John R. Bayer
In an article written in May 2022 by Bill McMillen, Laughlin Advisory Board member Harm Laughlin, Nevada, and Bullhead City, Arizona, on an issue that seems to be plaguing many people. It refers to Walker’s statement.
These board members are nasty bureaucrats responsible for many things involved in making the municipality efficient. It wasn’t meant to be ironic.
I don’t know what it is, but we hold meetings, we take notes, we listen to citizens, we say “huh-huh” a lot, and a lot of run-of-the-mill speeches about how things are run. They must be important, because some people do. jurisdiction.
That’s enough for that point.
Walker’s statement referred to towering, unfinished cement structures that have dominated Laughlin’s skyline for years.
He said the structure has been dubbed affectionately by local residents who have lived in its shadow for more than 30 years, with derogatory nicknames such as “an eyesore”, “birdcage” and “skeleton”. explained.
Now, a few times in my life I’ve dressed up as a skeleton for Halloween and enjoyed watching the Robin Williams movie The Birdcage, but I’ve been told I’m not only an eyesore when I wake up in the morning, but worse. So I wondered what McMillen was saying.
In fact, I knew exactly what it was. Just wanted to add a few words here to please the editors.
Editor – Nope.
Eric is great, but for me there are a few points.
Anyone who has visited the Laughlin or Bullhead City areas has seen the massive multi-story unfinished structure on the west side of the Colorado River just southwest of Laughlin.
Otherwise you should not drive a car or watercraft as the building is so huge.
It refers to my beautiful wife, Laurene, and the kids, but we’ve been seeing this town for years as both are our favorite towns during boating season.
“Daddy,” asked one of the daughters. “Why isn’t that building completed?”
“This is a new style of architecture,” I replied, rowing a boat along the river, looking up at empty floors, rebar and gray concrete staring at us.
“It’s an open floor plan, but be careful when you step out onto the balcony.”
Laurene rolled her eyes at my comment and the boater stopped halfway down the river. Her rolling eyes are so annoying.
The Washington Times, an American newspaper, has never heard of such boasting, but said that the Emerald River Resort was “planned during Laughlin’s dizzying period of growth.” Emerald River was supposed to be Nevada’s most expensive casino resort at the time, with four hotels, a golf course and a million-square-foot shopping mall.
I had a house in my hometown, so when I read the last sentence, my body trembled. Laurene and her daughters were dumped in her million square foot shopping her mall – horrifying!
According to the paper, the total cost in 1988, when construction began, would be about $800 million, well over $1 billion in today’s dollars.
In that particular area there will only be the Musk family, the Zuckerberg family, a few friends of mine who said they made money legally from Latin America, and maybe a Nigerian prince or two.
Bruce, a local resident and business owner, said: Emerald River he resort would have been great. ”
Yes it would have been. The 800-acre property on the Colorado River rivaled Las Vegas with three independent hotels, conferences and event centers.
Sure, Las Vegas has all the secrets to keep, but in Laughlin, tell your friends you had a great time at the Emerald River Resort.
“Imagine, over 1,000 feet of riverfront property, where boats are launched, moored, and people roam,” Bruce said. “It would have been great, not to mention the great golf course they built there.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked. I could have done more research, but I was tired.
“It was the late 80s and owners were trying to finance the entire project through bonds and other financing instruments.”
According to an article written by Eli Segal in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2106, John Milby announced plans for an $800 million resort in Laughlin. He used so-called junk bonds, or high-interest loans, to finance his development. However, when the junk bond market collapsed around 1990, the project was doomed to bankruptcy shortly after its inception.
I wasn’t sure what this meant, so I contacted my CPA, but the director of San Quentin told me that Joe was exercising in the garden at the time and couldn’t answer the phone.
“I remember golfers all over the world playing golf,” said Bruce. “The hotel was in trouble, but the course was open, and there was even a golf cart tunnel under Casino Drive. You can still see it there.”
TRUE?
We took a cruise along Casino Drive from Needles Highway to downtown Laughlin. Of course, a huge abandoned building was looming in front of me, but this time I looked at it differently.
Before, my family and I had headed to the river and enjoyed some sun, but this time it was different. i was alone
An oasis that was once a powerful dream, an epic experiment along the course of the cold blue rivers, admiring the desert landscape towards the tourist’s alluring destination, gave me a different feeling than ever before. .
I was paying attention.
When traveling, there are places where people gather and talk. And there are places where there is no one to talk to.
It’s good. Both work for me, but as I parked on the dusty dirt side of Casino Drive and stared at the carefully laid out image of his golf cart path, I wished I had it. rice field.
Cement trails ran here and there over acres of desert. Large electrical boxes were scattered throughout the golf course and could power from here to there.
This was once a fully functioning golf course.
A golfer in a cart at the Emerald River Resort might be able to look out over the ground, stop, find his ball, and possibly scoop an inch or two from the first person to hit a good stroke.
“Joe,” the golfer might have said. “Hey, if a putt is good, it’s a birdie.”
As temperatures along the river began to soar above 100 degrees, a woman might have asked, “When will the beer carts come back again?”
Of course, I didn’t hear any of that. There was an almost supernatural silence.
Camera in hand, I walked along the long-abandoned golf cart, snapping photos here and there. It was eerie, but fulfilling at the time. This golf course actually operated for several years, but fell into the same financial sewer as the Emerald River Resort.
It has been said that real estate is difficult. Laurene and I have invested in real estate for many years.
“We are millionaires!” I would scream.
“Have you seen the stock market today?” Laurene will answer.
“Which one would you sell?” I would ask.
I wandered around the abandoned grounds of this Emerald River Resort. Even though there was a no trespassing sign, I was not molested.
I am a professional with a press pass.
But as you walk down what would have been the main walkway to the lobby, bar and beach, you can’t pretend to hear voices echoing through the ironwood trees that line the perimeter of your dream resort. bottom.
I am very hopeful. I have many dreams.
what if? What happens then? what – – –
This is what traveling off-road brings to the adventurer. Places like the Emerald River Resort.
Probably not much to see. An unfinished concrete floor level overlooking the beautifully clear waters of the Colorado River. But again, there’s more to it than a person’s ambitions and dreams.
And we all have them.
John can be reached at beyersbyways@gmial.com.
