Reno 4/14-4/17/05
I'm back from my recent trip to Reno and I thought I'd share some
observations, thoughts and various rants.
As has become my custom, I'll break it down by property.
SLegacy: Comp rate is definitely .33%. I managed to get upgraded to
a suite for my first 2 nights, but had to move to a standard room on
my last 2 nights. I guess the $13K/day I gave them last trip wasn't
enough for 4 nights in the suite, even though I have Sterling level
card.
VP: The $ 10/7 slanttops are in their same position, but as was
previously reported, are no longer prog. The FPDW progressives
remain and actually cracked $1100 on my final night in town. All
50/100play 9/6JB remains as stated in the database. Status is
$10K/day for Sterling and $24K/day for Baron. They apparently use a
multiple trip average to calculate status, but I'm not sure how many
trips it takes.
BJ: This place is infested with 6:5 ripoff and the ploppies flocked
to the tables. This disgusted me.
Food: I did the café each day. Nothing too spectacular, but
definitely passable.
Rooms: Definitely starting to show their age. In our suite, the
carpet was fraying in multiple spots, the wallpaper was peeling from
the wall and multiple water stains were observed on the Jacuzzi. In
addition, the mattress was slanted and they only put a pathetic 19"
TV in the room. How can anyone watch a 19" TV from 25 feet away?
The rooms to ask for are with a "Sparks" view. If you ask a clerk
for one facing "northwest", you'll get the deer in the headlights
look.
Misc: I did the Legacy Lotto promo each day. From what I observed,
players with status get 5 free drawing tickets for each entry. Max
entries per day is 3, 1 for everyone, 1 for earning 20 pts and 1 for
giving them the voucher that is obtained at hotel checkin. That's 15
tickets in the drum on the first day and 10 on subsequent days.
Additional tickets can be had at the rate of 50 pts earned = 1 ticket
from the Legacy booth. I managed 117 tickets, but none were drawn on
Sunday at 3PM. What was interesting is that I watched ALL the
tickets that were pulled and NONE were bent/wrinkled. This makes me
wonder if SL tells the gals who pull tickets to only pull straight
ones out. They pulled almost 20 tickets, so it would seem to make
sense that at least one would be crumbled.
ElDorado:
VP: Confirmed all 9/6 JB progressives. The highest I saw was a
dollar one at about $6K.
BJ: Mindplay cheat devices have spread like a plague at this joint.
Obviously, the Carano's don't want to give their BJ players a
chance.
Harrahs:
VP: The (2) $1 PE are definitely FP and alive and kicking. They are
located along the rail of the pokerroom, all the way at the far
corner. As you sit at them, you'll be facing the pokerroom with your
back to the entrance. I found 9/6 JB in at least $0.50 (Didn't
check all denoms) on some of the bartops (I didn't check them all) in
the sportsbook. I could not locate the 10 coin .25's near the coffee
shop. I ran about $5K through on the wife's card and $3K through
on my card in the hopes of future room offers. It's very likely I'll
make Harrahs my home base (I need 2 rooms on my Reno trips), and kiss
the Legacy goodbye due to their pathetic comp earning %.
Food: They run midweek specials in Café Napa, and the Chinese
specials were a pretty good value; soup, eggroll, fried rice and
entrée for about $6. A nice way to burn RC's. We also had dinner at
Andreotti's one night and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality
of the food and the very reasonable prices. For those readers that
are paying close attention to this report, be sure to drop me a line
about an interesting play I located in the casino. I'll definitely
return to the Andreotti outlet.
Atlantis:
VP: Made a very brief trip here. Could not locate the MStrikes that
are supposedly in the Sky Terrace. The $ AA were definitely NOT on
menu of the (2) $ Gamemakers near the bar/coffeeshop. I briefly
played the $1 10/7/80 DB and hit quad fours in the first 10 minutes
and cashed out, since I only had about an hour to play here. Of
course, I cashed out for $425 and the handpay threshold is $400.
Misc: This might be the most cramped casino I've been in. They
literally have machines backed all the way to the table games. I've
never seen so many crowded aisles. The casino itself is a cluster to
begin with, but when you pile gobs of machines into it, a player
could easily get turned around.
Peppermill:
VP: The 10 coin .25 FPDW remain as stated. I preferred the bank back
by the Fireside Lounge. Even on a crazy Friday night, this area was
still relatively peaceful (other than the nonstop pages over the
PA
.what's the deal with that?!?!?!) The NSUD progressive w/ 3%
meter may have been in the coffee shop alcove, but I couldn't find
them. I didn't check near the buffet (stupid me!). The (2) STPay
machines near Oceano are ALWAYS occupied.
BJ: Amazing to see a real single deck game being dealt with playable
pen.
Food: We tried the coffeeshop for the first time this trip and I
have to say, it was excellent. I had the General's Chicken w/
crabmeat wontons one night and it was outstanding. On a different
morning, I got brave and tried the banana nut bread French toast.
You want to talk about a heavy breakfast? I think each slice weighed
a pound. Tasty, but waaaay too rich for me. Portions were very
generous and service was acceptable. We'll darken their doorstep
again.
Misc: Based on the info from tedchee, I went up to the booth and
requested the "coupon sheet". The clerk took my card and promptly
handed one over. She did the same for the wife. There's a bunch of
good coupons in it, but the best are (6) $10 MPs and (6) 4OAK bonus
coupons. Be sure to also do the Peppermillions swipe daily. I got a
coupon good for $40 on ANY 4OAK when playing at the $ level. The
wife received a free dessert coupon in the coffeshop which can be
stacked with a comp, so that was a nice treat. Hopefully the
action I gave them will generate some room offers, because I'd love
to stay here one trip.
Overall: Reno remains an excellent alternative to Vegas. Less
traffic, less "element", less pollution, better VP, better BJ, decent
food/comps and MUCH less BS at the airport. Now if only they'd put
out more coupons, I'd be set. Oh well, I can't have everything
To
be continued this Fall.