My husband and I and a friend went to Lake Tahoe for the special 7 Star
Signature Event (for Harrah's 7 Star Players). The big VP news for me was at the
end of the trip, when after losing about $5000+ and down to my last bucks, I
hit a $1 DDB Royal Flush progressive for $5400+. The really amazing thing
about the Royal was that I held only one Jack, right in the middle. Strangely
I had been getting 4 to a royal after 4 to a royal, including several dealt
4 to royals, and after several hours of play, I began to notice that the card
that usually was missing was the jack. Most were spade 4 to royals. So I
mentioned this to the guy next to me and said, 'if the royal comes, it
probably won't be spades that I'm expecting, but something entirely unexpected.'
Sure enough, up came a Jack of Diamonds, and I hit draw and pulled the
remaining 4 - a real WOW as they popped up so quickly and unexpectedly. [I'm hoping
the photo I took of the jackpot will get posted on VPFree.]
As for the 7* event - it was very very nice. Some people received money
toward airfare, some free play, and some no airfare reimbursement -- all
depending on your overall ADT or total points. I was fortunate and received $1200
airfare, so I brought my friend Siona from Philadelphia. My husband had a
small offer on his own, so he had his airfare taken care of and got a 2nd room
we used for Siona.
The Harrah's people handled the event extremely well, for the most part.
The only real problem came when we arrived at the airport in Reno. They'd set
up a special lounge for us, complete with drinks and food, which was nice.
But then they shuffled people to various limos or limo buses, or buses, and
there was some confusion. Some people expected to have a limo ride by
themselves, but ended up sharing a limo or in a bus. We were in a limo bus, which
was a bit uncomfortable, but was well-stocked with small bottles of booze,
soda, and snacks as we took the 1 hr drive to Lake Tahoe.
Tahoe is beautiful, and if you haven't been there, I recommend it. The Lake
looked gorgeous with snow-covered mountains around it. My host had booked
us into a suite, but because so many 7* people were in attendance, our suite
turned out to be 1 large room with sofa area and mountain view, rather than
the 1-bedroom suite with lake view we hoped for. Still we did better than
another friend, who got only an ordinary room. We stayed in Harvey's which is
closer to the lake, and generally has better views than Harrah's. Both hotels
are linked underground by a tunnel, and it is a quick walk between them -
something we had to do numerous times. Some lucky people ended up on the newly
refurbished 16th floor of Harrah's, which has a concierge and nice suites.
If you go, try to get one of the great lake-view suites in Harvey's or these
new Harrah's suites. All Harrah's rooms have 2 bathrooms, but Harvey's
doesn't.
Upon arrival, we were given a packet of information on the weekend's special
events. That night we went to an unusually good reception with excellent
food, an orchestra playing classical music (dressed in 18th century garb), and
2 acrobatic ladies dangling from the ceiling doing acrobatics. Siona and I
also went to see "The Improv" - courtesy of Harrah's - unfortunately not a
very good show.
Siona and I asked the Total Rewards desk if play at both Harvey's and
Harrah's was counted as 1 trip or 2, and we were told it would be 1 trip, though
the computers would show it as 2 trips until the end of the day when they were
combined. We hoped this was correct information, because otherwise we would
be tripped twice. We also found the Star Trek penny machines and had a blast
playing them. Later that night I noticed a progressive VP machine, but I
was too tired to play it, and regrettably it was hit by morning. Both casinos
have VP progressives, and it is worthwhile to watch for them to advance to
almost positive points.
The next day each 7* person was given a special "adventure" of choice - such
as free skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, etc. We decided to take the free
ride up the gondolas at Hevenly (a few blocks away) with wine tasting, to
see the view. Unfortunately my host wasn't able to get me 3 tickets, so I
nobly stayed behind (I'd been up the lift to see the great view on a previous
trip), and let my hubby and Siona go up.
I stayed behind and gambled and gambled and lost and lost and lost. Even
the trusty Star Trek took money. I couldn't win at about 10 different machines
I tried, including various VP machines, ST, slot, and even Jackpot Party.
Yuk!
That night we ate at the excellent SAGE restaurant at Harvey's. They make a
number of dishes right at tableside, including great spinach salad, steak
diane, bananas foster, and so on. The decor is old west (knotty pine) and the
service excellent. Then Siona and I went to see "Tower of Power" a very good
band that has been going for about 40 years. The interesting thing was that
it had a lot of brass, including 3 saxophones and 2 trumpets who were
prominent in the front of the band, while 2 guitarists were way in the back
(hardly visible). It is a "soul" band - whatever that means - we hadn't heard of
them before -- but they seemed more of a dance band and soon people were
dancing in the aisles - a lot of fun to watch. These tickets also were provided
by Harrah's.
The next day my hubby had a Stone Massage, since his offer included $200 in
spa credits - a nice extra. For 7* guests, we could go to visit a special
Diamond Lounge, set up in the concierge area (16th floor of Harrah's) for 2
days. The regular Diamond Lounge at Harvey's now is closed (the economy), but
the one at Harrah's is open 24 hours, though bar and pretzels only available
for limited hours -- it is a very nice room with fireplace, set behind the
high rollers area.
Harrah's also gave all 7* members a certificate good for a free cruise for 2
people. Seemingly a nice gift, unfortunately this one wasn't quite as good
as it sounded. It is more like a 2-for-1, because you have to pay port taxes
and special fee, so a 7-night Alaska inside room costs $671 (plus gratuities
for 2 people). You can buy an inside room for about $500-600 per person
plus gratuities right now online - so you can see the 2-for-1 aspect. Also the
certificate had certain restrictions, like good for inside cabins only for
Alaska, oceanview for Caribbean or Mexican Riviera, and only certain ships
included. A Mediterranean cruise was also available, but only 1 intinerary,
inside cabins, and I didn't like the itinerary. The upshot of all this is I
probably won't even use the certificate. Of course for most people, this was a
nice perk.
Harrah's also had a slot tournament for 7* members - unfortunately only 10
prizes and top-heavy (top prize $50000), but quick and fun. They had a very
good awards party too, with Liberace impersonator, good decorations, ladies
dressed as tables, and decent food.
We decided to eat at Kitchen 19 - at the top of Harvey's, which normally has
a terrific view of the lake. Unfortunately a snowstorm moved in, which can
happen in March. The snow was a big, messy, all-day affair, and our
lake-view was pretty much obscured. The food was good though - steakhouse style.
The next day the 7* event was a nice Paddleboat Race on the lake, with some
good lunch food. We decided not to go, since lingering clouds obscured a lot
of the view and we'd been on the paddleboats before. Those that went
enjoyed it a lot though.
The event ended with a very good dinner for 7* and guests (all 3 of us were
able to attend this), and then a great Rat Pack show, with funny Dean Martin,
Frank Sinatra (good singer, but not a look-a-like), and really outstanding
Sammy Davis Jr. (Again, this was a special 7* event).
Overall the Tahoe Harrahs/Harveys staff treated us extremely well. The
event was very memorable, and really a nice add-on to 7 Star bonuses. Those
people who attended 2008's event in New Orleans also praised it.
We had a lot of fun, and hope to return to Lake Tahoe in the summer.
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