Visitreno

[LilyJDragonfly]

So without much notice, The Dog and I had the opportunity to slip away to Reno for one magical night. We figured out on Thursday that we would be in town on Friday so we left John a message to give us a jingle to get together when we were in town.

We managed to slip away because of a Mandatory Fun Day Friday thanks to the United States Air Force (The Dog's day job). The Fun Day was being held at Homewood Ski Joint somewhere on the western edge of Lake Tahoe. The Dog hasn't skied since he was 17 or so and had to undergo surgery as a result of a skiing incident so we just went so The Dog didn't have to go to work and install carpeting.

The drive up from Olivehurst to Homewood was about two hours and we arrived bright and early at 9am. Never in my life have I ever been so close to so much snow without the toasty protection of a vehicle. Of course, I wore heels and my mink, expecting to spend the morning lounging in front of fire on a bearskin rug. Ha.

Homewood's "lounge" involved cafeteria-style benches and antler chandeliers. The bar wasn't even open at 9am. The rest of the Air Force crew arrived by 930 or so. We checked in with the gang, said we weren't skiing, and boogied up the road to Crystal Bay Casino (right outside of Kings Beach).

We had less than two hours to gamble before we had to rally back for lunch. We indulged in CBC’s delicious $3.33 breakfast special – three eggs, three pieces of bacon, hashbrowns and toast – then got to gambling. Many of the exact same machines that were there on our first visit in 2007 were still there. It’s a tiny casino but they bring in great music acts. We saw Dr. John himself in 2007 (I was less than fifteen feet away from him for the show!!)

The Dog wiped out his morning bankroll just a few minutes shy of us leaving and I lost a bit. We jumped back in the car for the ride back to Homewood.

After having had the $3.33 breakfast special just an hour prior, we skipped lunch but hung out with the gang, and then had to tromp INTO THE SNOW for a picture. Oh my. The Dog was impressed with my ability to navigate the deep snow in high heels.

We waved goodbye to everyone and got on the road to the Cal-Neva. The phone rings en route and it’s JOHN! As it turns out, the one night we’re going to be in town was the exact same night that John had scored a hot dinner date…his first date in more than two years…. perhaps The Dog and I should try to meet up with him more often as it seems quite coincidental that the night we plan to meet up with him, he’s got a date. I mused on the phone to John that it was a shame we would also be missing JD who was supposed to be rolling into town the next weekend for the Testicle Festival. Oh well, there’s always next time.

So we’re traveling up I80 (no bee trucks or other incidents) and I ask The Dog to please pull off at the last exit in California – Farad. We’ve passed it many times, but I’ve always been curious as to what’s down there. Not much, as we discovered. A gate. A muddy road (that I tromped down in my trusty heels) and then a building with a BIG FENCE. The Dog reminded me that fences are a universal sign for KEEP OUT. So I turned and tromped back up the muddy road and we got back on the highway.

It was Friday and we were feeling lucky so we swung into the Verdi exit where Terrible’s is located as it indicates on the signs that you can buy MegaMillions tickets. But it’s in Nevada. But it says you can get California Lotto tickets. Hrm.

We pull in and see a big sign for Lotto with an arrow pointing to behind the main building. We follow the arrow to a large parking lot loaded with Nevada license plates and lots of activity leading up a path to a small building.

We stroll up and walk into the building and there is a large line striped on the floor – Nevada on the one side, California on the other. The Lotto ticket stuff is all on the California side. Sweet. We get our tickets and aim the car to the Cal-Neva.

Now that we’ve stayed at the Club Cal-Neva a few times, I guess they trust us enough to let us have one of the top floor rooms that has the coffeemaker, fridge, and a flat screen Sony TV. There is the mysterious Room 1717 at the very end of the hall on the 17th Floor. I didn’t get a chance to see inside, but when I asked our host about it (yes, the Cal-Neva has hosts!), he said to let us stay in that room, he has to get clearance from “The Big Boss”. Hrm. Perhaps next trip…

Having been kept up to date with Reno casino happenings here on the board, The Dog and I decide to go try for the status match offer at the Siena. We’d played there once before, but hadn’t been overly impressed with the gaming.

The players club hooked us up with new Diamond cards (thanks to our Gold and Celebrity cards from Eldo & SL) and we each got $50 in comps after we played one spin on a slot machine. Of course, The Dog and I can never play just one spin so we played for a bit. I managed to consistently lose on each machine. Godzilla (which is awesome, by the way), The Joker Heist (or something like that – the ones at Silver Legacy are more exciting), one of those reel machines that the reel box spins in, and something else, too. They do offer Diamond and up members cigarettes for 400 comp points ($4/USD), but they didn’t carry my beloved filterless Camels. From there, we decided to use up some comps in their sushi restaurant – Sushi Saga.

Sweet Mother of Salmon – this is some fine stuff! The chef is, get this, an Irish guy named Chris. We’ve not had sushi this terrific since May of 2007 when we were at Tokyo Go Go in San Francisco. And it was an All-You-Can-Eat deal, too. We sat at the counter (the seats are fairly small and not terribly comfortable) and let Chris serve us up whatever he thought we’d dig. All of it was DELIGHTFUL!! We highly recommend gorging yourself at this fine restaurant. $19/AYCE lunch, $24/AYCE dinner…

Our bodies nourished, it was time to get to serious gaming at the Cal-Neva. We came in through the Center Street parking garage elevator. The Dog immediately took off for Blazing 7s (no love there) and I strolled to the Sky Bar.

Some chump in new suede shoes had just settled in at the bartop VP and placed all his wadded up newspapers on the very machine I had my eyes on. As I strolled up, he sensed my presence and immediately gathered up the papers as he offered the bartender his choice of a TWO dollar tip or a ONE dollar tip.... at that moment, I whipped my head around to see who in the hell could POSSIBLY be offering the famous 2-buck bill and he looks damn familiar, but JD isn't due in town until next week...

Except, it is JD! For real and for true. He’s chosen to go with the homeless fella look, with long locks and an unkempt beard, complemented by a track suit. Frankly, it’s an appropriate look for the Cal-Neva, given the wad of cash he’s carrying.

A few Tanqueray and tonics, several tumblers of red wine, plus a shot or two later, The Dog arrives and we all cash out up a buck or two and head to the Siena to catch some live tunes.

I vaguely recall some sort of musical number enroute and then something about the rocks and the river then a 4OAK or two, plus an extended roll at the craps table, and some guy playing flamenco with a chick named Shirley and then all of the sudden, JD is gone…

The Dog and I ease back to our high-roller 17th floor room and promptly crash out for the night.

Morning arrives early for me and as such, also for The Dog. We head for coffee at Harrah’s and discover that our freeplay express comps are indeed good, in spite of the notation on the bottom that they are NOT VALID in Reno from 9 Mar – 12 Mar for some reason. I turn my $25 into about $60 real cash money and The Dog proceeds to lose all of his, plus a few more Jacksons. We discover Clue – a new slot machine from Player’s Life (same folks who created Lord of the Rings) and you can log in and create a username and save your levels or some such thing. Fun to play but we don’t stay in Harrah’s very long. Side note: The Harrah’s buffet does not open until 10am, even on the weekends. Things are looking rough there. They’ve closed the second Keno station near the buffet and it was quieter than normal. The Total Rewards site has pretty much removed Reno from its listing of properties. I would be surprised if they keep this property much longer, even though it’s the original Harrah’s property.

Back to the Cal-Neva for some serious slot play before we have to head back home. The Dog enters a poker tourney and makes it to the break, but not much after that. I play the slots – the craps tables are empty or just have one or two players on them so I don’t play. I debated a bit of blackjack but the two tables that were open were packed. I did hit something good on one of those Rescue Spin machines and at 4OAK a few times here and there. Much to my surprise, I find that when it’s really time to go, I still have most of my bankroll intact. THIS IS A FIRST FOR ME.
However, true to our typical style, The Dog is almost broke. Eh la. You win some, you lose most…

[JD]

Sunday 3:20 pm, PDT:

Well,I've gone thru well over 100 $ 2 bills (that would be $ 200 in TIPS) but between JP at Cal Neva and the nightshift bartender at Siena...well had to BUY some karma.

Sat night was a hoot at Siena. .. too bad you went home early.

Glad you had a good time.

Any hints at a good pickup line besides my poor choice of words?

oK, OK... the homeless look is on it's way OUT.

[CaSwede]

That is the way to play hooky from work. You sure did a lot for an overnight trip. I have had the breakfast special at the Crystal Bay Club many times. I can never eat it all. Did you notice the "silver ware" and plates are made from corn husks (or something similar) and the napkins are recycled from --whatever? I always feel so green eating there.

What were the chances of running into JD at that bar? It must have been meant to be.

[john]

You guys did more on your one night trip to Reno than I did last year. Great report and your polls are the best.

JD, here are some pick up lines that have worked for me:
"Excuse me, but does this smell like chloroform to you?"
"Hey...somebody farted. Let's get out of here."
"Can I buy you a drink or do you just want the money?"
"Inheriting eighty million bucks doesn't mean much when you have a weak heart."
"I'm new in town. Could you give me directions to your apartment?"