Cal/Nev Trip Report – Pre- Day 1
And so it begins…for about the next 60 days, I will be writing and posting this year’s trip reports, a tradition that is now in its 12th year. My LVA friend, Madd Dogg (who I’ve never met, but hope to someday) has been kind enough to catalogue every report and can be found here:
https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=58&threadid=285084&STARTPAGE=1&CFID=35304518&CFTOKEN=80785101
I can only hope that he’ll continue to do the same for this year as well. I find the need to apologize right up front. My plan this year was to visit every casino in the state of California much the same as I did a couple of summers ago with the Hit ‘em Nevada. However, after really researching it, I found that I’m not going to be able to do that. California does not have legal gambling outside of the Indian Reservations and many of these are miles away from cities and small towns. A lot of the casinos are so small they are in trailers with as few as 15 slot machines. So, I needed to lay down some guidelines (to pay for gas in California, you almost need to take a second mortgage on your house).
The casinos need to have at least 300+ slot machines and NOT sit by itself more than 150 miles from the closest reasonably large town. Case in point:
https://500nations.com/casinos/caDesertRose.asp
However, this isn’t to say I’m not going to make a decent effort. I have lined up a few trips to the counties that have at least three casinos in them, have made reservations in the nearest town and will do my utmost bring you the details and pictures of the casinos as best I can. If all wanted to do was just drive, I could accomplish this in a couple of weeks…not my usual summer’s adventure. I have been receiving many, many offers from the Nevada casinos for tournaments, gift giveaways, not mention I have planned couple of destinations devoted to meeting friends and family. I’ll be splitting my time between California and Nevada this year (with the majority of the time in Nevada…again) and my most difficult challenge will be to make my trip reports new and interesting. My very good friend Terry (former LVA member dorianmac, who is only “former” because he’s too cheap to spend the $38 to renew his subscription and who I’ll be meeting in Reno during this trip) suggested that since I’m now semi-retired, I might slant some of my reporting on things that retirees might be interested in such as the real estate of the areas and such. I might add a few nuggets of that along the way.
And of course, I will always be happy to answer any questions you might have or things you’d like me to check for you through your replies on the posts which I check every time I post a new day’s report. As there was in my National Casino Run, there may be a day or two lag depending on if I can find a hot spot to actually send in the report. I can’t count on a Starbucks everywhere I go (though you’d think I could).
I have a small cheat to begin things off. Though this called Pre-Day 1, June 14 is because being that I live here, I visited the San Diego County casinos last week. For the past six Sundays, I’ve been staying at Rincon Casino in northern San Diego because they not only offered me a comp room, but also almost $200 in free play each time, so this past Monday, I spent the day going to all the casinos in the county (and there are many). So let’s get started.
First of all, Rincon Casino sits in the furthest area north of San Diego about 25 miles from the city of Escondido. It’s run by Caesar’s and so I can use my Total Rewards card there. It’s an hour and a half drive from my home in Pine Valley, which is why I prefer to stay the night when I do go.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/HarrahsRincon.jpg.html]
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(With this picture of Rincon, let me say that I realize that the HTML is sitting there with the pics this time. It’s never done that before, and I honestly don’t know why they’re here now. If anyone knows what has changed with Photobucket that’s causing this, please PM me.)
Rincon is going through a major expansion at this time adding a new tower, a new convention center and a re-designed pool. It’s slated to be finished in 2014. For the VP player, there is only one play table worth your time and that’s 8/5 BP in all denoms. There was a time when they had full pay on many of the machines, but changed those about a year ago. Why they brought everything down except the Bonus Poker is a mystery, but at least it’s something. Rincon also has all the newest slots that come down the pike. Their buffet is very good. A nice little added bonus for all players is that if you put 50 points on your card, you get a free buffet or a $20 comp in any of the other places (including Pinks Hot Dogs), which is frankly a pretty good deal as this is every day. I talked to a boothling, and they said what started out to be a temporary bonus has been so successful that they’re going to continue it indefinitely.
Their Diamond Lounge is only okay (no free alcoholic drinks, California law) with free soft drinks and popcorn and at 4:30 they bring out fruit and the waiters brings out some sort of finger food for the day.
Next is the Valley View Casino, just 20 minutes from Rincon. This hotel has grown over the years and a couple of years ago added a beautiful hotel with one of the nicest lobbies you’ll see anywhere.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/ValleyViewCasino.jpg.html]
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The Valley View has over 2000 machines and 26 table games. VP players can find some NSUD in quarter play and the high limit room has a few full pay games as well. My problem with Valley View is that there are simply too many machines in too small a space. For the claustrophobic, this is your nightmare. Many times you can’t walk down a row of machines because with people on both sides, the chairs almost touch. Valley View big promo is for new members, you get a free lobster buffet (the lobster is about the size of your thumb). I rarely come here for these reasons.
I then drove about 35 miles east to a small town called San Ysabel, which is about 25 miles south of Julian (famous for their apple pies). It sits alone on a small hill overlooking the Lake Henshaw Valley.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0031.jpg.html]
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There are about 350 slot machines and six tables. There’s also a coffee shop (my parents, who go there occasionally give the food quality a big thumbs down) and a small gift store. The view from the patio is wonderful.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0034.jpg.html]
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I played a Yahtzee machine (lost) and a home sale machine (my mother’s favorite) and won, so I left San Ysabel with a little more money.
Next, I drove past Lake Henshaw, which as you can see along with many of the lakes in California is very low because of sustained drought we’ve been going through the past couple of years. On this early Monday morning, there was not a fisherman or camper to be seen.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0036.jpg.html]
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It was a wonderful drive through the hills of tree covered roads and winding pass ways, until I reached another small casino called Pauma Casino. As you can see, it’s really one of those permanent tents behind the main entrance. It’s a bit larger with 1050 slots and 19 table games. In California, you only have to be 18 years old to gamble, and it’s not unusual to see older high school kids playing machines. I have no clue where they’re getting the money (though I have some ideas)
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0039.jpg.html]
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There’s a small café and also a little pizza outlet to eat here. The VP here all has poor pay schedules and most of the video machines are of the older variety. They do have one machine I like, which is a triple play Dream Card for nickels. This morning I put in a $20 and about half way through hit quad Aces with the kicker for a $100. I cashed out. I tried to take a picture of their bar area, which was quite nice and unique, but as I put the camera to my eye, a tap on my shoulder from the security guard stopped me. Even my promises of no people in the picture didn’t help and so I left.
Down the road about another 20 miles is a very larger casino called Pala. It attracts a lot of the top entertainment and has all the amenities of a top-of-the-line casino in Las Vegas. I’ve eaten in the café here and it’s one of the best anywhere. I can only assume that the other restaurants (ten in all) are just as good. If I were to ever decide to drop Caesars, I’d put all my play here. Though most of their VP machines are short pay, in the high limit room (one dollar and above), most all the single line VP has full pay schedules on most the games. The two top tier levels have their own buffet and lounge area (and the buffet is top notch).
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0040.jpg.html]
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They also frown on pictures inside the casino. I did play an 8/6 Quick Quads for dimes and caught a couple for a nifty $50 win. Of all the casinos in San Diego County, this would be my first choice.
https://500nations.com/casinos/caPala.asp
About 20 miles west from Pala is perhaps the largest of all these casinos, Pechanga Hotel and Casino. With its almost 5000 slots, 132 table games and 54 tables poker room, it stands only five miles from Interstate 15 in Temecula, CA, which is actually in Riverside County.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0042.jpg.html]
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I’ve never liked this casino. It lacks character. Much like Foxwoods in Connecticut, it seems to just be a sea of slot machines. It’s very easy to get lost in here as the signage is poor and on more than one occasion, I found myself walking in circles. The poker room does something REALLY odd; they take their full rake out of pot after the first flop…regardless of how big or small the post ends up becoming. What? Why poker players put up with this just amazes me.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0043.jpg.html]
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The center of the casino has a bar with this as the center piece.
The VP here was once a good play, but it has since been reduced and there is nothing worth playing here. I soon left all the northern county casinos, and began my trek to the east county (as it was on my way home). My first stop was Barona Casino. I used to play here a lot and was a premium member, but trying to maintain good status in Las Vegas and locally was simply too much on a school teachers’ salary and I eventually dropped my status. The casino hasn’t changed much in the past five or six years but that’s not to say it isn’t nice, because it is a very good casino and their hotel rooms are terrific.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/caBaronaPhoto1.jpg.html]
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The buffet here is probably the best of the San Diego County casinos and their café is fantastic. Oddly, all the VP in the casino is short pay with the exception of a carousel of machines in the entrance of the casino which has full pay schedules on all the games. Go figure.
From here it was to a casino just outside of El Cajon (east San Diego) called Sycuan Casino. There is no hotel here but the casino has been expanded many times, so it’s a little hard to navigate all the rooms.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/caSycuanPhoto1.jpg.html]
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(BTW – pics of Sycuan, Barona, and Valley View are pasted, I didn’t have my camera, my apologies)
Sycuan has most of the latest games in their over 2000 inventory. They’re slot club isn’t very generous and as you might tell; I’m not a big fan of this casino, though it certainly is nice enough to give it a look-see. The VP isn’t playable, and as I’ve pointed out so many times in past reports, if the VP is poor, you can pretty much assume the slots are tight as well.
On this Monday of casino hopping, my final stop is Viejas Casino and Hotel (the hotel was just finished last month).
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0044.jpg.html]
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Though I only live about 12 minutes from this casino, I rarely stop in to play (well, maybe once a month I’ll drop by and take advantage of the $5 free play they give me). It’s a nice enough casino and they just finished remodeling the buffet, which was once universally accepted as the worst buffet this side of Terribles in Las Vegas to one that is at least competitive.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0046.jpg.html]
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Viejas has over 2000 slots and 82 table games, so it stands up right there with the other larger local casinos. What sets this one apart from the others is that it has an Outlet Center with many of the top brand shops along with a boutique bowling alley (I understand brought in from the defunct one at the Rio in Las Vegas and reconstructed here), and miniature golf course and a food court with a dancing water display.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0047.jpg.html]
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There are both summer and winter themed shows here every night with fireworks and such. However, except right before Christmas, this place always appears to be deserted even though the shops have some pretty nice sales.
So after my running around, I made it home late with an extra $65 in winnings. This concludes the “Pre-Day 1” trip report. The actual Day 1 coming up.
More tomorrow
And so it begins…for about the next 60 days, I will be writing and posting this year’s trip reports, a tradition that is now in its 12th year. My LVA friend, Madd Dogg (who I’ve never met, but hope to someday) has been kind enough to catalogue every report and can be found here:
https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=58&threadid=285084&STARTPAGE=1&CFID=35304518&CFTOKEN=80785101
I can only hope that he’ll continue to do the same for this year as well. I find the need to apologize right up front. My plan this year was to visit every casino in the state of California much the same as I did a couple of summers ago with the Hit ‘em Nevada. However, after really researching it, I found that I’m not going to be able to do that. California does not have legal gambling outside of the Indian Reservations and many of these are miles away from cities and small towns. A lot of the casinos are so small they are in trailers with as few as 15 slot machines. So, I needed to lay down some guidelines (to pay for gas in California, you almost need to take a second mortgage on your house).
The casinos need to have at least 300+ slot machines and NOT sit by itself more than 150 miles from the closest reasonably large town. Case in point:
https://500nations.com/casinos/caDesertRose.asp
However, this isn’t to say I’m not going to make a decent effort. I have lined up a few trips to the counties that have at least three casinos in them, have made reservations in the nearest town and will do my utmost bring you the details and pictures of the casinos as best I can. If all wanted to do was just drive, I could accomplish this in a couple of weeks…not my usual summer’s adventure. I have been receiving many, many offers from the Nevada casinos for tournaments, gift giveaways, not mention I have planned couple of destinations devoted to meeting friends and family. I’ll be splitting my time between California and Nevada this year (with the majority of the time in Nevada…again) and my most difficult challenge will be to make my trip reports new and interesting. My very good friend Terry (former LVA member dorianmac, who is only “former” because he’s too cheap to spend the $38 to renew his subscription and who I’ll be meeting in Reno during this trip) suggested that since I’m now semi-retired, I might slant some of my reporting on things that retirees might be interested in such as the real estate of the areas and such. I might add a few nuggets of that along the way.
And of course, I will always be happy to answer any questions you might have or things you’d like me to check for you through your replies on the posts which I check every time I post a new day’s report. As there was in my National Casino Run, there may be a day or two lag depending on if I can find a hot spot to actually send in the report. I can’t count on a Starbucks everywhere I go (though you’d think I could).
I have a small cheat to begin things off. Though this called Pre-Day 1, June 14 is because being that I live here, I visited the San Diego County casinos last week. For the past six Sundays, I’ve been staying at Rincon Casino in northern San Diego because they not only offered me a comp room, but also almost $200 in free play each time, so this past Monday, I spent the day going to all the casinos in the county (and there are many). So let’s get started.
First of all, Rincon Casino sits in the furthest area north of San Diego about 25 miles from the city of Escondido. It’s run by Caesar’s and so I can use my Total Rewards card there. It’s an hour and a half drive from my home in Pine Valley, which is why I prefer to stay the night when I do go.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/HarrahsRincon.jpg.html]
[/URL] (With this picture of Rincon, let me say that I realize that the HTML is sitting there with the pics this time. It’s never done that before, and I honestly don’t know why they’re here now. If anyone knows what has changed with Photobucket that’s causing this, please PM me.)
Rincon is going through a major expansion at this time adding a new tower, a new convention center and a re-designed pool. It’s slated to be finished in 2014. For the VP player, there is only one play table worth your time and that’s 8/5 BP in all denoms. There was a time when they had full pay on many of the machines, but changed those about a year ago. Why they brought everything down except the Bonus Poker is a mystery, but at least it’s something. Rincon also has all the newest slots that come down the pike. Their buffet is very good. A nice little added bonus for all players is that if you put 50 points on your card, you get a free buffet or a $20 comp in any of the other places (including Pinks Hot Dogs), which is frankly a pretty good deal as this is every day. I talked to a boothling, and they said what started out to be a temporary bonus has been so successful that they’re going to continue it indefinitely.
Their Diamond Lounge is only okay (no free alcoholic drinks, California law) with free soft drinks and popcorn and at 4:30 they bring out fruit and the waiters brings out some sort of finger food for the day.
Next is the Valley View Casino, just 20 minutes from Rincon. This hotel has grown over the years and a couple of years ago added a beautiful hotel with one of the nicest lobbies you’ll see anywhere.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/ValleyViewCasino.jpg.html]
[/URL]The Valley View has over 2000 machines and 26 table games. VP players can find some NSUD in quarter play and the high limit room has a few full pay games as well. My problem with Valley View is that there are simply too many machines in too small a space. For the claustrophobic, this is your nightmare. Many times you can’t walk down a row of machines because with people on both sides, the chairs almost touch. Valley View big promo is for new members, you get a free lobster buffet (the lobster is about the size of your thumb). I rarely come here for these reasons.
I then drove about 35 miles east to a small town called San Ysabel, which is about 25 miles south of Julian (famous for their apple pies). It sits alone on a small hill overlooking the Lake Henshaw Valley.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0031.jpg.html]
[/URL]There are about 350 slot machines and six tables. There’s also a coffee shop (my parents, who go there occasionally give the food quality a big thumbs down) and a small gift store. The view from the patio is wonderful.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0034.jpg.html]
[/URL]I played a Yahtzee machine (lost) and a home sale machine (my mother’s favorite) and won, so I left San Ysabel with a little more money.
Next, I drove past Lake Henshaw, which as you can see along with many of the lakes in California is very low because of sustained drought we’ve been going through the past couple of years. On this early Monday morning, there was not a fisherman or camper to be seen.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0036.jpg.html]
[/URL]It was a wonderful drive through the hills of tree covered roads and winding pass ways, until I reached another small casino called Pauma Casino. As you can see, it’s really one of those permanent tents behind the main entrance. It’s a bit larger with 1050 slots and 19 table games. In California, you only have to be 18 years old to gamble, and it’s not unusual to see older high school kids playing machines. I have no clue where they’re getting the money (though I have some ideas)
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0039.jpg.html]
[/URL]There’s a small café and also a little pizza outlet to eat here. The VP here all has poor pay schedules and most of the video machines are of the older variety. They do have one machine I like, which is a triple play Dream Card for nickels. This morning I put in a $20 and about half way through hit quad Aces with the kicker for a $100. I cashed out. I tried to take a picture of their bar area, which was quite nice and unique, but as I put the camera to my eye, a tap on my shoulder from the security guard stopped me. Even my promises of no people in the picture didn’t help and so I left.
Down the road about another 20 miles is a very larger casino called Pala. It attracts a lot of the top entertainment and has all the amenities of a top-of-the-line casino in Las Vegas. I’ve eaten in the café here and it’s one of the best anywhere. I can only assume that the other restaurants (ten in all) are just as good. If I were to ever decide to drop Caesars, I’d put all my play here. Though most of their VP machines are short pay, in the high limit room (one dollar and above), most all the single line VP has full pay schedules on most the games. The two top tier levels have their own buffet and lounge area (and the buffet is top notch).
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0040.jpg.html]
[/URL]They also frown on pictures inside the casino. I did play an 8/6 Quick Quads for dimes and caught a couple for a nifty $50 win. Of all the casinos in San Diego County, this would be my first choice.
https://500nations.com/casinos/caPala.asp
About 20 miles west from Pala is perhaps the largest of all these casinos, Pechanga Hotel and Casino. With its almost 5000 slots, 132 table games and 54 tables poker room, it stands only five miles from Interstate 15 in Temecula, CA, which is actually in Riverside County.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0042.jpg.html]
[/URL]I’ve never liked this casino. It lacks character. Much like Foxwoods in Connecticut, it seems to just be a sea of slot machines. It’s very easy to get lost in here as the signage is poor and on more than one occasion, I found myself walking in circles. The poker room does something REALLY odd; they take their full rake out of pot after the first flop…regardless of how big or small the post ends up becoming. What? Why poker players put up with this just amazes me.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0043.jpg.html]
[/URL]The center of the casino has a bar with this as the center piece.
The VP here was once a good play, but it has since been reduced and there is nothing worth playing here. I soon left all the northern county casinos, and began my trek to the east county (as it was on my way home). My first stop was Barona Casino. I used to play here a lot and was a premium member, but trying to maintain good status in Las Vegas and locally was simply too much on a school teachers’ salary and I eventually dropped my status. The casino hasn’t changed much in the past five or six years but that’s not to say it isn’t nice, because it is a very good casino and their hotel rooms are terrific.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/caBaronaPhoto1.jpg.html]
[/URL]The buffet here is probably the best of the San Diego County casinos and their café is fantastic. Oddly, all the VP in the casino is short pay with the exception of a carousel of machines in the entrance of the casino which has full pay schedules on all the games. Go figure.
From here it was to a casino just outside of El Cajon (east San Diego) called Sycuan Casino. There is no hotel here but the casino has been expanded many times, so it’s a little hard to navigate all the rooms.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/caSycuanPhoto1.jpg.html]
[/URL](BTW – pics of Sycuan, Barona, and Valley View are pasted, I didn’t have my camera, my apologies)
Sycuan has most of the latest games in their over 2000 inventory. They’re slot club isn’t very generous and as you might tell; I’m not a big fan of this casino, though it certainly is nice enough to give it a look-see. The VP isn’t playable, and as I’ve pointed out so many times in past reports, if the VP is poor, you can pretty much assume the slots are tight as well.
On this Monday of casino hopping, my final stop is Viejas Casino and Hotel (the hotel was just finished last month).
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0044.jpg.html]
[/URL]Though I only live about 12 minutes from this casino, I rarely stop in to play (well, maybe once a month I’ll drop by and take advantage of the $5 free play they give me). It’s a nice enough casino and they just finished remodeling the buffet, which was once universally accepted as the worst buffet this side of Terribles in Las Vegas to one that is at least competitive.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0046.jpg.html]
[/URL]Viejas has over 2000 slots and 82 table games, so it stands up right there with the other larger local casinos. What sets this one apart from the others is that it has an Outlet Center with many of the top brand shops along with a boutique bowling alley (I understand brought in from the defunct one at the Rio in Las Vegas and reconstructed here), and miniature golf course and a food court with a dancing water display.
[URL=https://s266.photobucket.com/user/sionow/media/Cal%20Nev_Run_Around/SAM_0047.jpg.html]
[/URL]There are both summer and winter themed shows here every night with fireworks and such. However, except right before Christmas, this place always appears to be deserted even though the shops have some pretty nice sales.
So after my running around, I made it home late with an extra $65 in winnings. This concludes the “Pre-Day 1” trip report. The actual Day 1 coming up.
More tomorrow
