Brad and I just returned from a 4-day visit in Reno. (The common joke when people found out where we were from was “Can’t you find a casino in Las Vegas?”) We stayed and played at the Atlantis, which had given us a good offer to “try them out.” (If you are Seven Stars at Harrah’s or have a Chairman card at the Stations and have never played at the Atlantis, you are welcome to e-mail me privately for details about this good offer for those high-tier players – [email protected])
The Atlantis is a nice property, and we had a luxurious Jacuzzi suite. There was a wide variety of eating choices, but we eschewed the higher end restaurants and chose the continental breakfasts in the concierge lounge and dinners in the excellent buffet or topnotch Manhattan Deli. There is a year-around indoor pool, but we opted to enjoy a pleasant warm evening in the outdoor pool and spa.
Although we enjoyed all the amenities, it was the gambling that was our primary interest. I saw more good video poker paytables in the Atlantis than in any casino I have visited during the last 5 or more years. The downside is that these good machines don’t give as many slot club points as the lower-pay machines, but the casino does offer frequent multiple point days. I had planned our 4-day visit to hit two 3x days and one 2x day. We played some every day but concentrated more of our play on the 3x days and did more relaxing and visiting with friends on the other days.
In this blog and in the comments recently we have been discussing the subject of losing, and I had shared that Brad and I were in a painfully long losing streak, mainly due to a severe royal drought. (I did get 4 royals in June, but unfortunately they were on nickel 100-play. A $200 royal really doesn’t help much in getting out of a deep hole dug playing higher denominations!) But our losing streak finally did come to an end at the Atlantis, with Brad getting a royal and a couple other jackpots that allowed us to come home with a nice chunk of winnings. We’re not out of the 2010 hole, but we have climbed up enough to see daylight above us!
Thank you for your report. I figured you guys would find the Atlantis eventually.
Kevin Lewis summed up the Atlantis/Peppermill situation well. I can confirm that the comps are generous, at least at the Peppermill. If they’ll comp me, they’ll comp almost anyone.
Ralph: The blackjack at the Peppermill and Atlantis are nearly identical – plenty of single deck with Reno rules (h17, d10, no das), plenty of double deck with Downtown Vegas rules, and the odd shoe with das available. Not great, but playable, since they all pay 3:2 for blackjacks. The Atlantis is more consistent about having $3 minimums during slow times than the Peppermill. Mostly the minimums are $5, going to $10 when it’s busy.
Sorry, didn’t check out the BJ at all.
I realize that you and Brad mainly play machines (vp), but could you please make a comment or two about whether a player has any chance of playing some BJ at the Atlantis?
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Actually I was figuring that on base points.
After 3 days there, I still didn’t know which way to go!!
That sounds exactly right as you got a base of 0.2% (I assume you were playing on a 2X day), but slightly tweaked for “theo”. I’ve found that an adjustment for theo is added to the base (after multipliers), so your getting a bit less for Multi-Strike NSUD than for single-line NSUD sounds makes sense. If you got 23 points/100, then it sounds like they were rebating 10% of theo (an additional 0.03%).
Unfortunately, you kind of have to infer all this as Atlantis mimics Peppermill’s non-disclosure policies. At LEAST they went to the self-comping kiosks where you can actually see how many points you have and what they will buy in comps. At the Peppermill (and until very recently, at the Atlantis as well), you would have to ask at the slot booth, “Do I have enough comps for…” and the answer, yes or no, still wouldn’t tell you how many comps you DID have…one night, I got so fed up that I asked, “Do I have enough comps for a dinner buffet for forty people? No? How about thirty-nine? No? How about thirty-eight?”
I haven’t been back to Reno in almost a year, so the VP scene may have changed drastically. But I remember that Club Cal-Neva in downtown Reno had quite a few positive VP machines, especially if you like Double Bonus Poker. However, Club Cal-Neva has become much stingier with its comps. I used to be able to get free hotel rooms almost any night of the year and $100-$150 worth of monthly free play (25/50 cent VP play), but now my free night/free play offers have been cut down by more than half.
Did you ever get lost on the gaming floor? We don’t go to Atlantis often but when we do we sometimes can’t find our way out!
Kevin, I found that we got about 23 points for $100 coin-in. A little less for NSUD in Multi-Strike; a little more for single line NSUD. Does that sound right?
Don’t think your comments aren’t coming through if you don’t see them right away. I have to approve all comments or we’d be overrun with spam. I usually approve comments once a day unless I am out of town.
Jean if you liked the Atlantis, try the Peppermill sometime, just down the street.
The slot point reductions only happen on a few machines–the bank of 100%+ near the back that has .05/.25 games like FPJW and OEJ. At the stakes you are playing, the best games are single-line and multi-line NSUD, SDB, and TDB, which can be found all over the casino (much like Peppermill; both casinos are NSUD houses). The Atlantis pays full points on those machines.
The points benefits are somewhat murky; you earn points at a base of 0.1% (not what it says in vpfree2), but the multipliers are always in force, so you earn at least 0.2%. However, there are discretionary comps as well if you ask, and what you get in that regard, as well as the strangth of your mailer, seems to be a function of your theo. I get a monthly 2 free nights+ $25 food credit mailer for my modest .25 action.
You might find yourself coming back up to Reno more often. The VP is better than it is in Vegas (it’s gone downhill, but not to the awful extent that it has in Vegas), the weather is better (especially now), and the prices are lower. If I were you, I would establish a relationship with the Peppermill as well; they have tons of excellent VP, almost as good as Atlantis, and the hotel, casino, and restaurants are equally good. The Pepp has an idiotic “don’t ask, won’t tell” slot club, but for all that, their mailers are worthwhile. They do have a sneaky way of sending offers for “complimentary” rooms that drain your comp account at maximum (rack) rate. So you deal with them the way you would a poisonous snake: be aware that it can and will bite you.
Many VP players have recently commented that Reno has become a better destination than Vegas. I concur.
Somehow I keep screwing up these comments that I leave.
Thinking back to our days of living in Reno, I remember the Atlantis as having a poker room where, if you were dealt low card three times in a row at seven card stud, the poker room would buy you a pizza.
The vp machines were fun and full pay but times change and I assume they have gotten more frugal also.
Glad you started you grind upwards from below zero and that you had a good time.
Don
Jean,
When/if you go back to Ind. have you ever gone to Shelbyville casino, Live.? We went last summer when in Ind. and it just opened the very new facility, it is really a very nice casino. We went again last wk when we go to Lebanon, and my husband did very very good.- we play slots tho and know you play video poker mainly.
Anyway, just wanted you to know this is a great casino, win lose or draw.