I recently had a chance to visit the Carson Valley Inn located in
Minden Nevada. For those of you that are not familiar with the area,
Minden is about 20 miles south of Carson City, and about a 30 minute
drive from the South Shore Lake Tahoe casinos. They have several
restaurants, a hotel, a motor lodge, gas station (you can use comps
here also), and RV park. I like to go to the CVI, because they have
full pay pick'em VP in quarter and dollars. They have 10 quarter
pick'em machines in Gamemakers labeled "Keno plus" next to the Keno
area. They have 2 dollar pick'em in Game makers located in the
northwest area near all the dollar slots.
I did not look at all the machines, but I did find several 8/5 Bonus
Poker, and 9/6 DDB machines in the quarters scattered about near the
coffee shop. The deuces machines I found were all short pay. For the
dollar player, I found a bank of 9/6 JOB in the dollar slot area, and
also some 9/6 DDB.
They have a slot club (the Inn Club) with comps, but no cash back. As
near as I can figure, the comp rate is .25% for the VP player. I get
a monthly newsletter, but I have never received any room offers. This
casino caters mostly to the local trade, but I have also seen a
number of bus loads of seniors coming in from who knows where.
They offer free entertainment at the VP bar. It is really a nice set
up, with the band playing just above the bar. The bands are the usual
tribute type, but I have seen some pretty good bands playing. The VP
machines on the right side are 7/5 Bonus with a progressive on RF,
SF, and all the four of a kinds.
If you head down this area, I might recommend a dinner stop at JT's.
JT's is a Basque restaurant next to Sharkeys casino in Garnderville
on hwy 395. This place is packed every night with local trade. Huge
portions served family style with a choice of several entrees. Try a
Basque specialty drink called the picon before dinner.
I don't think I would make a special trip to the Carson Valley Inn,
but if you are in the area, it is worth a stop.