Visitreno

[LilyJDragonfly]

Knowing we wouldn't be able to hold out until New Year's Eve, The Dog and I hunted out some comped rooms for Christmas... Harrah's had us hooked up, but then I decided I'd ring up the Cal-Neva, just to see if they had anything for us. And so they did. Irene had rooms for us and slot tourney entries, too! Cancel Harrah's, Hello Cal-Neva!

We eased into town around 10:45am on Saturday, dropped the car with the valet at Cal-Neva, and hurried up to the tourney at Cal-Neva.... a mind-numbing seven minutes later, neither of us had hit much (4K for The Dog and 3.5K for me; there were at least three folks who had hit 7K+ - the second round two hours later yielded similar results).

Being as how we'd been in such a hurry to get to Reno, we hadn't eaten yet so we dropped in to Top Deck and had the ever-so-tasty 4.99 steak 'n eggs, served fast with a Keno runner right behind. Brunch grubbed down and it was time to get to gambling. We split off and I went to the Sky Bar to lose a few bucks in the VP machines whilst enjoying some libations.

The Dog got about $30 in freeplay which he managed to turn into cash money and we rendezvoused at the second leg of the slot tourney (see above results). Only hours of shopping time were left in the day so we decided to get the car to head to Scheel's and pick up some ammo and dog treats.

For those of y'all who like dogs or darts or guns or wax figures of presidents or Ferris wheels or big indoor aquariums or, gasp, actual exercise, Scheel's is an excellent detour. They had deals on ammo and dog treats and we had a lovely time looking at all sorts of accessories, plus we picked up two Tervis tumbler lids and various other accouterments and tasted their homemade fudge (tasty, but we bought none).

We headed back up the room and scoped it out. Apparently, they have switched up the soap/lotion offerings for the winter season to a circa 1978 roadside motel style called "Sweet Bouquet" with actual bar soap, as opposed to the fall offering of "Desert Breeze", that came with a liquid shower soap. I debated cruising over to Harrah's and just hitting up a maid in the hotel for some Ivy & Fig and Gilcrest & Soames but we toughed it out.

Enough with the room and time to go swiping at the Silver Legacy and Eldo! Oooo... a discounted room rate and a free ace from Eldo, two Mansion entries for me and ten Mansion entries for The Dog. I then proceeded to play Lord of the Rings - no bonus round and fast Jackson down the gaping maw of SL. We screwed around a bit more there (no convertible Mini Cooper for me either) and then went up to Fairchild's for dinner on our comps.

Simply delicious. Crab and scallop pan roast for The Dog, seared Ahi tuna for me, plus cocktails. As it turns out, the staff noticed the kitchen was really slow in getting out our order and the manager came over and offered to pick up a round of our drinks without us even saying anything or calling her over. Nice!

Stuffed from dinner, we cruised back to swipe again (see above results) and then I played nickel SuperTimesPay VP for a bit.... did okay until I didn't do okay and then over to Harrah's to use up my ten bucks in free play, which cost me another Jackson because I was certain I would hit something good on Davinci Diamonds, which I did not.

I shuffled back to Cal-Neva to hit the tables.

The craps table was sorta happening and I was holding my own. A younger fellow who had been rolling ended his roll and came over to where I was and started tossing chips onto the table. The dealers told him to stop and just place the chips in front and to call out his bet. He then started saying something like, "Well, the dealers at the other casino don't give a &^% when we do it because we tip big," and at this point, security was waved over and he was asked to leave. Thanks Cal-Neva Super Craps Crew for getting rid of a all-smack talking douche who actually didn't tip a dollar at all and was just an annoyance!

Speaking of tipping, don't forget to regularly tip your dealers and drink girls! It truly goes a long way and if you take care of your dealer(s), the pit boss WILL notice and your level will climb. Deuces are particularly appreciated.

Douche gone, but the table stayed mediocre and I finally bid a farewell to all. It was a quiet night there in the Cal-Neva for a Saturday night, but it was Christmas Eve....

The next morning, The Dog and I woke up filled with joy and wonderment as it was Christmas Day and we were blessed with being in Reno and still having a few bucks in our pockets and dinner reservations at the Steakhouse at Harrah's at eight that night!

We went to Harrah's for the coffee and apple fritters and oatmeal and played a few rounds on various machines. The Dog hit a killer bonus round on Lord of the Rings for $80-something! I hit nothing. And nothing again.

Back to Cal-Neva for our free Christmas Play Bonus if you signed up on their Facebook page... $10 in freeplay or $20 in Action Chips! We both chose Action Chips. Benjamin was assisting us and we asked if Irene was around. He said she was off for the day (she was supposed to be fixing our room rates for New Year's Eve next weekend as they had gotten screwed up somewhere and we were quoted like $280 for the weekend or something). The Dog said, "No problem. We'll catch her tomorrow," and slid a deuce over to Benjamin for helping us. All the sudden, he stood up and said, "Hold on. Let me see what I can do for you." Clickity-clickity-click and voila. Problem of paying for next weekend solved. Rooms taken care of completely. Nice. "Come see me if you need anything," he says as we thank him. The Dog slides him a larger tip for his efforts and we breeze off to go swipe at SL & ElDo.

This time, The Dog's swipe yields him a Bungee Cord! We go to collect it and I spy a SL bottle opener down there in their secret stash of branded plastic junk. I ask, "Who gets those? President's Club?" The young clerk laughs and says he rarely sees them handed out. I ask if perhaps I could be one of the lucky ones. "Sure," he says, handing one over to me. A deuce thank-you and a big smile with a Merry Christmas as we head over to play GHOSTBUSTERS.

A very fun slot to play with lots of noises and flashing things and the seat rumbles and everything. You almost forget that it sucks in payouts. Luckily, I only lost a few bucks before we broke free of its hypnotic grip. SL does have the newest slots and we discovered Wolf Run 2 and some other game with cats or something and The Dog was up by a few bucks and I was even for a while.

Lunch/breakfast/mid-day eatings were at Brew Brothers. Matt the Bartender loves deuces and took right fine care of us, save for the fact that they were out of Bloody Mary mix. I had nachos, The Dog ate a Reuben and by the end of the meal, I was up by a few bucks for the session... not the weekend, mind you, but at least for that session!

However, the Cal-Neva's siren song called out to us to come play and so we did. I turned my Action Chips into $10 real money and The Dog turned his into nothing. Eh-la. Now here's where it goes off the rails. I go to the main bar to play VP and Benjamin comes over. We chat for a few minutes and he hands me his card with his cell number and his days off listed on a card. "Call me for anything and any time you want to come up here. I will take care of you." WHAT??? Could this be? We have a genuine host at the Cal-Neva? Heck yeah!

Feeling mighty spry and special, I head up to the Sky Bar for more Video Poker. This visit yielded nothing in payouts, but I did have an interesting discussion about poison oak, AK-47s, the merits of the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, and Forever Lazy, a product to which I had not known of until just hours before (thanks Late Night TV!). Please examine its benefits for yourself (including the "hatch" in back) - https://www.orderforeverlazy.com/

Daylight was fading fast and day of Bailey's, Bloody Marys, and Budweisers made me need a quick nap before our dinner at The Steakhouse. Off to the room to freshen up!

Resplendent in our dinner wear (The Dog decked out in his Brooks Brothers and custom-tailored suit and I in my velvet pants and mink), we stopped for a photo in the lobby of the Cal-Neva.



As the night before, dinner was excellent - Beef Wellington, a bottle of something that was $120, creme brulee, and then a vague screwup on the charges that couldn't be fixed (about $14 of overcharges) and for their error, they gave us three boxes of handmade Steakhouse truffles (worth $15 each).... delightful! And what made it all even better was it was totally covered by Great Race comps.... thanks, VAPA, for hooking us up in Vegas!

We waddled back to our room to catch the last minutes of a fine Christmas episode of American Dad - yup, the one where they're killing off elves and firebombing Santa! Absolutely perfect end to a wonderful day of NOT celebrating Christmas in the traditional way....ahhh, Reno....

And then, it was Monday. I was broke. The Dog still had most of his bankroll. He peeled me off half (I am a lucky girl in that respect!) and we went back to the Cal-Neva. Benjamin was at the desk and we waved hello. He called us over. "Do you like wine?" he asked. "Of course," we answer in unison. He offers forth our choice of three bottles of Barefoot. We choose the White Zin and he says it will be at the desk when we're ready to leave. Nice!

I go to play a few more slots because, as all y'all in Internet Trip Report Land know, I can't stand to roll out of Reno with any money in my pocket. Benjamin comes and hunts me out and asks if I like cards. "Of course," I reply. "I'll throw some in with your wine," he says. Cool.

So I manage to screw around some more and lose all the cash The Dog gives me and I find him down to his last fifty at the blackjack tables. No love there for either of us and we slide back from the table with ease because there are no heavy chips or dollar bills with which to weigh us down.

Off to the players desk and Benjamin has assembled our wine, a CASE of Cal-Neva playing cards, and two sets of Genuine Cal-Neva dice. Kick ass!

We grab our goodies, thank Benjamin profusely and hand him off a box of my favorite truffles, and begin our journey back home....

En route to CA, we stop in at Cabela's (just about ten minutes from downtown via car). It's nice and we have lunch at their grill that offers buffalo, boar, and other delights for true carnivores. If you like to wear camo, I have never in my life ever seen a larger collection of camo-wear. If you're a first-responder or military, they knock 5% off your price.

The ride home is quiet and we stop in Grass Valley to pick up a year's worth of wine club shipments from Sierra Starr... home while it's still daylight and the dogs are glad to see us.

POST TRIP NOTE: This morning, Benjamin called me directly to make sure we were still coming this weekend....

[mjames1229]

[john]

Great report, as usual. It reads like a novel, one based on fact, of course.

That Benjamin is super. All that service for a two dollar tip. Please give him my name. Of course, since I never go into the CalNeva, he'll have to send the wine and cards to my house by limo.

[stan_allen]

I'm still wondering if a "Deuce" is a two-dollar tip, or a twenty? That would have been an awful lot of tipping, if it were the latter...I'll conclude that John's summary of the dollar amount is the accurate one.

Wish I could have been there to offer input on that punk rock discussion; I've actually got some authority on that subject matter, e.g. the Greg-Kira-Bill lineup was some of the best musicianship in the punk world, or any other hard-rock one, for that matter - Circle Jerks? Arguably just another ill-recorded band, but decent material - check out "Stars and Stripes" off the "Wild in the Streets" album for a good example...

But that's a definite tangent; the main attraction is all that quality time (and money) spent at Cal-Neva, and all our favorites - great job, as usual!
And look at you two, in your Christmas finery - putting us all to shame, you are!

Now that you've got an entire case of those playing cards, how about another round of Lily's patented super-happy-fun-giveaway trivia question thingys???

And behold! Yet another multiple-choice poll, where each answer is absolutely correct - I just can't decide!

Keep up the good work!

[Zydeco]

Another great TR and I love the photo! Smashing!

[JD]

Not QUITE as good as your fantasy TR...but pretty damn good.

Maybe New Years will be closer to the "...best TR EVER..."!

Didn't recognize the dog without his kilt. (wait, let me rephrase that)

Glad you had a good time, I wished you'd have taken a few hours to see Christmas on the Comstock. I hear C Street is all decked out in lights.

I just LOVE how appreciative those Cal Neva folks can be. It counts WAY more than brand new razzle dazzle carpeting, don't ya think?


Keep in touch....4th of July for sure in VC for one week. Likely other trips earlier for me on short notice.

[CaSwede]

Your reports make a very nice read. I guess you are packing again for trip #2. I hope you have some bankroll for this one.


"..........Benjamin comes over. We chat for a few minutes and he hands me his card with his cell number and his days off listed on a card. "Call me for anything and any time you want to come up here. I will take care of you."

I am thinking he was impressed with the mink coat. I am not sure I have ever seen one of those. I was impressed with just seeing the picture.

So. I am sure you asked him for a ride in the famous Cal-Neva limo? You did ask for a ride? If not, you got to get a ride on this next trip.

[BC Dave]

Great report Lily. It's cool to hear that you got the personal touch at the Cal Neva! I love the place but they're not really noted for that. So I'm nominating Benjamin for Reno Casino Employee of the year.