A lot of this won't be new for most of you, but I figured I'd do a recap anyway ... :
- I've been to Reno once, a couple of years ago, so this is essentially a newbie report.
- Got a killer three-day rental of midsize via Alamo in Seattle for $19.78 including taxes and fees. But gas to Reno and back? $195. And beady-eyed deer deciding whether to jump out and meet their maker. Oh and sleet and flurries in Eastern Oregon and California Sierra on May 16.
- Had a free room offer and free play coupons from Cal-Neva (based on my play there 2 years ago). Coupons worked out well: a $130 coupon for week ending Sunday night; another $130 one starting up 12:01 a.m. Monday morning, so essentially $260 in free play. (Tip: the VIP services booth folks stay up way past midnight, and they can do the same kinda stuff as they do at the club booth, like activate the free play.)
- Room at Cal Neva was certainly no frills, but that's fine. Had to ride the slowest elevator in the world just after a coupla Bay Area gang-bangers walked out, giving me a pretty decent contact high. The room had connecting doors to room next door on BOTH sides, and both let light through the door seal that gives you an idea how little sound-proofing there was. I could make out whole conversations without leaving my bed!
- Is it my imagination or has the full-pay inventory gone down the past couple of years at the Cal? I found very little 10-7 DB, and less 9-6 DDB -- instead, more 9-5 DDB even at 25-cent level.
- I won't go into details about my play results for the trip overall: suffice to say, I got no royals and suffered through some pretty bad quad droughts. A losing trip for sure.
- Only food I had at Cal was a grilled ham and cheese w/fries from Top Deck restaurant. Kinda wilty.
Other places:
Part of the purpose of this trip was to explore some of the other casinos.
- JA's Nugget: Played the 10-6 DDB here (2 slant tops near garage entry) and got killed. On the plus side, a host (Brandon) introduced himself and said that based on my play, comps would be coming in the mail. On down side, he said he doesn't do discretionary comps and that I would have to use my points for buffet (I did and it sucked). But I also ate at the noodle house (near VIP slots area) and the Pad Thai was really good.
- Peppermill: Did not like! Who thought those chairs would be good? I felt clausterphobic (sp) when sitting at a machine.
- Atlantis: Loved the Sky Terrace! Played 9-6 DDB there at 10-cent level. Bonus perk of playing up there: the bartender will bring a nice fresh Sierra Nevada DRAFT to your machine if you ask nicely. Those were tasty! Played enough to get free buffet for first-time-club signup. Ate Sunday night buffet, and I cannot see what the hype is about. I thought it was fair to poor. Guess I'm used to Red Rock, Main Street and Paris buffets in Vegas, which are miles better.
- Silver Legacy, Harrah's, Eldorado: Played at each for a little just to keep accounts active.
In the end, a fun exploratory trip. But 24 hours of drive time in 72 hours is a chore. Will be interesting to see what offers will be forth-coming. Tough to pass up that $260 free play at Cal if can swing a stay over Sunday night ...