Visitreno

[dfens]

October 2012 brought two trips to Reno. Since this report is lengthy I’ll only do one report now and the other trip in another thread.

If this is TL;DR here’s a brief summary
-This trip involved entertaining friends who don’t gamble while we tried to get our gambling fix.
-The Cal-Neva didn’t let me down and the same guy who approached Lily did the same to me
-I finally pulled off an all-night drunken gambling spree

Who we are: We’re a couple in our 30’s from San Francisco and frequent visitors to Vegas. Our first trip to Reno was in 2011 when I proposed under the Arch. The major challenge this trip was to entertain one couple who were not gamblers.

Last month I invited two other couples to join us in Reno as San Francisco was going to be overrun. Nearly 2 million people would be vying for parking in a city that is only 7x7miles wide with about 350K parking spaces. A special thanks to the two Giants playoff games, Fleet week, America’s Cup race, Blue Grass Festival, Pride Parade and Italian Heritage celebration scheduled on the same weekend in one tiny city.

Rooms at Circus Circus:

The other couples insisted we all stay in the same hotel but they wanted something cheap so we picked Circus Circus. We all ended up getting different type rooms.

Basic Room: It was not only purple but small, had a tube tv and tiny bathroom. The only good thing is that you can find the room for dirt cheap, it was in the North Tower (close to the casino) and you can check in early (as early as 8am on the weekdays and 1pm on weekends)

Mountain View Rooms: This room was in the Sky Tower. It was a big bigger than the basic room and obviously on the higher floors. I agree with others that the tram to the Sky Tower is ridiculous. Just walk the hallway. These rooms have the same early check in policy as the Basic Room.

Mini-Suites: This is the room I stayed in. The carpet and furniture surprisingly appeared to be very good condition. The suite composed of two rooms (bedroom and living room) though the suite wasn’t too large. I would have preferred if they just took out the wall and made it one big room (like the Eldorado or Silver Legacy Spa Suites). The living room was big enough and the couch and chairs were plentiful so that all six of us were comfortable when we met up. The one downside is that the suites are a 3pm check in so we couldn't take advantage of the early check in that the other rooms offered.

Things I like:

A coupon book upon arrival. The coupons we used were the two “2 for 1” midway games, $10 for $15 of casino chips which also has a deal for a free $1 bet for the dealer at bj, $5 matchplay at BJ.

Free wifi for one computer which is limited to a preset login and password. The broadband wasn’t the fastest but better than the free TV internet at the Eldorado.

The crappy things:

No pool or spa. Also, the check in lines can rival the Imperial Palace check in at Vegas (meaning, very lengthy lines during peak times)

Check out time is 11am though the website stated noon. I called the front desk and they said that they’ll automatically extend your check out to noon if you ask.

Saturday:

We got an early start to meet up with the other couples who were carpooling. Remember how I mentioned that parking in San Francisco was going to be challenging? Well we ended up pulling out late as an asshat decided to block our driveway.



Our neighbors who share our garage noticed that the car was there the entire weekend. Three blocked driveway” tickets (total of $270) later they called for a tow which cost at least an additional $400 for the SUV owner. That’s one loser who gambled one too many times on parking like a jerkstore.

We were delayed but finally made it to Reno at 2pm. It was a busy week for Reno with the Italian Festival so the wait to check in at Circus Circus was ridiculously long.

During the wait we found that the entrance to the midway games and casino has two statues of bears. We have no idea why it has to be angry bears versus an nice elephant, clown or other more appropriate carnival animal.

My wife vs the angry bear


After waiting 20 minutes without anyone moving the front desk told everyone that the computers were down and to come back later.

We decided to head over to Hash House A Go Go at Harrah’s. This is one of my favorite restaurants and the fried chicken and waffles are amazing. The portions are huge and it took care of dinner for me.

Afterwards, we were able to check-in. The other couples are big drinkers so my wife and I pre-gamed hard with multiple shots. Once everyone got settled, rested we regrouped at the mini suite and took more shots and drinks which would be our downfall.

To appease our non-gaming couple we played the midway games for a while. Someone of my oldest memories are playing midway games at the Vegas Circus Circus so I’m used to hustling the midway games.

My favorite is the horse “roll a ball” game. My win rate is really good but I will try not to play against little kids because I hate stealing a toy from them. This is my basic strategy for the game:

1. Before I play, I observe the top players’ throwing accuracy. If they are just tossing it randomly it’s an automatic win for me when I join the game.
2. Since I’m 6’1 I can reach way into the throwing area so my throw is short and quick.
3. If there are less than six players, I’ll just wait for all of them to leave and just play against my wife. It’s the same sized toy and I don’t have to beat a little kid.
4. When the announcer says “ready.. set… “ I start rolling. I don’t wait for “go” so I get one early toss in. (maybe I’m the asshat cheater)

My other favorite game is the $2 fish a red metal top from a fountain (filled with mostly yellow tops) with a fishing pole with a magnet on it. Even if you don’t’ get the red top you’ll get a small prize. The game is all about patience. Just wait until the red top is clear from all the yellow tops then drop your magnet. The people who lose are usually rushing it.

Obviously the midway games are fun but I’m there to do some adult gaming. So we headed to the Eldorado for some craps and blackjack. Just a quick summary from that night:

-The Eldo craps dealers have seen plenty of my wife and me. It’s horrible when it’s been weeks since your last visit and they remember your name, occupation, residence and what you drank the last time you were there! And it’s multiple dealers who remembered us. My wife must be toking them way too much!
-I saw our friends playing BJ. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was the horrible single deck 6-5 payout. I nearly had a heart attack and had to walk away!
-The “Treasures of the Eldorado” game trick where I would get the same prize as the previous swipe no longer works! Damnit, my chances of getting the 2-1 blackjack coupon is now history!
-Drink service at the Eldo is amazing!

I had to run off to the Cal Neva to redeem my free play coupon. They were offering either a $26 slot freeplay or $51 in action chips. I asked for the action chips but they gave me $55 worth. When told them that they gave me too many they said that they only had $5 action chips!

On the other hand I have found that the Cal Neva Players Club booth occasionally has some of the rudest staff around. I also had an additional Cal Neva $200 in action chips offer but I couldn’t use it. They said that I needed to be staying at the Cal Neva hotel to redeem it and they had no free rooms that night. For someone who grew up in Los Angeles, I can say this lady had a horrible attitude that would rival Snooki from Jersey Shore. To get around this, I went back to my hotel room to call the booth and made a reservation for Monday and Tuesday to redeem the offer.

After the Cal Neva mess, it was 11pm. The other couples were hungry for dinner though my wife and were still full from Hash House but we went with them anyways. These couples had been to Reno before, but we got caught up 45 minutes of indecisiveness about where to go. I suggested the Cal Neva Top Deck for cheap grub but it was closed for cleaning. My friends were also horrified by the Cal Neva atmosphere. I told them to go to the Nugget for the Awful Awful but two steps in they walked out due to the sketchiness. We made circles at the restaurants at the Eldo and Silver Legacy and they didn’t like the menu.

So after all the walking they decided to eat at the Harrah’s Joy Luck Noodle Bar. I could tell by the name that this would not end well but wanted to see the disaster. Here’s another short summary of the meal:

-There was only one cook in the kitchen which led to a really long wait for food.
-Pho is a cheap meal consisting of soup, some herbs, noodles and rare sliced beef. The small portion of rare slice beef is what makes the pho bowl good. Horrible places like the Joy Luck Bar substitute inedible beef gristle as the rare slice beef. This is a shame as it’s saving very little money but makes for a disgusting bowl of pho.
-The price of the nasty pho ends up on par with a buffet price at the Eldo.

The early morning, long drive, multiple shots and late night finally took the toll on my wife. I swear her face looked like it was turning green. Everyone looked pretty rough after destroying our livers so we called it a night.

Sunday:

I woke early up and jogged the Riverwalk path for 6 miles. The weather was still hot so I made sure to get an early morning start. It was a great run on a well groomed path. I also get to see the Italian Festival set up and by the time I get back the street is starting to get packed.

When I get back *bam*…. Imagine the worst thing that can happen to you on a Sunday morning in Reno…
…..wait for it…
A text from your non gambling friend that says, “What are we going to do today that doesn’t involve gambling” NO!!!!!!!!!

Also, the gambling couple checked out of their room as they had to head home due to work commitments. I did convince them to go to the Eldo Champagne Brunch. This is one of my favorite ways to celebrate Sundays with all you can eat food and all you can drink mimosas. We ended up having a great time which is what pitchers of mimosas will do to you. A friend and I got super buzzed and we had a great time over brunch before we had to say our goodbyes.

I decided to take the non-gambling couple to the Grand Sierra Resort as they had a ton of stuff for kids. It was the best idea ever!

We tried out the go-karts. My plan was to get everyone drunk to get my money’s worth by driving crazy. But they have signs banning intoxicated drivers and they threaten to shut down your go-kart if you start hitting other drivers. My dream of ghost riding the go-kart was over but I still had fun. Here’s a photo of the go-karts lined up before as we were getting ready to go.



We explored the GSR and went to the arcade. I would say that JA Nugget has a better arcade but we were able to do the Battlefield Laser Tag. This game was $12 per person and the game booth said it was designed for large groups and discouraged us from playing with just four players. The regular laser tag was $10 per person but we were determined to play the Battlefield. It was really fun to just play with your friends though my wife and I got killed way too many times.

We also played table shuffleboard. It was $12 per hour. They also had deck shuffleboard, foosball and a ping pong table. We had a blast playing and the place was empty so screamed like idiots and cussed like sailors.



We didn't bowl but what a huge bowling alley


That evening my wife and I got to finally hit the casino. We first went to the Siena where for one weekend I saw one Video Poker JOB 9/6 machine drop from the typical $1 to 50 cents coin in. While I contemplated playing $5 per spin I hit a straight flush with a $2.50 coin in! NOOOOOO!!! My wife played her favorite slots and we played some blackjack at Siena where we stayed about even. I do like that the Siena freeplay offers are automatically loaded on your players card so you don’t have to check into the players booth to redeem it.

Then we went back to the Eldo to play some craps. Right as we joined a fellow next to me started out on his come out roll which lead to another incredible roll. I never seen so many black chips hit the table and I know I saw a purple chip payout as the guy seemed bulletproof. He would scream out “hard ways” and the dice would repeatedly hit hard ways so many times that I started to bet on them. We saw one guy who didn’t know how to play and the drop $50 on the line. He had no idea what to do so the dealer had him drop a crap load of green chips as his odds and the point kept hitting over and over. The table remained pretty hot for a while but it started to get cold so we stopped.

The time is now 11pm and what happened afterwards is a little fuzzy. I just know that my wife left to play slots at the Silver Legacy and I walked over to a Pai Gow Poker table itching to gamble as I had to hold it in all day. I have never played Pai Gow Poker in a casino and only read about it online. From the Wizard of Odds website I know that the edge is 2.73% but if I bank half the time I can reduce the odds. I also know that the play is so slow with the card shuffling and pushes that it’s the great game to get drinks and comps. Lastly, my sister told me a while back that I’m going to always lose at the casino to get all the free drinks as possible to make myself feel better.

So I tell the dealer that it’s my first time and I’m sorry for all the mistakes I’m about to make. A short summary of the night:

-The casino was empty so I play heads up with the dealer from 11pm to at least 6:30am with the exception of people joining for a bit near midnight
-I didn’t turn down a free drink until after 6:30am.
-I know people join me at 6:30am because the guy who sits down at the table remarks that the casino is really empty even though it’s 6:30. I then have this short conversation:

Me: What time did you say it is?
Him: 6:30… *looks at my red eyes* have you been playing all night
Me: I never play all night. Wait, did you say it’s 6:30?
Him: Yeah, you played all night

-I remember clapped loudly and cheering every time I won. I asked the dealer if this was annoying and she leans to me and says “keep cheering, it draws in more customers to the table”.
-I have long conversations with all the dealers, pit boss and surprising the cocktail waitress even comes by a few times and chats. Mind you, I never though a cocktail waitress would have a conversation with a player because it’s just stopping everyone else in the casino from getting their drinks and the cocktail waitress loses money as she stops serving for a bit. On the other hand, the casino looked really dead so maybe there was no one to serve.
-At some point I made a huge tower of chips. The dealer tells me that I should shorten the stack before I knock them over. I proceed to knock all my stacks over onto the ground. The Eldo has red carpet, it’s O’ dark thirty, my vision is clouded by all the smoke and I’m drunk so finding chips seems impossible. I do the best I can when the cocktail waitress stops by about thirty minutes later to point a few chips laying on the floor. I have this horrible feeling that I may have lost a lot of chips especially under the table which had a huge gap, but I couldn’t look under it.
-I remember at some point I was so tired I was slumped over on the table and pushing my bet in the circle and having the dealer set my cards for me (which they always offer to do since there’s a specific house way).
-I never do side bets from the recommendation from the Wizard of Odds website, but in a moment of weakness the dealer convinced me to try. I remember betting the fortune side bet a few times but then I forgot to do it on one hand. Something happened where the dealer scolds me as she said I would have won a $1,000. She then points it out to the pit boss that I had made the Fortune Bet on the previous hand. The Pit Boss who laughs at me and I remember making a “wah wah wah” noise then slumping my head on the table. This may have been the point where I took a bunch of hands off and let the dealer play for me.
-I remember my eyes start watering like crazy from all the smoke. The dealer asks me if I need a tissue and I say I’m ok. Then a waterfall of tears starts coming down and the pit boss runs over and gives me a box of tissues. I assure her, I’m not crying because I lost all my money.
-My bet spread was normally $10-$30, but went up to $50 at one point when I was down. I ended up with a winning night at the table though I have no idea how since I was also toking a heavy amount to keep myself from getting tossed.
-I also vaguely remember that the dealers are constantly talking to me about everything. I’m fairly sure it’s not because I’m interesting, but to make sure I’m not dead as I’m sure I’m looking like a zombie in the middle of the night.

Sometime after 7am the table starts filling up so I head back to the room. My wife laughs her ass and my dog looks pissed for waking her up. These are the opposite reactions I’m expecting though my wife is the coolest person ever. She’s sure I’m broke at this point but I take the money out of my pocket and surprise myself with how much I have. I then shower and head off to sleep.

Monday:

After my short nap I wake up at meet our non-gambling friends at the Nugget eating the Awful Awful. They laugh at me for playing all night but are amazed that I’m fired up for the next day. What they don’t know is that I’m fairly lazy but I have something akin to Charlie Sheen’s Tiger Blood when it comes to working, studying or gaming all night (casino or video games). I wanted to try something new so I ordered my first hot dog in 3 years. We’ll it was pretty good though I did miss the 1lb of fries that comes with the burger.

We headed back to the GSR and want to ride the bull that is in their arcade section. My idea is that my wife videotapes me trying to ride the bull drunk. Unfortunately, the bull ring is deflated and we notice that there are sharp edges near the bull machine so we opt out. We then played deck shuffleboard and the employee was nice enough to show us how to play.



Afterwards, I head to the Cal Neva Hotel to check in. I know Lily and other have mentioned that the Cal Neva is a decent place to stay but I was a bit horrified. Here’s a summary of the Cal Neva Hotel:

-The desk clerk during check in/out was fantastic. I think they are the only Cal Neva employees I ever seen smile.
-I notice someone waiting at the valet for their car. Since the Cal Neva garage is on the other block the valet is probably the best way to go if you have luggage. Unfortunately, the guy was pissed as he told the front desk agent that he's been waiting for the valet to show up for 15 minutes.
-My wife and I have a discussion with a Cal Neva guest about how slow the Cal Neva elevator is. I secretly wonder which is slower, the Circus Circus tram, Cal Neva elevator, or a turtle walking on ice.
-The rooms are small but I’m surprised by how decent they are. I haven’t seen hospital corners on beds since I was on a warship.
-My wife says that if I ever make her stay here that she’ll divorce me and take the dog.
-I secretly consider checking out of our current room and making my wife stay at the Neva.

Here’s some blurry photos of the Cal Neva room.


Basic room


Hospital corners that would have made my Platoon Officer proud!


For those who miss seeing the outside of the Cal Neva Hotel

So then we head out for our $200 action chips. At the players club desk I’m greeted by the Benjamin of Lily fame. How do I know it’s him? He gives me his card and tells me to call him if I ever need a free room. Probably the worst words that my wife could ever hear.

Anyways, I know have $255 in action chips and another $500 in cash and an empty craps table calling my name. I take the chips over and in a huge blunder also hand over my players card. For how frequent I play at Cal Neva I have only come out ahead twice. Once was when I played solo on the dark side and the other time when I turned the $255 in action chips into almost $300. When I colored up, the pit boss was called over and he said, “look, it’s just that easy, come back and play soon”. I nearly had a heart attack because I realize that this might end up on my players card and goodbye free plays in the future.

We eat dinner at Eldo’s Tivoli Gardens (their 24 hour coffee shop). It’s your typical café fair and the burgers and sandwiches were good for a late night meal.

Tuesday:

My wife and I wake up early and we hit the tables before we have to leave. I play some BJ and craps and call it quits so we can hold onto our winnings. And for some reasons our friends finally got into the Reno vibe and wanted to try the Cal Neva restaurant. I had the prime rib dinner and it’s a solid $7 meal. We are pleasantly surprised by the good service, tasty food and how “non Cal Neva” the Top Deck is (though they have some colorful Yelp reviews).

Thank you for slogging through my lengthy trip report. I also had a few questions for you:

1. How can I improve my trip reports? I think mine are long and dry which may put off some readers.
2. Lily or anyone who’s been comped at Cal Neva: I read somewhere that Cal Neva may have suites. I can’t imagine that Cal Neva building having a suite but are there decent rooms there beyond the basic room? (I think I may have been reading about the Tahoe Cal Neva rather than Club Cal Neva)
3. What’s the best way to travel from downtown to the casinos is Sparks without a car? How much would the taxi fare be? I also read that some people use the free shuttles at the airport to go between hotels but do they restrict that to only people coming off flights?

After this trip, I returned two weeks later for my mom’s vacation which will be a much more gambling centric report. I love all the trip reports on the site! Thanks again!

[JD]

THAT WAS A GREAT TRIP report!

Would non gambling friends care for a spa treatment? Or trip to VC (no table games but lots of touristy stuff. ANd plenty of machines.

I have never stayed at Circus (except when kids are in tow), but the guy that played the clown (on the billboards) lives in VC.

[spdmrcht]

I love to play keno, but get bored quickly, so I buy a 4 spot 21 game
ticket, at Harrahs, cal Neva, SL, Eldo, and swipe my card, then I walk
2 blocks east to the transpo, and buy a 24hr pass for 2$ senior rate.
and get on the rapid bus to pepper and Atlan, and get tickets there and
collect my free play and have a lite lunch at one of the seafood places
Clam Chowder, then back on the bus to down town and collect my winning tickets there, buy in again then go back to the bus and head to sparks
and get my tickets there and have clam chowder and shrimp for dinner, then
back to downtown, and play the slots and keno till 12 or 1am. then the
next day I do it again, I get plenty of excise. The main point is you can
get just about anywhere in reno cheap and don't collect any DUIs. Yes
you do see some interesting folks on the bus, but most of them are
harmless. but I don't ride it after dark, I'm not that adventurous!
Oh and the bus goes right to the side door of the GSR, also if you
haven't tried the Brews Brothers the food is great, I eat before the
live entertainment starts.

[Mammothgambler]

Hey dfens, thanks for the awesome report!

It was kind of you not to completely take the winnings of the little kids when playing skee ball. I never knew there were so many games in the CC, I usually don't go thru that area as it always seems to be packed. Hey, did you all happen to notice that overwhelming coconut air freshener that's pumped throughout the CC? I can usually deal with the gnarliest of air quality but that coconut stuff gets me - and thats saying alot being a surfer and being used to the 24/7 Banana Boat scent!

Good shots of the Cal-Neva's rooms. I don't think I've ever seen any other than the ones on their site, and they're a far cry from these!

Glad you got to check out the GSR. We charged the bowling alley at 4 am with a cooler full of Tecate and they didn't blink an eye, and were also cool about calling me a few weeks back to claim a $100 that was stuck in their bill changer. HOWEVER - I've had 4 bad stays in a row (see my new trip report to be posted shortly on that!) and I think I'm done with them. Just so everyone knows, they cracked down HARD on their deposit/resort fee policy just last week, and tons of people are getting ticked off. If you're not on a comp, check www.renoluxuryresort.com where you'll be booking rooms in the privately owned section, won't have to deal with their inept staff, and will probably save a ton of money.

Awesome Dogs at the Nugget are the best I've encountered.

Hope that idiot with the illegally parked SUV got dealt with! What a pain!

Oh, regarding transportation to Sparks and ANYWHERE in Reno, check out the awesome bus system here! www.rtcwashoe.com Best deal I've found is a $4, 24 hour pass, best bet as a one way is $2, and the site has all the timetables.

All niters rock, especially if you've still got money at the end.

Keep the reports coming and don't change a thing. Message me next time you're in town if you wanna do a longboard session...I've found some more sweet spots around here!

Mammothgambler

[mjames1229]

I, too, am surprised that you didn't head to Virginia City or the south shore of Lake Tahoe with your non-gaming friends. Both are good ways to kill bunches of hours (especially if you do the drive around Lake Tahoe, as there are enough tchotchke shops to entertain even the non-shoppers.)

Your TR was very well done, maybe add just a touch more humor or details on stuff that was important to you. It can add more to the story and make us feel like we are there, too.

Adding the photos is a nice touch.

[Zydeco]

Great report. I love detail about bars and food. Rock on!

[dfens]

JD – I’m the same way about Circus Circus though I have to admit that they aren't as bad as I anticipated. The weird thing is that not only did I stay there this trip but booked another room there for my mom two weeks later as the Eldo/SL don’t allow check ins on Saturday.

Spdmrcht – Wow! It sounds like you have a master plan during your visits! I’ll check out the RTC but my wife isn’t a fan of the buses as the San Francisco Muni (bus) and BART systems have regular robberies and assaults stories. Here’s a video of one a few years ago of a fight that a Muni security and driver ignored http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx6FRSemW38

Mammoth – I didn’t notice the coconut smell at CC, most likely due to being overwhelmed by the smoke. I do smell the Eldo scent whenever I walk through the entrance.

Thanks for the heads up on the condo website. Wow, the Loft Suite at GSR for $120! If I tell my wife she’s going to make me get it (on our next trip we stayed at the GSR Grand Suite which was awesome)

I have read your TRs and GSR and Peppermill disasters! YIKES! Cancelling your reservations is one thing but having housekeeping walk into your room while your naked is another! Btw.. epic stories!

MJames – I’ve actually wanted to hit up Virginia and Carson city or Tahoe but my friends didn’t want to spend more time in the car on top of the 8 hours of driving for the trip. My other idea was to take them tubing on the Truckee river which they didn’t want to do either. It makes me wonder why they went to Reno in the first place as this wasn't the first time they were there yet they had no plans as to entertaining themselves. I think the only thing they wanted to do was to play video games and drink!

Zydeco – Thanks! I think my regular cheap meals are at Hash House and the Eldo buffet. I don’t have the money the real gamblers here have to visit the nice steakhouses.

Thanks again everyone! I'll be reading past trip reports as I won't be visiting Reno for a few months unless we get a really good freeplay offer. It looks like we'll be doing a Los Angeles, Portland and maybe Vegas trip before going back to Reno again.

[stan_allen]

I'll depart from my usual bombast to deliver a concise response, phrased for this generation's unique dialectic:

FREAKIN' AWESOME!


And really, don't change a thing in those trip reports - often, the haziest details and memories are the most prized of the bunch.
Keep 'em coming just like this one, and don't stop.

[BC Dave]

Great report Dfens! As Stan said, "Don't change a thing". (Except maybe slightly larger pictures.) Loved your comments on the arcades at Circus Circus and GSR. We've had some great meals (and deals) at the good old "Top Deck Restaurant" over the years. We have yet to try the "Hash House", but we'll have to next time - it sure gets good reviews on this board.

[LilyJDragonfly]

"...could tell by the name that this would not end well but wanted to see the disaster..."

Prime commentary! As to "suites" at the Cal-Neva, eh, I heard they had one... I think it's 1717... I was told it requires the owner's signature to get it or some such nonsense.... though perhaps I'll see if I can pick that up in January when The Dog makes a return to NorCal for a bit from the snows of NorDakota!

In thinking back on what I might have been thinking when describing the CN rooms as decent, perhaps it was because they offer electricity all night?? I enjoyed motel slumming as a young traveler and particularly remember two different motels in two different states that would cut off the power to the rooms after about 2:30am....

That being said, I remain a fan of the Cal-Neva for its slovenliness; anything goes, you know! And yes, the wait for the valet and/or elevator can be a while, but hey, get yer fingers dirty playing nickel slots while you wait...

[dfens]

Thanks Stan! My next trip was not so memorable as I had my mom in tow.

BC - I love Hash House but it's the type of place where the portions might turn you off. Have you ever been to Carnegie Deli (NYC, Vegas, etc)? Hash House rivals their size!

Lilly - I would happily stay at Cal Neva. My wife was expecting much worse but the slow elevator and crazy wait valet thing turned her off immediately. She's also concerned for her safety as even walking from Siena to the Eldo is questionable to her. On the other hand, I fit right in with the shady folks!

[BC Dave]

Dfens, if you're implying that the portions are very large, I can handle that. My wife and I simply split one meal. More money for the slots!

[spdmrcht]

We went up to the top deck for a late night snack and I
ordered a bowl of clam chowder, it was a bowl alright,
A family serving bowl. It was huge, the wife ordered
a Banana split and it was stacked a foot high with
Ice cream, whip cream, nuts, chocolate and cherry's,
so much for a snack?

[dfens]

I like your style! I just saw a Cal-Neva poster for a 2lb burrito. I can't imagine what's in it but it's should come with CDC health warning!