Went to Reno for Peppermill sweepstakes drawing weekend.
Arrived late at 9:45 pm, went to 10 pm drawing then tried to check in. No
reservation! Went to VIP & fellow behind desk was disgusted as he said that
they've got the same computer system that he had. Anyway he went through the
motions & said he couldn't find it & that they were sold out. Asked him, "What
if I could bring back the confirmation #?" He said it might make a difference
but didn't sound encouraging. Went back to the car & couldn't find
confirmation. I'm sure that I made the reservation but didn't remember if I got a
confirmation. Didn't follow it any further as he said they were oversold due to
the sweepstakes.
What normally happens if you can prove you had a reservation & the casino is
oversold is that they will walk you over to another hotel & pay for your
stay.
As I have a lot of choices in Reno, I picked up the phone & called the Reno
Hilton where they said come on over. I didn't want to pursue the case at
Peppermill because I didn't want to feel obligated to gamble there after that
fellow's attitude. Even though he couldn't find my reservation & he saw the same
info that front desk did, the reason front desk sent me over is because he
was supposed to TRY to help me out even if he couldn't. In other words, the
result for me would have been the same but I would have walked away feeling
better about the experience.
Reno Hilton Update
Grand Sierra Resorts is slowly moving forward in their takeover of the hotel
but didn't see any visible changes yet except for an empty desk where they
will start selling condos on the upper floors. The biggest water slide in the
US is still a go & it will probably be located with part of it indoors & the
rest extending out from where VIP & bus parking area is now & it will take
out the golf practice lake area. Casino takeover by Larry Wolf & his group is
now set for March. No visible changes in inventory. When water slide is
installed, machines in that area will have to relocated or removed. Am looking
forward to when Mr Wolf takes over as I've been a fan of what he's done with
Fandango in Carson City & hoping he'll make similar changes to RH. Right now, RH
still has a lot of coin droppers so if you like getting your hands dirty
better go while they still have them. Hoping that Mr Wolf has a long-term
agreement or will own casino concession as Grand Sierra is wet-behind-the-ears on
running a casino.
One thing I miss at RH is the Sunday Brunch where they cordoned off the
restaurant area in front of the 3 restaurants, Asiana, Andiamos & the steak house
& you selected what you wanted buffet style then returned to one of the
restaurants to dine. Now Sunday Brunch is just at the buffet & it's nothing
special.
My results -- terrible! lost at 10% rate at $ Pick'Em no 4 OAKs & 5% rate at
$5 JB ($27K RF) & almost broke even on $ 5-play NSUD. However, it was a good
trip because I hit an unexpected jackpot -- got to see Chicago on Sat night
for their one-night stand in Reno. I didn't know they were in town until my
host asked if I wanted to see them.
Comment on seeing shows outside of LV. I've said this before but it bears
repeating. If you have the option of seeing a touring event outside of LV, do it
on the chance that you'll get a longer show & more fan-friendly treatment.
Too often casinos in LV limit shows to a set length of time so as to get
customers back to gambling. Many times in Reno, shows have gone over the expected
time & bands try a lot of things out (Chicago was 2.5 hrs probably would
have been 1.5 in LV). Another sweetener are the ticket prices. Top price was
$75, wonder what it would have been in LV.
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