Stayed this weekend at the Reno Hilton where local news was filled with new
weather records:
--82 MPH winds at Reno Intl Airport caused some outgoing flights to be
cancelled & some incoming flights to be diverted
--134 MPH winds near Tahoe
--every employee that I talked to had storm damage: fences down, trees
falling on cars, roofs blown off or onto their house
--pictures on TV of semi & trailer being blown over by wind, roads
closed--road to Mt Rose closed due to too many cars off the road & they
needed to close to clean it up, advisories say not to travel if you don't
have to
Before I checked out Sun, learned that Reno Hilton was practically full.
During severe power outages, the casinos have special rates for locals who
don't want to stay in the dark. Recommend checking into only the larger
casinos as many of the smaller casinos do not have backup generators.
My way home from Reno is 80 W which is subject to frequent closures. So I
thought I'd be smart & go to Tahoe & see what my options were as there are 2
ways out going W (50 or 89/88). When I got there, highway 89 had closed &
chains were required on 50 as it had been all day long.
I decided to stay in Tahoe after summing all the negatives:
--60% chance of snow
--possibility of road closure
--lousy driver in snow
Earlier this month I had already used all my regular stay coupons that come
in the monthly mailers, normally 2 nights at Horizon & 2 nights at
Harveys/Harrahs.
Inquired at Horizon about rates: $49. What play is needed to get it comped:
$200 play = 1 comp $ so $9800 of play. Horizon has a lot of rooms with
balconies but now it's only good for leaving your coolers out & getting a
cold one.
Since I had a mailer for Harrahs natl drawing which had a free night tucked
away in the body of the mailer (be sure to read everything on your mailers),
I used that for Sun night. Getting up this morning, weather & road closures
looked even worse. Front desk calls with a special stay-over rate ($59).
Checked in with VIP & they comped another night with alacrity.
To make the best of the situation:
--Check weather conditions
--I update my wallet with road info #s:
CA 916-445-7623
NV 877-687-6237
--Check the maps to find out where all the passes are located. When you check
road conditions, the names of passes are often given & knowing those names &
where they're located determine if that info is relevant to where you're
going.
--Check my coupons:
Hey free BJ Tournament entry at Horizon on Tue. Can I make it through
the snow?
Another free slot tournament entry at Horizon on Wed--hope I don't get
to use it.
--Horizon Cinemas: matinee prices end at 3:30 PM otherwise it's $8 for adults
Want to see "Die Another Day" with some foreboding
--Recharge computer & cell phone to max
--Check weather conditions
--So many employees didn't make it into work today. I called Housekeeping,
found out less than a third made it in, told them to skip my room, very
appreciative thank you.
--BTW, all 4 casinos (Harveys, Ha-r-r-r-r-rahs-valet only, Caesars & Horizon
have parking garages & none of them are full. So why do people leave their
cars out in the open? (To make sure their snow brush is still working.)
--Check weather conditions
Hey if anyone else is snowbound in Tahoe & needs to commiserate, I'm at
Harveys!! Call don't get out in these conditions.
As I'm writing this, the snow is blowing UP & there's one crazy bird soaring
with the up- & down-drafts. Kids!!!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]