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May 3-5th Rush concert/birfday/and kinda winning.....

 
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RenoLady



Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Posts: 316

PostPosted: May Tue 06, 2008 4:13 pm    Post subject: May 3-5th Rush concert/birfday/and kinda winning..... Reply with quote

Two things took us to Reno this weekend, my brother’s birthday and my husband’s desire/demand to see Rush in concert.

We left on a Saturday for a two night stay. It was my husband, R, my sis and our brother from KC. A visit to Cali has to include a run up the hill for him. We left about 10:30 AM, taking 80 into Tahoe. He has to see the lake. This time, we chose North Shore due to it being a Saturday and concerned about the possible crowds at Zephr Cove. Well, I don’t know how busy the South shore was, but King’s beach was dead. I have NEVER seen it so empty, at any time during the year, day of week, or weather conditions. Sign of the times?

I’ve never liked Cal-Neva. Not sure why; I actually puzzled over this for a few contemplative moments, than it hit me. It was the staff there! They were all really up-tight snobby asses. Whether it was the bartenders (usually a given), the restaurant staff, or the hotel staff, you could count on being blown off or insulted. I could give examples, but it would put me in a bad mood. Seeing their deserted parking lot (10 cars), at 1 PM on a Saturday gave us pause, and even had us waiting to see if a couple approaching the door could actually get in. They did, so we got out of the car too. We only stopped for their gift shop, bro wanted some Tahoe souvenirs. Well, we also wanted to use the bathroom. R came out very quickly due to a massive stank in there. Sewer problems, I guess. The gift shop was as stank in its offerings, so we left. No money spent. However my sis played the lonely piano in the Indian room for a couple of minutes, and quit before Security came busting in (happy for someone to yell at, sad when they didn’t catch the culprit). I understand they’ve been sold? - Hopefully to someone who will appreciate the potential of this historic and geographic gem.

We take Mt Rose over to Reno for the views, and arrive at Fitz by 2:30. I get the same Suite we had last time, 1604, have a moment where I think about earthquakes and high level rooms, decide to drink to cover up any needless concern and we all head up. The room is nice, well, nice for the Fitz. The linens are plush, the beds triple sheeted with better mattresses and two TV’s in two rooms. Bro slept on the couch in one room, sis in one of the queens, R and I in the other. Earplugs passed around for the snorer who shall remain nameless (R), and off we went to play.

I’ve had questions about the new point system at the Fitz. -Got my answers this time. If you kept your balance over 75 O’Lucky dollars (7500 points), you were in the Emerald Club, the top tier, giving you free rooms, parties and extras through the year, also, you earned double points all the time. So, we always kept our points over that threshold. They changed it. I found this out when I put my card in and noticed I only had 17 O’Lucky dollars, instead of 100 +. I had to go to the senior host to get answers. I knew I hadn’t been to the Fitz in months, so where did the points go? What they did was take them from my account when I made my reservation last month. Huh? Why take them off BEFORE I get there? Most of the time I pay cash for the balance, they didn’t even ask if I wanted to use them. Turns out it doesn’t matter, you don’t get anything extra based on the points you keep on the account, no Emerald level (even though their web sites says there is still that level system). The worst thing is, no doubling of points for us, so less to comp with.

We took our drinking badges, which they let us get two drinks per this time, and hit the second floor. I had only a couple of hundred in cash, and told R I’d hit the ATM later while he was in the Rush concert. My first $5 bill in a 10 cent deuces bonus wild machine, playing 10 at a time, yielded $80. Cool. I then move over where R’s playing, my sis joins us, who incidentally, does NOT gamble, and I alternate between watching R play, talking to her, and hitting my dumb machine once in a while. I say dumb, because it was a penny leopard spot. I’ve never had the bonus on this, so was just visiting and drinking martinis. I hit the bonus, am mildly amused, expect nothing, and pick the highest spins and multiplier. During this bonus, I hit for 13,000. You know how when you get excited and hit something your mind becomes incapable of simple math? I couldn’t figure out what I’d won. R did the conversion for me, and life was good (for those who need help too, $130).

Another couple from our family decided to make the drive up, join us and we go for an awful awful at Nugget. My sis has been there, knows the routine, and offers to split with our brother. He isn’t having any of that, the other couple hears how we always order one per couple, spitting this ½ pound burger and pound of FF, how it’s won all these awards, and really the only reason to go in there, and proceed to order two other sandwiches off the menu. Okay….. what is it with some people? When someone has been going to a place for years, offers credible kudos, and has a rep for knowing many things Nevadan, shouldn’t you pay attention to that? Anyway, after they left half their food, we leave to find some good music. We begin at the Fitz main floor. R and I gamble, with me hitting 4 aces for 320 quarters, and the others sit at those tables by the music, ordering and paying for (gasp) drinks. R hits a $73 jackpot, gives it to me, and since it was a freebie, I promptly lost it in the 50 play penny machine. He hits one more for $50 something, gives it to me, kiss’s me goodbye and good luck (with this crew) and goes to his concert.

The “others” become bored with the Fitz musical offerings, and off we go in search of the best band. ElDo doesn’t start until 9 PM, its 8 PM. Silver Legacy has no open chairs. Circus has open chairs, but no band. However it’s closer to 9, so they wait. Sitting in the band area with no music and paying for my beer does not amuse me, I head to the bar. A few pulls later, I have my first 4 OAK, and a cold one. Suckers!

They come up and check on me every now and then, I’m not sure why. I now have 600 credits on my quarter machine, a cold beer, and a fun stool partner whose husband and kids are at the arcade. She knows they are going to pull me away soon, they do when 9 approaches and the band is really a DJ, who takes a break after ½ an hour. Wore himself out? I cash out $137, give some money to my brother for luck, and head back to Silver Legacy. We are able to get a table because the band hasn’t started. I sit a moment, begin to fidget, and sneak away with a lame excuse about coming back when the music starts. I don’t wait for a reaction.

A couple of hours later, and $100 poorer, I return, I don’t think they missed me. R is now out of his concert and singing its praises. Rush sang for 3 hours with only a short break, no warm up band, and sounded wonderful. After a ½ hour of sitting with the family, R and I head back to the Fitz with the excuse we wanted to get some play on our cards. No reaction, I’m sure they think we’re degenerate gamblers, but they don’t gamble, and my brother, had elected not to so far, hmmm…… I don’t usually like to come to Nevada with non gamblers, their superior stance on all things moral is too much, especially when they are staying in my discounted/comped room and enjoying the casino discounted meals and drinks, ya know?

We play a ½ hour at the Fitz, the family walks by on the way to the rooms, stopping to tell me the machines will still be there tomorrow. Thanks, love ya, good night… We play till 2:00 AM and go to bed $100 up for the day.

We start the next day at 10:00 AM, and eat breakfast at the Cal Neva (not to be confused with the Tahoe version) We split their big win, $4.99 for 3 eggs, meat, hash browns, toast and pancakes. I’m big on splitting meals, not because I’m cheap , which I am, but because I hate the waste of it, not to mention feeling full slows me down.
So the other couple heads home, brother and sister go shopping, R and I continue with our evil ways. (e.g. drinking and gambling), hey! We had breakfast already! The rest of the day we do a slow bleed, moving around, even resting at one point in the room, weird.

For dinner we decided on the new Pasta joint at Cal Neva, yes the one that took over my beloved Hof Brau, well, the Mexican joint did that, but it’s gone now too. Anyway, it was good, and I don’t like Italian out usually. We ordered three dishes and went family style. We had cheese ravioli with a pesto sauce and fresh tomatoes, spaghetti with meatballs, and a large Caesar salad. Buttered garlic bread arrived with water to start, and all was eaten joyfully. We could have done a fourth entrée, because the portions are not huge, but then we’re back to over eating, ect. Nice ambiance, average entrée price was $7.50. Go there.

After dinner we played Pai Gow. We bought in for $40 each, and lasted a couple of hours. Drink service was very good, the dealers were over friendly (but in a good way) and between us, we tipped every hand (ya think that’s why they were over friendly?) I asked the first dealer what rotation they were on, she said an hour and twenty. Wow, I commented on the long stretch, she agreed. We actually saw 4 dealers. - Probably because they were averaging about $30 every 20 minutes from us, and they wanted to share the love. They must keep their own tips there. R was placing their tip on the fortune bonus and hitting pretty regularly. I do not play the fortune bonus, so of course had many pat hands, including a straight flush and was ridiculed by all, including the pit boss. Shad up. We left about $10-15 down each.

We finished up at the Fitz, no music this night, and only played another hour or so. We were heading home early as we were working a ½ day Monday. On the way home we hit a ridge in the road about 20 miles pass the Donner rest stop, a few seconds later, we had a blow out. Scary, R pulled us off the road safely and quickly changed the tire while sis and I looked out for manic drivers, instructing R and the bro to jump the short fence when we screamed, and not to question that. Sis is a 20 year ER nurse.

I don’t know how I feel about the Fitz. I think like a lot of the new owners in Reno, they dream big, but it’s all lip service. Beautiful boutique type rooms coming? Hmmm…..I kinda doubt it when their public bathrooms still have stall doors that gap and won’t close. There is a definite change in attitude with the staff. The last couple of visits, the staff was optimistic about the new owners and upcoming changes, this trip, not so much.

One of the repair people on the elevator responded to our questions about the repairs by saying you can’t put new parts with old parts and not expect problems. An engineer to our room claimed the owners were “truck stop mentality”. I asked if that meant repairing with wire and duct tape, and he said that was earlier, now its twist ties and masking tape. I stopped by the VIP room to see if some of the guys were there, they were not. Instead, there was this mean senior host with about as much personality as a Casino Royal crap’s dealer. In fact, I think he was the debil that has spawned every mean player’s club employee.

I was only able to put 43 O’Lucky dollars back on the card ($4300 through the machine), but I did it on the original $280 or so we brought to town. That also included all meals, tips and shopping. - So a winning trip. I don’t think we’re going to the Brewfest next month, they scheduled it during rodeo weekend, who planned that? Also, we’re going to Vegas over the 4th, but maybe we’ll stop off before and after, as we like the drive through Nevada better than the drive through California.

Until next time…
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alison



Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 1150

PostPosted: May Tue 06, 2008 5:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RenoLady,
Enjoyed your trip report.

That is weird that they deducted your points before you even got there. You would think they would wait until you at least checked in to the hotel. I have a odd question about the fitz. is there a set of restrooms downstairs? i have never seen them if there is. I only know where the upstairs ones are. I am one of those people who like to know where they are at all times so i get get there quick and back to my machine...lol

I dont know if i could handle going to Nevada w/ someone who does not gamble. That is just not right! l I like how they told ya the machines would be there tomorrow. Dont they know where you are. You are in reno, gamble all night long is what we go for. what are they thinking!!! lol


Alison
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Mammothgambler



Joined: 25 Dec 2005
Posts: 619

PostPosted: May Tue 06, 2008 8:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Renolady, thanks for the trip report, sounds like you all had alot of fun and it's good you stayed ahead in the long run. Hope your brother and sister had fun in the area, seeing the lake for the first time is always a plus.

That's crazy about the point deduction (sounds like what the Pep has done to my account the last couple trips LOL). I dug out my old Fitz card and visited their site, it looks like they have an updated card I have to get. I really liked the fact the machines still drop coins there so maybe I'll give it a try next visit.

"The slot machines will still be there tomorrow." That's a good one. I guess some people just don't understand...I'm always there to play today (and tonight, tomorrow, next week, etc...), I'm sure some of you can agree.
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BrokenAlice



Joined: 22 Apr 2008
Posts: 16

PostPosted: May Wed 07, 2008 5:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for the great TR. Very funny. My favorite part was this:

Quote:
I think about earthquakes and high level rooms, decide to drink to cover up any needless concern


Sounds like you had a good time despite the non-gambler's attempts to keep you down. I hope they enjoyed their mostly free vacation thanks to you.
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john
Site Admin


Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 1181

PostPosted: May Wed 07, 2008 5:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great report RL. It's obvious your friends haven't been to the Peppermill. Often times, some of their machines won't be there tomorrow. RIP Time for Money
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RenoLady



Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Posts: 316

PostPosted: May Wed 07, 2008 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the comments guys.

R and I know where pretty much ALL the bathrooms are in the Reno casinos. In fact, we often pick a machine based on it's location to the bathroom. Beer will do that to ya.

The lower floor bathroom at the Fitz is in the very front of the casino, along the wall with the cabaret bar. It used to only open for room key holders, but they disabled that and any one can use it now.

The old Fitz's cards still work.

I forgot something amusing in my trip report. About 8 PM Sunday night, three employees were following each other-meandering through the machines like a choo-choo train. The first two were carrying trays of hotdogs, the last one had the condiments. Yup, they were feeding us at the machines. The hotdogs were good, though a little messy and awkward at the machines.
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alison



Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 1150

PostPosted: May Wed 07, 2008 8:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I never knew there was a restroom downstairs. it must blend in well. Mad
Thats good to know though. I tend to stay upstairs because i always thought they only had one upstairs. Now i know!
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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: May Wed 07, 2008 9:54 am    Post subject: RUSH, don't walk, to a favorite machine-o in a Reno casino! Reply with quote

Couldn't agree with you more regarding the "Cal-Neva" at North Lake Tahoe - what is it with that place?

If you look up the word "Dreary" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Cal-Neva - I sure hope that the Cal-Neva in Reno is unrelated.

And it's good to know that Rush can still rock out for hours at a time - I remember seeing video of them performing within the last few years or so, and I was struck by how different the guitar player looked as compared to the days of the MTV videos.

Are you sure it wasn't a cleverly-disguised imitation of Rush, but with John, Jerry, and Hawk instead of Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson? If the drummer had birds on his shoulder, that would give away the game.

"The machines will be there tomorrow" is clearly destined to become a classic line to mock and ridicule for years to come.

Thanks for the report; you provided an excellent walkthrough!
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RenoLady



Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Posts: 316

PostPosted: May Wed 07, 2008 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks stan!

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your music genre) I wasn't at the Rush concert, so I can't describe the band members and whether there was a bird accompaniment. I'll grill R later!
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garyandsharon



Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 75

PostPosted: May Wed 07, 2008 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great Trip Report

It's tough to go to a casino when there are friends and family who don't gamble. Gary and I always say "that's what we're here for" "See you at the bar or if you catch us for a meal." If we wanted to see the sights we wouldn't travel to a casino Hee! Hee!

We are heading to Reno end of May. Hope the quakes stay and the <1.0 while we're there. We'll take your advise and stay close to a bar.

Glad you had fun!

Sharon
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Barb



Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 82
Location: Portland, Or.

PostPosted: May Thu 08, 2008 7:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great trip report reno lady. Thanks for the info on the change in their point system. I thought they were still giving double points when you had 75 total points. Thats a bummer Crying or Very sad (Im talking about the Fitz)
At least you had a fun trip and always give us so many good details. Very Happy
Barb
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Mammothgambler



Joined: 25 Dec 2005
Posts: 619

PostPosted: May Fri 09, 2008 9:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's awesome, getting served hot dogs at the machines. So far I've only seen beverages! Do you happen to know if they do that for everyone, or just the VIPs?

Looks like I'll definitely have to check it out on my next trip!

Mammothgambler
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RenoLady



Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Posts: 316

PostPosted: May Mon 12, 2008 7:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyone playing was offered a hot dog, and I believe they do that in the morning with rolls too.

Actually, it was a little creepy, it had an air of desperation about it, or maybe the servers were giving off that vibe....
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hawk



Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 508

PostPosted: May Mon 12, 2008 10:41 pm    Post subject: NOT REALLY UNIQUE Reply with quote

RL wrote: "it had an air of desperation about it"

Hey, have you ever seen me play the slots??
Talk about "airs of desperation" .. Wooooo>>>
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RenoLady



Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Posts: 316

PostPosted: May Tue 13, 2008 7:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

and to think we call it "play"
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