Monthly Archives: November 2024

DJ VENUS MCKAY IS BAAACK!

DJ Venus McKay  is baaaaack and here’s what she has to say…HOW ARE YOU DOING?

VM: Pretty good ! Thank you ! 

IS VENUS YOUR REAL NAME ?

VM: VENUS MCKAY or VENUS FLYTRAP  is my Dj name . My real name is JOANA , I only used that one in school but in Europe I’m very well known as MONIKA KAY , especially in Madrid , Ibiza and London .

 TELL US ABOUT THE DJ WORLD?

VM: The Dj world it’s a bloody mess !! Haha it’s funny to see different shades of it on different sides of the world. It’s a big game in Ibiza where I’m from. There are many famous DJs who cut million dollar contracts and on the other hand there are many venues that barely wanna pay a few hundred bucks or nothing , and LA it’s one of them . I can’t believe how little they pay for the Djs in this town .In all fairness they are also many Djs who play for free just for the sake of being a DJ for a day , it’s not their main job but what they don’t realise it’s that they ruin it for the ones who are. Now what’s true is that this job has become so low paid that many Djs don’t have an option but to get another job to survive , sadly you can’t make a living only by DJing anymore , it’s tough. However on both sides there are way too many DJ’s that don’t belong and take advantage of the evolution of the technology which made it very easy to be a DJ. The mixers are so advanced that they can easily DJ alone  and that’s exactly why so many DJ’s relate themselves with the music industry without being musicians, which makes me vomit every time I see that and unfortunately it’s like 80% of the time . Everybody wants to be a DJ but nobody ever made a song . It’s too easy to be a DJ , and exactly the bad ones are hired and venerated when they even didn’t bother to make a good playlist in the genera they playing, it’s ridiculous, but than a again seems like people who listen have such a low musical education that don’t even notice the bad selection they being offered. Some do but not many .  Every time I walk into a club I think , I can do so much better, or “I played this song 5 years ago, what else?  “Every single person I meet comes up with a DJ name I never heard about and they all claim, “OMG this is like the best DJ ever“ but I have 18 years in the music industry and I tell them if it was any good, I would have heard about it. That to don’t mention how badly they dress.. zero stage presence. Not even the girls make an effort, that beside the fact they never made a song and just use their butt to get on stage hired by silly guys who run parties but don’t care or don’t know about the music quality. I think there should be a DJ committee that filters them . That being said , I am seriously thinking about opening a DJ school.

WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? 

VM: I’ve been farming and Growing weed all summer in Northern California, worked on new songs, and also threw a festival called “MANIFESTIVAL” on a 6 acres property right after the Burning Man festival.  Was a success, many Burners showed up and many people from far away came to join. 

SO YOU DOING A MOVIE?

VM: Yes I am, actually more than one. I have a few movies  in mind. Most of them are based on a true story, and this one in particular its caring on the legacy of one of my best friend and legend, Tony Pikes and his adventures around the world with  many Rock stars and A star celebrities, like Freddie Mercury, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Julio Iglesias, George Michael, and  Grace Jones that used to live at his boutique Hotel in the notorious Ibiza, Spain. At first  I was thinking about a series so I’ve wrote few episodes but after consulting with the DGA  and my lawyer I might as well write another script and make a movie of 120 min instead. 

ANY OTHER PROJECTS?

VM: Yes!! Im am opening a Company, which is called Hollywood Glam Productions, Film and Entertainment,

A DJ booking agency, where I will book the USA DJ’s at the finest clubs that Europe and Tulum has to offer and bring the European best DJ’s to spice up the USA . 

I am also opening a concierge and travel agency , where I will recommend the best locations in the in the world , I will share whit my clients my years of experience in those countries , offering them the best Hotels, restaurants, clubs and Entertainment where they will have the chance to experience the best of PARIS, LONDON, BARCELONA , TRANSYLVANIA, BELGIUM, MADRID , IBIZA , AMSTERDAM ,ROTTERDAM , TULUM and others have to offer from a local person point of view ,which took me years of traveling to discover those places and I’ve learned on my own skin that its not the country you travel to but where in that country that you go that you can experience the real taste and essence of that particular culture you wanna explore . 

I will open the doors to my 3 bedroom apartment situated in the heart of Transylvania so The GOTH Club of Hollywood and all Goths around the world have the chance to experience the real roots of the goth culture in the land of The Conde Dracula. If you’re a Goth I think that’s a must and I’ll be thrilled to share with you my property that my family has owned in those lands for over 33 years . 

Also starting a DJ school for kids and adults, where I will teach all about DJing , electronic devices, music Production , I will teach you how to make your first song from scratch and as a graduation project I will get you booked to DJ at one of the coolest venues . 

WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?

VM: Nice cars, especially old muscle ones, travelling and the fact I just moved to Las Vegas! So excited about exploring this town! 

WHO THE HELL IS MRS. VALDEZ?

VM: Who the hell cares ??!!!! Hahahahah

TURN ONS?

VM: Young Rock Bands 

TURN OFFS?

VM: Lack of chivalry 

ANY LAST WORDS FOR YOUR FANS?

VM: Check out Hollywoodglamproductions.com and get involved !! Learn yourself or your kids to dj , Book a DJ, book a trip, or let’s collaborate and make movies !!! 

Rock And Roll Is Only As Dead As You Feel by Lisa Burke

Saying rock and roll is dead, and having it actually be six feet underground are two very opposing “realities.” Who killed Rock and Roll? Was it old school rap? Was it alternative rock? Perhaps it was just the year 1992 when Nirvana took mainstream popularity, and grunge changed music as we knew it? That era certainly put a damper on hair metal. Non- arguably when Jimi Hendrix died over 20 years prior to that, so did a giant piece of rock and roll history. The rooted in rock and roll decade of origin, however, as we came to know it, began somewhere in the 1940’s with a more gospel type sound and a custom Les Paul played by Sister Rosetta Tharpe who is considered to be the first woman to play rock and roll. Then in the 1950’s with musical artists such as Buddy Holly, Elvis, Little Richard, and friends, the rock and roll world expanded even more. The 50’s were a time when the world was prosperous, as it was a few healing years after WWII halted to a bloody end. After all that hate and violence, the world needed an energy like no other. The guitars were rolling out the boogie woogie moves, but also carrying through with blues rock solos, which were appropriately named so for being an explosion of sad and complex emotions that turned tragedy into hope, healing, and eventual happiness. After that the 60’s and 70’s were an exploratory time in more ways than one, and an outburst of The Beatles followed by the next great legendary rock and roll band, Led Zeppelin, came into full blown fruition. This brings me into the present year 2024, where rock and roll is still very much alive even if in a more underground sort of way. In Nashville, Tennessee, appropriately dubbed “music city,” rock and roll, country, and all types of music are still thriving as they always have. A new fresh take on an older rock sound comes from Nashville’s own band The Garden Of Eden. Originating in 2021, these dudes have come a long way, in a few short years, and are set to make an enlightening appearance at the upcoming NAMM event in January 2025 in Southern California. NAMM in 2025 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, from January 21 to 25, and as the entire music scene is well aware, it is an event that brings together all types of musicians for a great week/weekend of exhibits, education, and all around fun live musical performances. The Garden Of Eden band, led by Scotty Chapman will be at the event which will give them a fresh west coast exposure that should serve them well. Stay tuned for more details, and rumor of an upcoming world tour. The band focuses on all aspects of rock and roll including everything from blues, funk, psychedelic, to folk and indie. Influences range from Led Zeppelin, to The Eagles, to the god of rock and roll guitar stories himself, Jimi Hendrix.They really capture the essence of the old school blues rock melodic complexities that stray from the copycat boring side, and actually have a voice of their own. They bring the modern stylistic touch while staying true to the past decades influential styles. Be sure to dig into these dudes tunes from The Garden Of Eden, and remember that it’s easier than ever to go down a rabbit hole filled with colorful music of any genre of your choice. Seek out the change you wish to see in the world. Ideally that starts and ends with good ol’ rock n’ roll. So, the moral of this story is that if you’re one of those “I used to be in a rock band, but that scene died years ago” type of Neanderthal, then perhaps it’s time to realize that rock and roll wasn’t what died. What died was your soul and passion for the music you loved for so long, perhaps because some dude named Easy E was making a different kind of history at the venue next door to your last rock show. Embrace the music of wherever your soul takes you, but do not ever forget, abandon, or betray your musical roots. That’s your true self, and that’s what being a true Rockstar is really all about.

Captain Anarchy’s Hollywood Memoirs

EXCITING NEWS: “CAPTAIN ⒶNARCHY’S HOLLYWOOD MEMOIRS” VIDEO SERIES ‘SEASON 5’ PRODUCTION ANNOUNCED ! So… since Lost Ⓐnarchy Magazine is an underground anarchist publication, and Captain Ⓐnarchy is an old school anarcho-punk, by default I’ve been the mag’s primary “political pundit” of sorts for quite some time now, hence my other column entitled “Socio-Politix w/ Captain Ⓐnarchy & Friends” which typically appears on the flip-side of the magazine. And with all of the political upheaval and chaos, national division over culture wars, controversies & “nontroversies”, misinformation & disinformation, civil rights riots, a pandemic, and so much more that’s been going on for many years now, going all the way back to the Dumb’o’crap Obummer & Bomber Biden years and the rise of the “PC/SJW/Femi-Nützi Gone Mad” fucktastrophy era when we first started this publication, but especially ever-increasingly worsening since the NYC elitist putz Das Führer Qrümp first came down his cheesy gold escalator back in 2015 and commandeered the Ratpüglicünt Möök Party, formed his Reichwing Cückservative Verwaltüng und seine Deep Red State Cönfederacy, and rose up as “The Great Revealer” by dog-whistling to the deplorable dregs of society and sowed the most horrendous division and caused the most chaos yet, I have nonetheless had my hands extremely full keeping up with and reporting on all of it in my aforementioned column. And, although I do still find time to also attend and photograph live music concerts and themed events, all of what I just spoke of coupled with my own “adulting” responsibilities, trying to maintain some sort of “personal life”, and of course still constantly being on the run from Sergeant System and his Klöwn Kar Köps seeking to apprehend me and my Ⓐnarchy Squad crew for our (alleged) acts of subversion, etc. has unfortunately nonetheless very much hampered my ability to keep up with actually sitting down and writing my music reviews and processing the photos for my music column here, hence causing me to fall months behind, or even sometimes a whole year behind as in this case for instance. So rather than trying to find the time to spend countless hours attempting to catch up with and then jam six to eight or more pages worth of music reviews and photos for “Captain Ⓐnarchy’s 2024 Year-In-Review” in to this issue or the next, which we really wouldn’t have room for in the mag anyway, I have decided to collaborate with our “editor ‘n’ chief” Mojo El Diablo to issue them in a series of animated video episodes instead, which will comprise a brand new “Season 5” of the on-going video version of my column. And needless to say it will be infinitely more immersive and entertaining than just reading the reviews here because we will be able to add far more live photos, actual music of the bands, hijacked artwork, super cool animation of course, and so much more !!! Hence production of “The Infamous Captain Ⓐnarchy’s Hollywood Memoirs: Season 5” video series will commence around mid-December or so, and the first episode of the new season is set for a tentative release sometime in January 2025 and will be able to be viewed on the Captain’s channels on Lost Ⓐnarchy Magazine’s usual YouTube, Bitchute and Rumble video platforms. And naturally it will be advertised for on the magazine’s official website and usual social media platforms, etc. of course… so keep your eyes peeled for the ads with the coinciding QR code links to come, folks !!! Oh, and if you’re wondering what bands the video reviews will cover, well check this out… “CAPTAIN ANARCHY’S 2024 YEAR-IN-REVIEW” MUSIC REVIEWS WILL FEATURE ARTISTS: LIZZY BORDEN, ROZZ WILLIAMS MEMORIAL CONCERT, THE HUMPERS w/ THE DRAGONS & THE CRAZY SQUEEZE, BEWITCHER & DEATH SPELL, EXCITER, BLACKBOARD JUNGLE w/ SWINGIN’ THING, GLAMOUR PUNKS & BLACKLIST UNION, “NO VALUES” FEST, THE JONESES & CRYMWAV, DANGEROUS TOYS & STONEBREED, CANDY-O, POISON’US, HURRICANE w/ LONDON & CUTT, TUFF & AMERICAN JETSET, FEAR w/ GIUDA & LOWER CLASS BRATS, U.D.O & RUTHLESS, THE ZEROS & FOXY ROXX, ONLY THEATRE OF PAIN & CROW JANE, TESTAMENT & KREATOR, GIRLSCHOOL w/ ALCATRAZZ & LILLIAN AXE, ALDO NOVA & PRIMA DONNA RISING, THE AVENGERS w/ ZEROS ’77 & THE BRAT, AND MAYBE EVEN MUCH MORE !!! ‘NUFF SAID.

LA Scoop by Tequila Mockingbird

Well the year is come to an end 2025 at the product some of us are happy some of us are sad about the political situation and in America but onward and upward we go. The first thing I want to talk about is the death of Inger Lorry. She was in band called and dance very famous in the underground Los Angeles music scene she passed last month and we’ve been arranging tributes to her all over the city the first at the Redwood the one I suggest next is in January la Luz d Jesus gallery put on by Billy Shire and myself to honor this wonderful creative singer guitarist. The viper room is planning to also have a tribute for her in the upcoming months so keep your eyes on that it’s hard to believe the viper room is still open but it is so use it or lose it. I took a tour of London as I am over there looking for work checking out the nightclubs the pubs the art galleries and the general lifestyles of the people. There’s nothing like an English fry up in the morning there’s nothing like an English breakfast pass the tea. The Dublin Castle was alive with music by the Polestars. They were playing some massive scar I know that Bad Manners is planning to tour after Christmas so lucky England. I used to be a personal friend and assistant to Buster Bloodvessel I recorded an album with them with my friend matrix and Harry the dog who’s a band that I was in in the 2000s. The song is called what you going to do I wrote it with Buster and recorded it with John X Ska is alive and well people are dancing I don’t see much dancing in the US these days I miss all the jiggling and wiggling so it’s nice to see reggae sky band still operating in the UK.I noticed that Lynn Matlock would soon be playing Dingwalls. I was determined to see art galleries and museums so I went to the tape where I saw the Yoko Ono show which had lots of footage of her as a young girl performance artist she was way ahead of her time long before she met Mr John Lennon. Before he came along she was an up and coming star in the art world and well deserved the work she did wasn’t given enough credit I personally thought she was a genius and taking music destroying it reconstructing it and doing it her way you can say a lot about Yoko but you can’t say she isn’t an original because she is. I’m from Cleveland Ohio where we have the Rock and roll Hall of Fame. Lemmy said the best exhibit in the place is the gift shop he also said he donated one of his Motorhead jackets to them and that it disappeared he said I bet some directors girlfriend is running around with it and I wouldn’t be surprised I think he thought it was a monumental waste of space of course they only gave him credit for stuff like his Metallica remake or his songs he wrote for Ozzy he was a good friend of mine and we discussed the state of rock and roll often. He was bored with all the trite music long before it was popular to be bored of it all but when you’re creative you don’t have to settle for less. You can do it yourself and he did. I have music out on Mystic records I’ve been singing with Robbie Krieger from the Doors. We recorded Alabama song or rather the Whiskey song together a couple years ago and in May I was lucky enough to sing seven doors tunes with him at an art gallery called Moda where I housed the Punk Museum installation last year. I went to see his new band The Soul Savages. At the Baked Potato. I also saw him play with his Doors band where he has his son Waylan singing Jim’s part I don’t know how Waylon could look so much like Jim Morrison but that’s another story.. quite a strange coincidence . I’ll be working with Paul Picasso Hollywood on a new gallery called dig it all which is a play on words from digital which were opening December 7th I’m looking forward to the new project and I’m looking forward to the new year. This year I’ll be acting in at least four movies so I’m excited working with director Philippe Mora directorous Kim Durbin director Chris Morrissey and I have a few more irons in the fire please give a listen to our podcast called thePunkast.com where we interview people on the art of Punk and the history of the underground scene. We just interviewed Nicole Panter Daily who managed the Germs early Punk Rock she is a super cool chick and she was in the movie Decline of Western Civilization . Rest in peace Alan Sachs who did the podcast Peter the Acid King. The series is about New Wave Theater the first TV show to feature punk rock in Los Angeles I was the Booker with my partner Richard Skidmore we went under the name do monkey productions and scour the city for music to put on the show every week we literally had to go to three clubs a week every week and pull six bands a week to put on the air if you go to the international archives you will be able to see some of our episodes Peter Ivers was our host and he was murdered in a lot downtown under mysterious circumstances. He was a very close friend of mine and I’ve never gotten over losing him he introduced me to so many great people he was so nice and everyone loved him I still love him and miss him decades and decades later. The podcast is a gym and it was The voice d by director Penelope’s Spheeris who created The Decline of Western Civilization movie, He was a really great person who I’ve known for decades he was a great director and he will be missed. I go to the rainbow on the Sunset strip to hang out with Lemmy statue in the very spot where we used to hang out and when I was in London I followed the trail to all the clubs that he used to hang out at he was such a great guy so funny he and Phlthy Animal were my great friends just know it’s nice to have friends on the other side looking out for you all your friends are there that aren’t here now stick around let’s make this world a better place. I put together the gothic Punk Museum at the Crooked path in Burbank where I’m doing special events including the Young kings of midnight with Paul Roessler formally of the screamers and Gitane Demone formerly of Christian death Nervous Gender and a new young 🌱 band called ICBN. A great mixture of new music. Speaking of new and old this Frank Carter and the Sex Pistols are touring and due to hit the US yes I’m sad that John lighten isn’t a part of it but Time Marches on and he’ll always have public image limited which he liked a lot better he’s also touring Europe right now and I hear that they’re going to play the rebellion festival this year I bet it’ll be dodgy as f*** if they end up on the same bill there’ll be a slap down for sure. Get the mud ready boys there’s going to be a wrestling session anyway the new Sex Pistols are wowing Europe and I’m happy to see the boys get their due Steve Jones , Glenn Matlock, and Paul Cook created the original pistol sound and they deserve to be heard. Three out of four Sex Pistols can’t be bad and they’ve been tearing it up for sure. Keep your ears open keep your mind open and don’t let the bastards get you down.

A POST “PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION” SUMMATION

🏴 A POST “PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION” SUMMATION 🏴
🏴 DIRECT FROM THE DESK OF CAPTAIN ⒶNARCHY 🏴
I have known for many years now that either the Shadow Government, or whatever “powers that be” there are pulling the strings within the so-called “political parties” and “government”, have long ago decided that their current form of human farm animal slavery known as “democracy” has ran its course of usefulness to them, and that they are now ready to implement their next new system of control, whatever that may be…
…which, if I had to take a guess, will consist of a twist on some of the key plot elements of the “V for Vendetta” movie, many of which they have already implemented, such as the development and purposeful mass release of a deadly pandemic virus (and undoubtedly a much more contagious and deadly one coming soon too), the potential causation of social injustice incidents and/or at the very least the shoulder-shrugging dismissive response to them thus triggering mass protest riots, the purposeful propagation of hardcore division between the citizens followed by the manipulative message to all of us who are sick to death of it that the way forward is “strength through unity, unity through faith” as a ploy to control us as a whole through acceptance of what they have planned to come next as one unified-by-exhaustion body of sheeple “Under One God”, etc., etc., etc. so that they con us in to giving up our democracy and sell us on having an autocracy under a “High Chancellor” and single “Party” of sorts, and oh-so much more no doubt too.
And once they do so, if that’s not already enough like George Orwell’s “1984” for you “as is”, then get ready… because their next move will be to take us even further to that next sort of level, meaning a full-blown Orwellian-like autocratic dystopia where the citizen-sheeple are blindly charmed by populist demagogue authoritarian figures (aka “The Party”) and then sold (and buy in to hook, line and sinker) the idea of exchanging their freedoms for an alleged “easier life” and the false notion that they are “still free” but that “they now just have some curtailed liberties that are for their own good”, meaning that in reality they actually have far less liberties, freedoms, rights, justice or democracy overall and they subsist contently within an existence that features complete control over all aspects of their lives, including politics, social interactions, and even personal thoughts. 🙄
What I am talking about is a surveillance state society where citizens are constantly monitored and forced to conform to “The Party” and its narrative, characterized by pervasive government surveillance by its “Thought Police” through all of the usual “smart devices” that most people already have in their pockets and/or homes, workplaces and vehicles, etc. and not to mention more surveillance devices being installed in every public place possible too. Furthermore there will undoubtedly also be the implementation of “Newspeak” (i.e. a controlled language designed to limit vocabulary and restrict the ability to express dissenting ideas), and the implementation of “Doublethink” (i.e. the mental process of simultaneously believing two contradictory ideas, used to maintain control over citizens), in order for “The Party” to be able to exercise strict control of information, manipulate the truth, re-write history, and re-shape reality to fit their narrative by using propaganda to control public perception.
So in other words a system that dictates every aspect of life, the suppression of individuality, and the constant threat of the “Thought Police” who punish “thought crimes” (i.e. essentially any dissenting thought or action against “The Party” and its ideology), culminating in an environment featuring unsavory things like “social credit scoring”, “whistleblower” snitching on family, friends and neighbors being financially incentivized by the state, etc. and ultimately absolutely no privacy or freedom of expression whatsoever, which will be implemented in order to keep “The Party” Master’s “manimal” work force more strictly “in line” while also “producing more” for them along the way.
And those who refuse to comply, and instead choose to be actual free thinkers and dissent against such authoritarian measures, will be herded on to trains and carted off to the many currently empty FEMA camps sprawling across the nation for “re-education” (i.e. a violent process used by the “government” to torture and indoctrinate people who they consider to be committing “crimes against the state” or “The Party”, where people are imprisoned, tortured, and forced to recite propaganda in order to destroy their dignity, humanity, and independence), a place from which a few will return a broken mere specter of their former selves and most will never be seen nor heard from ever again… 😬 😒
Oh, and in case you don’t know, those numerous FEMA camps that the “government” has long claimed are for “housing people in the event of major disasters” are actually designed to keep people locked inside of them, not to keep desperate people on the outside from getting inside of them if they become overpopulated, which is why the barb wire on the fences securing them leans inward towards the “occupants” rather than leaning outwards to keep people from scaling over them to enter… DUH. 😑🤦‍♂️
But IF I am wrong about there being a Shadow Government being the ones that are implementing such a new system of “governance” as I just described (which I am not, but for the sake of argument let’s just pretend that “IF” I am), and IF instead we actually really do live in a Democratic Republic where there is a “free and fair vote” that is relatively un-corrupted, then I directly blame the tens of millions of you who voted for the mooks in politics that are the ones who are doing it themselves then, and I fully hold you directly responsible and accountable as well for every single fucked up thing that they do and/or that occurs as a result of their reign over the upcoming years, and that is 100% up to, including and possibly even exceeding the implementation of the factors of the dystopian future that I described here earlier, because a people who elect corrupt politicians, impostors, thieves and traitors are not victims… but accomplices, SO IF THAT INDEED ENDS UP HAVING BEEN THE CAUSE THEN FUCK ALL OF YOU WHO VOTED THEM IN, AND FUCK ALL OF YOU WHO FAILED TO OUTVOTE THEM AND KEEP THEM OUT AS WELL !!!

Garden of Eden is Back

We’s back w/ the Garden of Eden and here’s what they had to say…HOW ARE YOU?

GOE: Dan Crenshaw here doing good buddy, how are you?

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO?

GOE: Been on the road, doing shows, Stet Rhowland from Lita Ford, Wasp, and Metal Church drummer and Steve Unger of Metal Church and Autograph and Garden of Eden.

ANY STORIES TO SHARE W/ YOUR FANS (ie 80s rockstar tales, bands ya uopened up for, etc)?

GOE: We played w/ every national band in the world from UK to Hollywood.

ARE YOU EXCITED FOR NAMM?

GOE: Totally excited, we’re doing a couple of shows while there and all our endorsements and we’ll be playing w/ Vinne Appiece (drummer of ozzy, black sabbath and dio).

We’ll be playing w/ Vinnie’s band at the Whisky on Dec 18th

WHAT ELSE DO YA GOT PLANNED FOR 2025?

GOE: We got tours planned in the UK and the US. It’s an all star band w/ celebritites and 3 piece kick ass band.

DETAILS ON THE NEW ALBUM?

GOE: In the recording studio as we speak and it will be out in Feb,

ANY LAST WORDS FOR YOUR FANS?

GOE: Over 35 years w/ Garden of Eden we like to thank all the bands who supported us over the years.

The Buzzz… Las Vegas Casino resort review: THE RIO

There was hype beyond what was normal for a casino, for the “New” Rio Casino resort located a mile off the famous strip. The flashy advertisements bragged about total refurbishments, loose slots and a new management team guaranteed to make your stay memorable. The wife and I bought into the hype like moths to a flame.

Our entrance was more of a Circus/Circus type atmosphere than an elegant one because the food court greeted us with hotdogs and pizza. After a long walk, which is standard for casinos, we made our way through the slot machines to registration. The four o’clock check-in and the ten o’clock checkout, which shortens our stay by six hours, is basically the reason to book a two-day stay. Just another way a casino will “nickel and dime,” their customers. 

As we soon found out, the Rio has two towers and only one had been refurbished. Not our room. The carpet had stains and the bathroom vent looked like it had been there since the Bush administration, the older one! You can typically tell the modernization of the casino hotel room by their technology. The push button phone and the tv was from the last millennium. A room that hasn’t been refurbished since the invention of the cell phone. 

The heavy curtains used to block out the sun was inadequate and the flat screen tv looked like an ad on. From inside the shower a small glass window was blocked off, as if they were too cheap to either take it out, or do the drywall so you can see through it as was originally intended. The AC was adequate but considering the 100 degree weather conditions outside, it did its thing. By 4 Am it was cold in the room that overlooked the massive pool. 

Overall it was a fun experience with the usual “sex, drugs and rock and roll” two day stay with the smokin’ gamblin’ dancin’ and eating that comprises a Las Vegas stay. Off the strip means just that. Without an uber you’re basically stuck at the resort. The Palms was close, but considering the heat, it wasn’t worth the trip. 

The Rio? I’d give it only 3 out of ten. The bait and switch tactics worked on us, but now were more savvy than ever before. New management? Maybe, but we couldn’t tell. Refurbished? Maybe, but not in tower we stayed in. The oldest and worst casino hotel on the strip? By most accounts, Circus/Circus which was featured in the James Bond movie Diamonds are Forever, way back in the 70s! The Rio is basically Circus/Circus with a paint job and a hyped-up advertising campaign. 

The best rule when considering a Casino/Hotel in Las Vegas? When it was built. The Rio was built in the 70’s and still looks like it. Without a fantastic deal, $29 a room, which when adding in the deceptive resort fee and taxes comes out to $100 a night, try a newer hotel. 

Brent Lee Kendell, JD, CPA

 brentleekdendelljdcpa