After getting completely fed up with the tight gambling, paid parking, reduced menus, and overall f@ckening in Vegas recently I thought I'd try my annual gambling trip in Reno this year. I had never been so it was a nice opportunity to explore new territory and give the casinos in Reno a run which are reportedly more player friendly than Vegas.
The reporters were right - stay tuned.
First just a few general, random observations about Reno and then I'll jump into my trip
- Reno/Sparks is considerably smaller than Vegas. It takes all of 5 minutes to drive from downtown Reno to downtown Sparks. Thats how close they are. Reno expands farther to the north and south...so the southern most parts of Reno are actually farther from downtown than Sparks is
- I couldnt believe how clean and pretty downtown is. Totally different from Vegas. No graffiti. No random piles of garbage
on the sidewalk. Beautiful Riverwalk along the Truckee River goes through downtown with a park, pavillion, and lots of gastropubs and coktail bars.
Nice hiking trail along the Truckee just minutes from downtown.
Many people live in the highrises so unlike Vegas they make an effort to appeal downtown to locals - not just tourists.
In fact its largely the other way around.
the beautiful Truckee River goes through downtown.
- I saw probably 15-20 homeless people everywhere over the course of a week which was surprising...although I'm told that may be a product of the season. The unhoused folks tend to stay indoors at the shelters or migrate to warmer places during winter. The news said the shelters were full - I dont know where the
shelters are. They werent where I was staying.
- ANother welcome note was the lack of the sleazeball attributes that come with Sin City. I didnt see anyone that looked like a hooker. Nobody handing out fliers for escort services. No vans driving down the street advertising strip clubs. I'm pretty sure all those things exist in Reno but they just dont put it out in the public square in their community. Which comes to my next point....
- Reno seems to really draw a line between the casinos and everything else. You can sit at the counter of a restaurant or bar and not have
the obligatory video poker terminal inserted in front of you like everywhere in Vegas. The gas stations and grocery stores dont greet you
with a Texas Tea slot machine at the entry.
- Just north of downtown is the University of Nevado Reno....and its gorgeous. Exponentially nicer than UNLV. I ended up taking a nice tour of campus
simply because thats where SIRI told me thats where the closest Panera Bread was. Very walkable campus with lots of nice college eateries and pubs nearby...
the busline is a straight shot from campus all the way down Virginia Street which is like Reno's eqivalent of Las Vegas Blvd.
- Houses are expensive and going to get worse. My humble $300K house in a nice subdivision of Indianapolis would easily cost double that in a comparable neighorhood
in Reno. There are cheaper houses but they either have a dated floorplan or are not in a good location/neighborhood. Most middle class people live in apartments or townhomes.
Google is in the process of building a satelight campus nearby - so those real estate values are about to go even higher. Gasoline isnt cheap either...$4.50/gallon -
$2 more than back home in Indy. And wait till you see what it costs near Lake Tahoe. Stay tuned.
- The airport desperately needs to be updated. I drove past the entrance to airport three times before finding it because it isnt labeled. And despite the airport not being very
large you end up walking about a mile because the ticketing/security/gates are not laid out efficiently. Returning my rental car was like a mouse going through a maze. I made about twenty turns
inside the airport grounds before getting to the dropoff. Good thing I left early !
Accomodations
I spent my time at the Plaza Resort Club in the heart of downtown. THis is a non-casino property...primarily a timeshare resort.
Its a really old, elegant highrise that features an indoor pool and its own cocktail bar. If you have a car they give you a garage door opener
to operate the gate to the parking garage. That was different.
Location is right on the Truckee River downtown and within easy walking distance of the big casinos near the arch.
nice view !
Casinos at the Row
Caesers dominates downtown Reno with three huge properties all connected by pedestrian walkways. I honestly didnt play at any of them because of my ongoing boycott of Caesers casinos...but these are actually pretty decent places for casino players. I saw plenty of 99%+ Video Poker at El Dorado. Table limits were all over the place but only $10 during the daytime.
All of these are big places which are about on par with Bally's/Harrah's in Vegas in terms of both size and quality. This is also were you will find most of the non-gaming tourists in town. There were hundreds of kids dragging their parents around.
The El Dorado - Caesers.
Silver Legacy - Caesers
Circus Circus - Caesers
The bright and vibrant Midway at Circus Circus in Reno is in bizzaro world compared to its cousin in Las Vegas. This actually looked like a fun
place to bring your kids and the overall vibe is fun.
Step right up and win some crap !
Club Cal Neva
- signup bonus: Free slot play after 45 points.
- closest matching vibe/ambiance in Vegas: Poker Palace
One of the few places downtown not run by Caesers is the Club Cal Neva. It is a completely unapologetic shithole. The customers are a delightful mix of gambling degenerates, ex cons , and members of the local sex offender registry. The workers are all the people who got fired from the other casinos in town after showing up drunk for their shift too many times. When I signed up for the players club the attendant made a point of telling me I could use my comps to buy cigarettes. Well thats just peachy !
The casino is a deceptively big place. The entry room off Virginia Ave is small...but the rest of the casino is on the other side of an alley. So you have to walk out one door, cross the ally, and go in a second door to get to the rest of the place. There's also a whole second level which is where you'll find the sports book. I found some 8/5 Bonus Poker to keep me busy while watching the ballgame and sucking down some Coors Light. $15 Craps tables both times I went in. Dealers were nice.
Best thing about this place is probably the greasy spoon diner which has some cheap breakfast specials. $9.99 Steak and Eggs. Good prices on soup/salad/sandwiches.
All in all I won some and lost some here. I dont think I came out far either way. I'd visit again if I am back in town.
Peppermill
- signup bonus: free slot play. $25 in comps after giving them your email address
- Closest matching vibe/ambiance in Vegas: Mirage
Probably my overall favorite casino was the Peppermill. Its located about a mile south of downtown on Virginia Ave.
It has the classy, hoity-toity feel like many of the nicer casinos on the Las Vegas strip coupled with a very player
friendly casino. Restaurants are expensive:
$20 for bacon and eggs breakfast at the diner...and another $5 for coffee...with tip the total comes to $30
The craps table was hot and I ended up walking away with $700 after playing for close to two hours.
$15 limits on weekend nights....$10 during the days. 3/4/5X odds is not the greatest but that was everywhere in town.
Great combination of 99%+ video poker, loose slots, and a calendar packed with promotions. The night I went offered 7X points on both machines and tables. I woke up the next day with $50 in comps from my play and another $25 from the signup bonus.
Peppermill also possessed the nicest sports book of all the casinos I visited: three huge screens 20ft tall/30ft wide...and then a row of 75 inch screens that circumnavigated the room. They had some kind of party going on during Sunday Night football but I was too busy playing craps.
I ended up doing fairly well here. Between my craps winnings and a couple 4OAK's on DDB I ended up significantly ahead.
Atlantis
- signup bonus: $10 free play right away. Another $15 after they verify your email address
- Closest matching vibe/ambiance in Vegas: Orleans
(Stock photo)
The Atlantis is just a little farther down the road from the Peppermill. Its a very nice place but with a very different vibe than Peppermill. The ceiling tiles are dark. Dark carpet. Dim lighting. Reminded me alot of the Orleans.
They boast the best casino buffet in town... but it aint cheap. I went for Sunday Brunch which was $60. I thought for sure I'd get bent over but my official verdict is it was worth it. Bottomless mimosas, raw oysters, oysters rockafeller, peeled shrimp, crab legs, prime rib, and baked salmon were the premium items. And thats where you get your money's worth. If you just load up on bacon and eggs you will get ripped off. I didnt. Nice dessert bar including the gourmet gelato selections. I'd say its a solid step above
the Cosmopolitan's buffet and maybe not quite as nice as the Wynn's.
I played for about an hour after finding some good VP schedules. I ended up loosing a few hundred but thats gonna happen. I lost a couple more hundred on the craps table. Thats gonna happen too. I think its a pretty good place to play. I just had bad luck there. I
Baldini's
- signup bonus: $25 after small amount of play. Free steak/shrimp dinner after $1000 coin in.
- closest matching vibe/ambiance in Vegas: Skyline Casino
If you ever watch the YouTube video series starring "Slot Queen" you will have heard of Baldini's.. Its one of her favorite places to play. And after visiting I can see why. Baldini's is just a slot parlor with a small sports book.
The video poker is kinda sucky - but the slot machines are easily the loosest of anywhere I've ever played.
I went two consecutive days and had the same experience both times. I walked in with $1000 dollars and walked out several hours later with $1500. I didnt have any big hits - no hand pays. I would just put a $100 bill into a machine...play 10 minutes..and then pull out $140.
Rinse and repeat. All night. Same thing next day. What a blast ! I was getting better returns playing slots at Baldinis then at any of the Full pay VP games. Who needs to learn proper strategy with Bonus Poker when you can just slap the button on the Goldfish slot machine?
They also have a nice promotion calendar with prize giveaways
Free Steak and Shrimp dinner at Baldini's after $1000 coin in. comes with three sides.
Grand Sierra Resort
signup bonus: dont know. Already a member via Sahara in Vegas
closest matching vibe/ambiance in Vegas: Ceasers Palace
(stock photo)
The final big casino I visited was the Grand Sierra Resort which is located off the highway by the airport.
Its owned by the same company that owns the Sahara in Vegas but dont let that fool you. Grand Sierra is much, much nicer. Bright, vibrant, elegant surroundings. And the tall ceiling go a long way towards disapating any smoke that patrons might be coughing up into the air. Its huge. And its getting bigger. A new addition is underway and scheduled to open sometime next year.
Much like Peppermill they had a great selection of both machines and tables. $10 craps tables with 3/4/5X odds. The sportsbook isnt as nice as the one at Peppermill but it was nice. I played for a long time but ended up down a few hundred. My one winning NFL bet came through which helped a little. I would have done much better to avoid the sports books altogether. 7 - $100 bets put on 7 different games. I lost 6 of them. Sheesh!
Lake Tahoe.
Of course I took a little day trip over to see Lake Tahoe. I mostly toured the north and west shores. I'd love to go back in the warmer months and
do a bicycle tour around the whole thing.
Two most noteworthy photos from my daytrip.
1) The Corleone Estate from the film Godfather 2. This is where Michael gets shaked down by the shady Senator...and where he ultimatley kills Fredo. 50 years later the outside is largely unchanged. This was as close as I could get and there was no shoulder on the road ...I had to park my car in the
middle of the road and hope nobody came by while I got out and snapped this pic.
Poor Fredo !
2) Gas prices around Lake Tahoe are freakishly insane. The picture says it all.
Holy butt rape, Batman !
Final Thoughts.
I ended up coming home with $600 more than I went out with....and thats enough of a positive reason to give this trip high marks all by itself.
Reno was a blast. Its a beautiful city that really does offer alot beyond its size. Even so - it is small.
I feel like it would be hard to do a whole week there. I went for five days and that was probably one day too many. Being new I could spend alot of time exploring the area which kept me busy. It doesnt have the non-gaming entertiainment options Vegas has which is both a good and bad thing IMO.
Going forward I can see splitting up my vacation between Reno and Vegas....maybe do Reno for three days and gamble my ass off...
and then hit up Vegas for three days and get some entertainment and a Golden Knights game. I dont see any reason to waste money in Vegas casinos given my experience in Reno. Hopefully Vegas casinos will get better someday.
Until next time - Happy trails !
