Walking Journal #17

The final place I will visit in my exploration of Allison’s Reno is the Little Nugget Casino. In Northline, Allison explores a variety of places in Downtown Reno. One of the places she visits is the Little Nugget. The Little Nugget becomes a place where Allison and her friend Penny can go and talk about their problems. “‘My ex-husband, he lives in Florida now. Works for a hotel down there. He follows the money, moves every couple years. I don’t mind talking about him, but it always makes me want to eat. You ever been to the Nugget?’ ‘The big casino?’ ‘No, not that one. The one on Virginia, just down the street. The Little Nugget. They have a diner in the back that has the greatest burgers, it’s cheap, too. The home of the Awful Awful burger’… It was warm inside the Nugget casino. It was half full of old men playing slots and sitting at the bar. The two women ordered drinks then walked to the back, into the small, nearly empty lunch counter, and sat” (Vlautin 120).

Allison’s trips to the Little Nugget often consist of food and talk of the past with Penny. My trip to the Little Nugget was similar to Allison’s excursions. I went to the Little Nugget with friends and we talked while we enjoyed our meals (The burgers really are great, as Penny describes). The people that Allison describes in the casino are just people playing the slot machines, but to me the majority of people in the restaurant seem to be tourists, mixed in with a few regulars. There don’t seem to be any people that fit the Allison or Penny character, but who knows, maybe if I went late at night the scene would shift from one of tourism to one of locals who share Allison or Penny’s stories.

The Little Nugget is just a place that Allison visits, but I think that it as a deeper significance for her. This is the place that Allison visits with a friend, and having friends for Allison is important. While Penny has let her own life get a bit out of hands, Penny is a great friend to Allison, first giving her a second job, then encouraging her to do something with herself, like getting her GED and going to college, and listening to her troubles about guys and simply being supportive. I think it helps Allison to begin to take control of her life through having a friend who’s encouraging. The Little Nugget doesn’t have the same significance for me, but I can almost imagine two friends like Penny and Allison coming here late at night and discussing problems while watching the people gamble.

Northline’s story might have been a stretch of the imagination for me to grasp completely, but visiting the places that Allison visited brings the novel closer to home. The plot may seem outlandish and horrible at times, but the detail and sheer amount of places that are still here in my Reno make Allison’s story seem more real.