BACKGROUND
Until my last 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 have 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. Then it was
announced that Hilton had sold the property, and the new owners were transforming it
into the Grand Sierra. In all the publicity surrounding the sale, 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 subcontracting company, and managed by Larry Woolf who had previously run the
MGM Grand in LV. That's it - 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 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.