BACKGROUND
Until my last Reno visit, I had been a regular at the Reno Hilton, visiting there every 3-4
months for several years. I'm a low roller and a VP nut, but they had always treated me
very well, with polite, helpful staff and hosts, and generous comps.
Once I learned more about VP and the importance of what seemed like minor differences
in pay tables, I began to spend more time at other casinos in Reno with more playable
machines, especially at the quarters level. Then it was announced that Hilton had sold the
property, and the new owners were transforming it into the Grand Sierra Resort. In all the
publicity surrounding the sale and future plans, it looked like the whole emphasis for the
"new" resort was on condos and family activities (like a huge indoor water park). The
casino was hardly mentioned at all, other than to say that it would be run by a contractor,
and managed by Larry Woolf who had previously run the MGM Grand in LV. That's it -I
found no details despite a thorough search. On my last Reno trip, I was further dismayed
when I learned from a couple of casino staffers that a chunk of casino space was being
converted to a posh lobby and registration area, reducing the floorspace available for
gaming. I even told several hosts and bartenders that I saw nothing that suggested that
the new management was interested in keeping people like me, who came for the
gambling, coming back. Nobody disagreed. I switched to the Peppermill as my main
casino on my most recent visit to Reno - and Im not the least bit sorry, though I still have
a place in my heart for the old RH.
THE HOPE
This month I found my first glimmers of hope for my old haunt. The winter edition (and
the only one, to my knowledge) of "Grand Times" - a newsletter from GSR, devoted a
reasonable proportion of their pages to the casino. A column on Woolf's background; a
profile of one of the executive casino hosts; a little bit about the sports book guru; boxes
describing recent jackpot winners; a little bit (but too little) about their new slot club
program among other things. This is more information about the casino under new
management than every thing I've read taken together over the last year or so. Perhaps
most encouraging was this passage from one of the stories: "GSR is adding more video
poker with improved pay tables and progressives, new chairs and slot stands , more ticket
redemption machines, and many plasma screends to give you, our customer, a more
intimate environment. Among other casino renovations: table games will have a newer
sleek look including newly designed layouts in the GSR color scheme, new player tracking
system that has real-time player tracking for table games players, and also a system that
comes with an option allowing GSR to set up a random bonus jackpot for anyone playing
with their Comps Plu+ card."
I'm heading to Reno next week and have decided to stay at the GSR for part of my stay just
to see how it looks and feels. When I called to make reservations a cojuple of days ago, I
called the director of casino marketing (my former host moved to the Peppermill since the
buyout) and left a message asking for a new host. She called me back herself, and was
extremely cordial and helpful. I have a free room - I'm not sure what kind, but it's not the
basic one - that will not be charged against my comp balance (which I reduced to near
zero on my last visit), and she informed me that I am placed at the third tier level of four
in the new "Comps Plus" system. I also have received $100 in free play through mail
promotions. If the Peppermill continues to treat me well, I'll keep that as my Reno "home",
but I'm hoping that I'll be able to include GSR on every trip. I'll report back after my
upcoming junket if there's anything notable that is yet apparent.