Reno Trip report :
Intro - Why Reno, after all its about a 3 hour longer trip to get there from New York compared to Vegas? But Reno has better VP, and the pace is less hectic.
Day 1: ( Good Friday ) PepperMill
Intro: AA flight from NYC to Chicago to Reno. Arrived 1PM. Surprise, it was only a 10 minute wait for the luggage pickup. Missed the Pepper Limo, Flagged a taxi to the P ( $15 with tip ).
Food: La Romanza Italian, Coffee Shop
Gaming: As reported, The Peppermill is only a remnant of its former self - It's still good , but now I put it 4th on my Reno list where it was #1 about 1 year ago! They really gutted the 10/7 db, 10/6 ddb, 9/5 sbp, super aces, and good multistrike.
Stuff: 1. Room was very nice Jacuzzi suite and check-in was easy and courteous. 2. Lost my 6th straight Peppermill freeplay bet on NSUD. My goal is to double the free play and quit. 3. Witnessed a really bad beat. The guy next to me is playing 5 play DDB with max quarter coins. He changes to 5 coins ( 1 coin/line ) and he gets dealt a royal flush! His friends were all laughing at him, as the shorted 1coin payoff cost him $4700.
Day 2: PepperMill ( Hey, somebody has to pay for all that expansion ! )
Intro: Charge it all to the room - plan to see a host before checkout ( They picked it all up ).
Food: Coffee Shop
Gaming:
3 play 50C NSUD ( hit royal for $2000 )
5Play MS 10/6ddb 10C/25C ( do you believe it, lost $1000 on these ! )
5play MS dbdw (full pay ) at 5C/10c
$ NSUD progressive ( $4900 royal ) ( cant believe it but lost $500 on this one ! )
25C/50C Super aces 3 play ( only 1 in the place folks) - won $500
9/7 triple double bonus 50 play 10C
Double bonus deuces wild ( 50C/ $1 ) - won $800 on these
tons on nsud spin poker ( they dont have 9/5 sdb on these anymore folks )
25C/$1 Double bonus deuces wild
Stuff: Walked downtown to Cal Neva ( took 35 minutes ). Played 10C 10/7 DB spin poker for about an hour and then walked back to the Peppermill. Great exercise, but plenty of bums and beggars along the route.
Day 3: Atlantis( AKA - Video poker heaven)
Intro: Took free shuttle( leaves every 00/30) to Airport to pick up my Alamo Rental car. 1 week, $110 total plus $20 for 1/2 tank gas option. Pointed out a scratch on the car to the attendant and was told "Don't worry about that son, thats only a luggage scratch, and we dont care about that in Reno!" ... Ok, I like his attitude.
We stopped by Tamarack Junction for about 90 minutes. TJ was not as great as touted, but they do have tons of my favorite game - Double Bonus Deuces wild. Check-in at VIP desk was easy - they gave me a Free upgrade to Jacuzzi suite.
Food: Dont get the room service nachos. The worst ever !
Gaming: Too good to be true, maybe the best inventory in all Nevada !
Stuff: Giant lines for gourmet coffee. You can get comped 'OK coffee at Purple Parrot, but not the same.
Day 4: Atlantis
Intro: There are many shopping centers near Atlantis. I like the "Best Buy" on Virginia for a nice selection of DVD's.
Food: ATL has one of the better buffets.The Java Coast coffee is really great. This is a pricy place that has the nerve to charge $1.69 for a banana.
Gaming:
a. 5C super times pay, Multi strike poker ( 44 coins a shot )
schedules are 9/5 jacks, 8/5 sdb, 8/6 bpd( my favorite )
b. $9/6 progressive jacks with very fast meters. I hit 2 quads one for $135, and other for $140. The royal was at $4500 and SF=$450 - nice bartop
c. 8/5 super times pay with spin poker
d. 9/5 triple bonus plus progressive ( royal at $1500 )
e. 5C 9/7 triple double bonus deluxe spin ( got dealt aces and hit 1 234 for a $1600 hand pay )
Stuff: Won $25 in the Slot tourney. There were 500 competitors ( I finished #200 ) , and your odds of winning over $100 was roughly 10-1. Hey, if they offered me $50 in the beginning in place of the tourney and dinner, I would have grabbed it !
Day 5: Atlantis
Intro: Bangkok Cuisine at 55 Mt Rose street. Great Thai food about 1 mile from ATL
Food: Toucan Charlies buffet
Gaming: Played some $ Pickem, and the 10/7 prog DB with SRF. The $ 9/6 jacks made it up to $7500 before somebody hit it!
Stuff: No more Deal or No Deal slots. Guy playing next to me, hits 6/7 playing Caveman Keno for $600. Ten minutes later he hits 7/7 for a $5600 handpay. Very generous tipper - $100 for the attendant and $100 for the bartender.
Day 6: Silver Legacy
Intro:On the way we stopped off at Western Village. its a nice place with NO slot club , but a lot of full pay games. Not as good as it use to be, but still a pretty nice selection
Food: California Pizza is quite good, right across the street.
Gaming:I like this place , but my 16K/day and 2 trips per year gets me $0 in freeplay. But they are generous in their comps
9/6 Jacks at upstairs Sterlings bar
9/6/50(sf) jacks
50C/$1 AA ( you believe this, lost $500 on these ! )
50 play near slot club - 5C 9/7 DB
1-25 coin triple bonus plus
Stuff: Downtown - Plenty of bowling and plenty of beggers.
Day 7: Silver Legacy
Intro: This place and ELDO have good security
Food: Victorian Buffet. Not a great selection, but high quality - recommended
Gaming: Craps - 3/45/ odds , won $500, Played some full pay deuces. 10/6 DDB triple play ( won $2000).
Stuff: Walked over to the Downtown Bowling center giftshop. Got a really great embroidered bowling shirt dirt cheap.
Day 8: ElDorado
Intro: Like this place cause they treat you like family. Good thing I'm part of the Corleone family...haha ).
Food: El Dorado coffee shop ( big burrito - excellent ) , La Strada ( my choice for Italian in Reno).
Gaming: Upstairs - plenty of glare. 3/4 machines with 10/7, and loose deuce. You can play the loose deuce for 9 quarter and avoid tax with a healthy 4500 coin payout ( NO - I did not hit this one ! )
Downstairs - There are a few 10/7 - but inventory has been cut down. Also to be found are 9/6 jacks and NSUD.
Played a lot of 25/50C 9/6 bonus poker deluxe Multi-Strike.
Stuff: Surprisingly, Circus-Circus had some really good video poker:
$1 9/6 DDB progressive ( Royal was $6100)
1C/2C/5C Spin poker deluxe with Deuce's Wild Bonus poker ( Full pay , and a rare find )
10C/25C 3/5 play super aces
5Play MS, with 9/5 super double bonus in 1/2/5C ( ps - i beat the hell out of these )
Circus circus band - "area 51" , they were very good - similar to Vegas Jonathan
Day 9: ElDorado
Intro:Free parking, but don't forget to get your ticked stamped at front desk.
Food: Dinner at La Strata, fantastic - Maybe the best Italian in Reno, a good bargain.
Gaming: On 2nd floor, play the life of luxury dummy slots, or the deal or no deal on the first floor.
Stuff: Attended the Pointer Sisters concert at the Grande Exposition Hall at Silver L. They still are terrific !
Please note that always get the best center seats at this auditorium ( 2/3 of the seats , especially concert mailers are dog seats with horrible views ). I hand picked these seats and it cost me a $120 comp.
Day 10: Sunday: Fly back to New York via Dallas - 6:30 AM Flight
Got 3 hours sleep. Wake up call right on time. It only takes 10 minutes to airport - Left on Center Street to 80 East, to 395 south. Bottom line for trip ... success ++ up $1600
Tomflush's Mid roller Reno Ratings:
#1 Atlantis
#2 Eldorado
#3 Silver Legacy
#4 Peppermill
#5 Circus Circus
#7 Cal Neva
#8 Western Village
#9 Sands/Sienna
#10 Tamarack Junction
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