept the Riverside independent while every other property on the street changed hands two or three times. And he died on October 22, 2023, aged 92, in the hotel he opened — having lived on the property for 57 years.

Why this matters when you visit. Don Laughlin's Riverside Resort is still owned and run by his family, which makes it the only major independent on the street. Every other property here answers to Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Landry's or a tribal government. If you want to understand how this town happened, start there — the classic car collection upstairs is his, and it's free.

Casino towers along the Colorado River, shot from a boat on the water

Every Casino in Laughlin

Eight hotel-casinos on the river, plus Regency in town and Avi to the south

Aquarius Casino Resort

Golden Entertainment

The largest in Laughlin — 1,906 rooms and suites and a 57,000-square-foot floor, with its own stretch of Riverwalk. If you want the biggest property and the most rooms, this is it.

Tropicana Laughlin

Caesars Entertainment

A 24-story tower with 1,450 rooms, five restaurants and two bars, and river views from most of the upper floors. Caesars Rewards.

Harrah's Laughlin

Caesars Entertainment

The other Caesars property, at the south end of the strip with its own beach on the Colorado. Caesars Rewards, and the best river frontage of any hotel here.

Don Laughlin's Riverside Resort

Laughlin family

Where the town started, opened August 2, 1966, and still independently owned. Don's Celebrity Theatre, a classic car collection, and the last property on the street that isn't run by a corporation.

Golden Nugget Laughlin

Landry's

700+ slots plus blackjack, craps and Three Card Poker. The Golden Nugget name and a smaller, easier floor than the towers around it.

Edgewater Casino Resort

Golden Entertainment

Founded in 1966, the same year as the Riverside, and open around the clock. Sits directly next to the Aquarius under the same ownership.

Laughlin River Lodge

Independent

A smaller riverfront hotel-casino at the north end of the strip.

The New Pioneer Hotel and Casino

Independent

The Western-themed property in the middle of the strip, with the neon cowboy out front that shows up in most photographs of Laughlin.

Two more, off the strip:

Regency Casino

The third-oldest casino in Laughlin. Small, no hotel, and a locals' room rather than a resort floor.

Avi Resort & Casino

About ten minutes south, owned and operated by the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe. Nevada has very few tribal casinos and this is one of them — a full resort with a beach on the Colorado.

⚠️ The Colorado Belle is closed. It shut on March 17, 2020 during the pandemic and Golden Entertainment announced that May that it would stay closed indefinitely. It is the only Laughlin property that never reopened. Its website is still live, which sends people to a dark building on a regular basis. Do not plan around it.

Caesars Rewards in Laughlin

Two Caesars properties on the river — and Laughlin rates are among the cheapest in the network.

Harrah's Laughlin

South end of the strip with a private beach on the Colorado — the best river frontage of any hotel in town

Tropicana Laughlin

A 24-story tower, 1,450 rooms, five restaurants, river views from the upper floors

Tier credits earned in Laughlin carry across the whole Caesars network — Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New Orleans and the rest. Because room rates here run well below the Strip, Laughlin is one of the least expensive ways in the country to hold or build Caesars status. Players who understand that come here on purpose.

BestInLaughlin.Casino earns a commission if you book through these links, at no additional cost to you. We are not affiliated with Caesars Entertainment.

Riverwalk path at night along the Colorado River with neon reflecting on the water

You Can Walk It — or Take a Boat

The thing Laughlin has that no other casino town does

The casinos sit in a line along Casino Drive with the Colorado River behind them, and a paved Riverwalk runs along the water connecting most of them. You can walk the strip end to end. In summer that is a serious undertaking in Mojave heat, which is why the other option exists: water taxis run between the casino docks on the river itself. It costs a few dollars, it takes minutes, and it is genuinely the most pleasant way to move between properties anywhere in American gaming.

The Riverwalk

Paved, lit at night, and running along the water behind the resorts. The stretch between the Aquarius and the Edgewater is the busiest; the walk toward Harrah's at the south end is the quietest.

Water taxis

Small boats shuttling between casino docks. Schedules and operators change seasonally — ask at your hotel's dock rather than planning a tight connection around one.

Across the river

Bullhead City, Arizona sits directly opposite, connected by the Laughlin Bridge that Don Laughlin paid to build. The airport is over there, and so is most of the area's everyday retail.

⏰ The time can change when you cross the bridge. Nevada observes daylight saving time and Arizona does not. From roughly November to March, Bullhead City is an hour ahead of Laughlin. In summer they match. This catches people out constantly, and it matters because the airport is on the Arizona side — check which state your departure time refers to.

Desert two-lane highway through the Mojave

Getting to Laughlin

Ninety miles from Las Vegas, and worth the drive

By car

  • Las Vegas — roughly 90 miles, about an hour and a half, south on US-95 then east on NV-163
  • Phoenix — about three and a half hours southeast
  • Los Angeles — about five hours west
  • The drive down from Vegas crosses open Mojave desert. Fuel up in Searchlight or Boulder City rather than assuming.

By air

  • Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport (IFP) is across the river in Bullhead City, Arizona — minutes from the strip but in a different state and, in winter, a different time zone
  • Harry Reid International in Las Vegas (LAS) is the larger option, ninety minutes north by car
  • Several Laughlin resorts have historically run charter programs from Midwest and Northwest cities — ask the property directly, these come and go

Nevada gaming rules

  • Minimum age is 21 for casino gaming and sports betting
  • Regulated by the Nevada Gaming Control Board
  • Nevada has full mobile sports betting, but registration must be completed in person at a licensed sportsbook before you can bet from a phone
  • Nevada does not permit online casino gaming outside of licensed operators' in-state platforms
  • Nevada does have tribal gaming, though very little of it — Avi Resort & Casino, run by the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe just south of Laughlin, is one of the few

What to expect

  • Room rates run well below Las Vegas, particularly midweek
  • The crowd skews older than the Strip and the pace is slower
  • Table minimums are generally lower than Las Vegas
  • Summer heat is severe — Laughlin regularly ranks among the hottest places in the United States. Plan the Riverwalk for evening.

More in the Network

Play Responsibly in Nevada

Free, confidential help is available around the clock. Nevada offers statewide voluntary self-exclusion covering every licensed property.

Problem Gambling Helpline

1-800-522-4700

24 hours a day, 7 days a week — free and confidential

nevadacouncil.org

  • Nevada Council on Problem Gambling — nevadacouncil.org
  • Nevada Gaming Control Board — gaming.nv.gov
  • Voluntary self-exclusion is available statewide

You must be 21 or older to gamble in Nevada. BestInLaughlin.Casino is an independent guide and is not affiliated with Caesars Entertainment, Golden Entertainment, the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, or any casino property. Room counts, boat schedules, charter programs and drive times are approximate and subject to change — verify with the property before you travel.