I've lived in Tucson for 10 years and moved to Colorado. I came back to visit with my girlfriend and took her here. The owner/bartender is  consistently awesome. He was welcoming to us, poured GOOD, STRONG drinks, the prices were cheap and he gave her money to play music in the jukebox. Loved it, you should go too!
Review Source:Went to the Golden Nugget at about 6:30 on a Sunday.
I sat at the bar and drank PBR (dollar cans on Sundays), and then an old man with the kind of beard you earn either by drinking all day every day for many years or by being a member of ZZ Top gave me a pitcher of Bud.
A younger guy sat down a couple of seats over from me with a bag of groceries. He ordered a vodka soda. A few minutes later he fell Icarus-like off of his stool, and when everyone rushed to check that he was alright he replied "I dropped my beef jerky."
A couple played shuffleboard.
Welcome to the World Famous Golden Nugget, where even the cola-based drinks are clear. I am just slightly ashamed to admit that this is the only establishment where I've had to request my drink be "topped off" because I simply couldn't handle the strength. Think 75% booze, 25% mixer, for lower than average prices.
We go to The Golden Nugget, affectionately nicknamed "The Nug" when we feel like cheap drinks and some shuffleboard. It doesn't help that one of my friends lives across the street.
A word to the wise though, pace yourself! I've seen many a bar-goer fall victim to The Nug Pour.
This place is right around the corner from where I used to have my car worked on. Â So I would walk down here during the day to have a drink while I waited.
It isn't a bad place, although they don't have much worth writing home about on tap. Â No big deal though I guess--it is a dive bar afterall. Â The bar is large, wrapping around the serving area, plus there are some tables, so there is plenty of seating. Â The jukebox is standard for dive bars--country, classic rock, some metal, some reggae. Â Again, nothing to write home about.
There's shuffle board and a few pool tables, so that's a plus. Â Also a fussball table.
I've always gotten carded here. Â I might look young, but am in my mid 30's. Â It just seems like they are a bit more suspicious of patrons here than elsewhere. Â The clientele clearly has it's regulars. Â They're all friendly enough though.
Try it out, but if you want a better dive bar, head over to Danny's Baboquivari. Â It's darker, danker, and cheaper. Â Better jukebox too. Â But if you're in the neighborhood, what's the harm in getting a drink?
Cheap Drinks & Shuffleboard! Oh! You can buy a scratcher too. They have one of those Arizona lottery machines in there. Â
The Golden Nugget is one of the few places around Tucson that has a shuffleboard table. There is usually a line to play, but most of the people in there are pretty friendly. You could hang out around the bar, chat in one of their booths, or play pool while having an inexpensive drink.
One funny memory I had was when I had to go back in to grab my driver's license during the day. In order for the bartenders to give you pucks for the shuffleboard, you have to leave your driver's license as collateral. On my way out, I forgot to pick it up, so about a week later, I went in to pick it up. The nice lady behind the bar gave me a little smirk and pulled out about three, 4 inch thick stacks of  driver's license all rubber-banded together.  My eyes widened, and my heart sank. I thought: "How long is this going to take? Is it even in there?" Luckily for me, it seemed like the lady had done this before and maintained her smile the whole time she was shuffling through cards. At last! She found it and before handing it to me said " you college students are all the same." I politely thanked her and walked out thinking "Errrr... I graduated almost a year ago." Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat!
All the years I lived in Tucson and I never made it to the Nugget. This was very hard for all of my friends to believe so we made it a priority to go there last time I was in town. The Nugget is a total dive bar, but in a good way. The prices are super cheap and the cliental is enough entertainment in itself. If I was still lvingin in Tucson I could see this becomming a part of the reular rotation because honeslty a good bar shouldn't have to try to hard and the Nugget doesn't have to try at all.
Review Source:I have fond memories of the nugget, this is the place where my now-husband and I had our first real date......hahaha ok maybe it was more like a hey you want to come over to the nugget and get trashed? kind of date, so if you are thinking of getting really wasted this is your place. They pour a strong drink, bartenders are cool , there is no need to dress up and you might even find the love of your life here.
Review Source:if you're here it means you ran out of ideas or its a weekday and you want to get drunk where no one else you didnt invite with you will run into you.
the bartenders are basically awesome and pretty nice people despite serving ridiculously drunk people at all hours of the day.
their shots are big.
their prices are very reasonable.
their prize toy claw machine is beatable.
winner
It is an honor and a pleasure to be the first to review the nugget. Those two words, "The Nugget?", magically picked me up so many times for an ill-advised weeknight of heavy drinking when I didn't think I had any gas left in the tank. My favorite dive bar ever.
The nugget is a little more roomier and well lit and maintained then your average dive bar, but that just made it better of a regular hangout and a place to meet people and have fun versus just crawling into a pitcher of cheap beer in the corner as i tend to do in other dives.
Highlights of the nugget include a shuffleboard table, several pool tables (2 or 3, i can't remember, i was too busy playing shuffleboard all the time), high backed wooden booths with stained glass-esque decorations, and a jukebox stacked with classic rock. And of course the drinks are ultra cheap and alcoholic.
The crowd can get a little fratty in there sometime, but it never stopped me from having a good time. Next time you are in tucson and feel like getting trashed for no reason on a weeknight, I highly recommend the nugget.
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