Visitreno

[alphabeta]

I've been back from Reno for almost a week now, and I'm struggling to make it all make sense. This won't be in the usual format for my stories.

INFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What's up with the Silver Legacy? What's wrong with the Peppermill?
I got a deal on a package from Southwest Vacations that gave me a flight plus three nights at the Legacy for essentially the cost of airfare. How could I refuse that? I tried to double book at the 'Mill, but they were blacked out for the nights that I would be there. So I just took my freeplay and ran.

The Legacy turned out to be a good place to play and stay. The room was nice enough, but not terribly notable in any way. They asked if I wanted a low or high room, and a room near or far from the elevators - two questions I don't get asked a lot when I check in. I chose "high" and "near". My room was on the 14th floor, and sure enough it was near enough to the vators to not have to plan a mission to get to the casino. I could occasionally hear it pass by.

How was the gambling there?

Pretty good. They have some single deck, double deck, and a couple of shoes for variety. Single deck features Reno rules - h17, d10. On double deck you could double after any first two cards, but not after a split. These are the same as at the Peppermill. The shoe was a little different. There you could resplit aces (to four hands) and double after any number of cards, including after a split.

Fun hand of the trip - I was dealt AA, forgot the dealer's up card, not that it mattered. Split, got another ace, split again, got another ace, split yet again. Ended up with two 21s, a 19, and a 16 - a fair distribution. The gentleman on my left thought this was a fine time to split his 10s. A 19 and 20 was good enough for him, I guess. The dealer hit to 21.

Anyway, most tables were $5 minimum (no lower), though I did see one that was $100 at one time. Penetration was about 1/2 deck on SD and DD, 2 decks on the shoes. The shoes and most of the others had auto shufflers.

There was a fair amount of 9/6 JoB games for quarters and up. One game I fell for was their 9/6 JoB 100x game for nickels. I played it with 25 hands, because I didn't have the bankroll for the full hundred. No huge hits, though I was dealt a flush and a full house. It's always nice to get big hands multiplied.

I did well at their blackjack tables and at the particular machine I just described. Not so much elsewhere. I dumped a couple of hundred at craps - no luck at all there. $5 minimums with 3-4-5x odds.

My gambling at SL earned me about $26 in comps. I used about $7 for a meal (below), and I still have $19 left. I guess I have to go back.

How was the gambling everywhere else?

Don't ask. OK, since you did ask, it wasn't good. At the Eldorado, I lost $60 at video poker and slots faster than you can read this. I played through my freeplay at the Peppermill, then dumped it and more at STP (which is down to one machine - ugh). I lost a c-note at Atlantis playing various video poker machines and a little blackjack. I spotted Double STP there with sucky pay schedules (unusual for them). I also lost small amounts at the clown house and Harrah's. Those are the only places I played.

Any coupons that you care to talk about?

The SL offer came with a coupon sheet with only two coupons of note - a coupon good for a free ace with a $5 bet, and $5 off an entree at the coffee shop (Cafe Sedona) or the buffet. I lost the former and used the latter at the Cafe.

Cafe Sedona. Sounds generic. Anything worth noting about it?

Well, the buffet was closed Monday and Tuesday, so I couldn't use it there if I wanted to. I had the ribs on Sunday and used the coupon. The price was fair and service was brisk and efficient. Service was slower on Tuesday morning when I had a burger. By that point I had enough comps to pay for it. The food was good.

What's up with Reno's bus system?

I think someone in charge took a field trip to Las Vegas and figured they had all the right moves down there. They closed their old downtown station (like LV) and moved to a newer one (like LV). They added an express route down Virginia that uses similar stretched buses that LV uses for their SDX route. In this case it seems to fit like a 4X shirt on a supermodel. The buses will seat about 60, plus standing room. Yet I never saw more than 10 people on it. Riding the bus was fine, but their old stop was more convenient.

Are you ready to become a Southwest whore?

Not yet. I do have their card now, which game me enough points for my NEXT trip. The employees I encountered were nice and competent. The boarding process is efficient, as far as it goes. Since I had a paper ticket, I couldn't use their vaunted EarlyBird option. I got an A48 to Reno from Detroit (direct, stopped at Midway), which turned out fine. I got the window I wanted. One oddity was that to Reno they offered cookies and crackers, but NO peanuts. Heresy! They did provide peanuts out of Detroit, so it's not like I was deprived.

I checked in at an Internet kiosk the day before my flights back (RNO->DEN->DTW), and I got B32 and A60 - not great numbers. I got stuck in the middle to Denver, which wasn't all that bad - better than a 757 would have been. I did get a window back to Detroit.

My experience wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that either.

Tell us about the degenerate portion of your trip.

After returning from the Atlantis, where I had blown my winnings and was now in losing territory for the trip, I went to Silver Legacy's casino to try to make things up. I lost $50 at craps and $117.50 at DD blackjack. I reached into the stash and got some more cash. I played the shoe - 2 hands, $10 each, sometimes more. I won $88, but that wasn't good enough. I played video poker and lost $23 there. Then I went really nuts and played SD at a $10 minimum table. I had it to myself for the first hour - a horrible, sickening hour that sucked over $300 from me. The dealer was feeling sorry for me, which is never a good sign. I gradually got company, the dealers rotated, new cards were put into play, and I steadily got healthier. I played that game for three hours total and ended up $35 ahead. I was exhausted, so I shut it down there.

Quit stalling. What was the bottom line?

I had a good time. I lost about $90. I'll be back in Reno in August - the Nugget for a night, Peppermill for two.

I'll add things if I feel the need, and as always, go ahead and ask questions.

Thanks for reading.

[BC Dave]

Sounds like fun Alphabeta. Glad you were able to recover a large portion of your losses. Lesser men would have folded under the pressure. (Like me!)

I like the Legacy a lot. Stayed there a few times with no complaints. The Sedona has good food and generous portions.

[stan_allen]

Good show, and especially on all the gaming detail, as excruciating as it might have been - it's delicious reading for those of us who can't get there as often as we'd like.

Love the drama of the split-resplit aces hand - I had one of those on my very first gambling trip, and I've never forgotten it. Pity the poor guy splitting 10s - does he not read this site???

Your FAQ format is rich and literal-minded. Please repeat for your next trip!

[Dave]

Great trip report. Thanks for taking the time to post. I am ready to head back down there soon!
Thanks,
Dave

[alphabeta]

Thanks all.

[stan_allen]

Oh, believe me, I'd like to reach through the internet and throttle him - but therein lies the true definition of pity, does it not?

Imagine being a cranky old local, playing night after night because of the ease of location - and then losing your shirt every time because of your woefully-underinformed playing strategy that allows you to engage in ridiculous shenanigans such as splitting tens!!!

Sure, that's one evening's hand of irritation for you, but can you imagine being that guy? Or even worse, being that guy's wife???

[remano]

The guy who split 10's was probably clueless, but maybe he was a real pro, as in:

"By Henry Tamburin

There are two types of blackjack players that split a pair of 10s. One type is the casual player that has no idea what the right playing strategies are for blackjack. The other is the pro that knows the game inside and out.
...

If it's more profitable to stand on 20 rather than split, why do the pros sometimes split? The answer to this has to do with the composition of the undealt cards.

The above analysis was done assuming the top-of-the-deck composition of cards. In practice the composition of the cards changes from hand to hand depending upon the cards played. The pros carefully watch the cards played so they have useful information on the composition of the undealt cards. So, if a pro sees a lot more small value cards being played compared to the 10s, picture cards, and aces, then he knows that the undealt cards must have a higher proportion of the latter cards. This will be the ideal time to split the 10s since the chances are greater of drawing two tens or aces for pat 20 or 21 hands. Also, the pro knows that if the dealer has a 5 or 6, he must draw a third card (unless he has an ace-6) and the probability is great that he will break when he draws from a ten-rich deck.

The only way you are going to know when the undealt cards become rich enough in 10s and aces to make splitting 10s a more profitable play than standing is to learn a card counting system. For example, for the popular High Low counting system, the pro would split 10s against a 6 when there is an excess of 4 more high value cards per deck than normal. Although this doesn't happen too often, when it does, the pro knows that his expectation is greater when he splits compared to standing."

Great TR, BTW. Thanks for taking the time to post it. The Q&A format was especially effective.

[stan_allen]

Okay, I suppose should have left wiggle room for the *slight possibility* that the guy is a counting pro from years back - but the instructions from most such articles that even describe these strategies tend to include something about behavioral procedure, along the lines of: "Do not call attention to yourself in the casino by angrily denouncing the plays of others; buffoons attract the watchful eye of management", or some such admonition!

Hey, where's LVBear these days? We need the bottom line, here!

[alphabeta]

Thanks again.

[LilyJDragonfly]

Nice formatting choice.... The Dog and I both like SL, but other than our room comp the day we hit a Royal progressive playing Pai Gow and demanded a room, they've given us nothing for rooms.

However, on Wednesdays, they do give a free buffet to you if you've got their second-level card or above....