Visitreno

[PEB]

Part One:

Wednesday morning....off to Reno (finally!). It was a nice drive, hardly any traffic. We drove the scenic route....Hwy 49 to SR 88 and over Carson Pass to 395. Beautiful up there, lots of snow too....really deep at the top (my guess would be snow as deep as 25 ft. if not more).

We pulled into the Fitz parking garage just a few minutes before noon. Check-in was super fast, our room was ready...no waiting. Once we took our luggage to our room and pinned on the 'drink badges'....it was off to the bar on the 2nd floor (for some reason, the drive made my hubby extra thirsty...lol ). Since we had some time to kill before meeting John for a brew at the Brew Bros., I figured we'd sit at the bar a little while and then find my lucky slot machine.

Ok, got hubby away from the bar and found my lucky quarter machine and played until almost 3 pm (Happy Hour), walked away $50 ahead (off to a good start) and headed to the Brew Bros. I don't drink beer...and after having a 'few' screwdrivers (was a little buzzed) so I ordered a coke, hubby orders his beer (with a smile on his face.... keep in mind he'd been drinking 7 & 7 at the Fitz). There weren't many people in the Brew Bros., in fact I noticed when we walked through the casino at the Eldorado there weren't many people there either. John was to meet us at 4 pm, I kept watching people walk in, looking for someone you've never seen before you tend to eye them all....lol. About 4:15 pm, thinking John wasn't going to make it....I see this guy standing there with a smile on his face...and he opens up his jacket (I thought....oh goodie, a flasher! lol )...it was John...revealing his 'VisitReno.com' Teeshirt

We introduced ourselves and hubby ordered them some brews (I'm still drinking coke) and we started talking and having a good time...for my hubby, a really good time as the beers kept going down quite smoothly...lol By the time Happy Hour was over....my hubby was bombed (first time I'd seen him that way in about 20 years)...lol. John was hubby's designated driver to the men's room (thank you John!)...lol My hubby wasn't looking (or feeling) too good and was also embarrased as he wondered what kind of impression he'd just made of himself to
John. All I can say John is....hubby came to Reno to party but he has to learn not to do it all in the first few hours in town...lol ! John, it was great to finally meet you and we really enjoyed our visit.....look forward to meeting up with you again on our next trip. And Hubby apologizes
for his over-indulgence, said he's learned his lesson and the next time, 2 brews is all he'll have LOL! And, as a thank you for being his designated driver to the men's room, hubby wants to buy you dinner upon our return to Reno Sound good?

Trip Report - Part Two

After leaving the Brew Bros. I had to steer hubby back to our room for a nap before going to dinner. After sawing logs for an hour or so, hubby recovered enough to go have dinner We had dinner at Molly's Garden at the Fitz (was comped) and we were very impressed and pleased with the service and the food. I was surprised to see Prime Rib on the menu,
and since we hadn't eaten all day....it really sounded good. On the menu it listed prime rib $10.99 and the 'Excutive Cut' $13.99, so I asked the waitress what the difference was between the two, she said, "three ounces". So we both ordered the prime rib. It came with choice of soup or salad, veggies, baked potato, bread & butter. We had the salad, very
good! When she brought out our prime rib....wow! I've never seen such a huge cut before! It was well over an inch thick and was at least 16 oz., it was the most tender, juicy prime rib....right up there with the prime rib served at Limerick's! But, it was way too much to finish! Next time we'll know better and order the reg. cut.

Time to hit the slots before calling it a day. Played mostly quarter slots, won some, lost some. Decided to stop by the bar on the main floor, just in time to hear George Pickard perform. If you've never stopped to hear this man....you should, he's very talented, funny and each performance was great. I could listen to him for hours and will be sure to go back during our next stay. Lots of ladies at the bar who decided to get up and dance, met a nice (and funny) lady who was there celebrating her BD, she came over to talk to us and mentioned how much hubby looks like....you guessed it....Kenny Rogers lol !

Our room at the Fitz was clean and quiet and not once during the entire stay did we have to wait on an elevator In-room coffee was a blessing especially for my hubby...lol We slept in the next morning before heading down to the keno lounge to play a few games and enjoy some really good hot cocoa. Didn't win at keno this time. We took a walk outside, got some fresh air and wandered over to Harrah's to play for awhile, didn't win there, lost $10 (not bad). Went over to the SL and played the LegacyLotto and the free slot tourney....didn't win but had fun!

The casinos were really empty everywhere we went...except for the Fitz, it was always hopping. Cal-Neva was dead, Harrah's almost empty, same for the Eldorado and SL. Decided to skip the Sands. It was really windy outside, so not much fun to be walking anywhere. Back to our room to rest and then freshen up for dinner, had reservation for Limerick's. After enjoying yet another great prime rib dinner...it was time to stop at the
bar to listen to George sing again, and watch that same lady we'd met the night before, I don't think we ever saw her sober each time we encountered her....lol

Played the slots a little, won about $30....but hubby lost what I'd won so we called it a night. I was excited about the next day (Friday) and the upcoming slot tourney and found it a little hard to sleep that night.

Part Three:

Friday morning, in-room coffee to start the day. We were sitting at the table talking about the slot tourney....looked out the window and guess what we saw....yep, it really was snow. We couldn't see the mountain tops....total whiteout up there and I thought about those who were on Hwy 80 trying to get to Reno, thankful that we had gotten into town early.

We got dressed and headed down to the registration desk to see if we could remain in the same room (our 2 free days were up) or have to switch. I checked out and checked right back in....the nice man at the desk said we didn't have to change rooms He gave me my tournament envelope and even adjusted the date on my parking ticket, we were all set .

We went back up to our room so I could check out the contents of the tourney envelope. Inside were two name badges (myself & hubby as my guest), these were different than the drink badges...they were smaller, made of hard plastic and the info on them was engraved, nice There was also a welcome letter and tourney schedule. The fun was set to begin at 2 pm, tourney registration and welcome party (to 5 pm) located at Lord Fitzgeralds Buffet on the 3rd floor.

We wandered around the casino, found a machine that was calling my name and took it for about $25 before heading to the bar to listen to George sing again. Stopped by the Enchanted Forest where hubby & I each won a Fitzgeralds cap Back to our room to change for the party.

At the entrance to Lord Fitzgeralds they had a table set up to register and it was loaded with pretty wrapped packages, each tourney player received a free gift....cool! I also got a purple & white garter with a tourney badge on it (to wear on the arm). All the tables were set really nice, white tablecloths, cloth napkins, candles, they had a bar set up in there and cocktail waitresses for those who didn't want to walk to the bar. All around the room were pretty decorations, even the stage. People were eating and drinking, having a great time. We got to draw our tourney slot times, I was to be in the 2nd session and my first round was at 5:45

The food was really good, hubby sampled everything from the snow crab legs to the BBQ ribs, while I satisfied my craving for chicken. We were sitting at our table eating when a man walked over and asked if we were enjoying ourselves, he introduced himself and we invited him to sit down. His name was Paul and he was the director of marketing for the Fitz, he gave me some tourney tips after telling him this was my 1st tourney, really nice man, he wished me luck and then moved on to greet other guests.

5:45, round one, I drew slot machine #9....after all of the players were seated in front of their machines, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....GO! We had 30 minutes to rack up as many points as we could....come on blue 7's (worth 1,000 points)! When 30 min. was up...thats it, machine won't spin anymore....I ended up with just over 9,000 points. Not bad I guess because there were some that didn't even get that high, yet some had over 10,000.

We left to do some gaming and made another stop at the bar on the main floor before going back to Lord Fitzgeralds for dinner. Since the whole thing was for the tourney, it was easy to find a table to sit and enjoy dinner. The buffet is small compared to others but what they did have was really good, no complaints about the food at all. After dinner, more gaming, more drinking...won $30 before heading back to our room for the night.

Part four/final :

Saturday morning, after having our in-room coffee we headed to Lord Fitzgeralds where breakfast was waiting for the tournament players and their guests. Again, all the tables looked great. Lots of choices for breakfast and the food was very good. I wasn't scheduled for my 2nd session until 9:45 so we just stayed at our table and watched the players in the first round, it was fun watching all the excitement.

Got in line, drew my machine number and got ready for round two. It was a lucky one this time....I racked up 12,320 points, coming in 2nd place for that session (missed 1st by only 220 points). My third and final session wasn't scheduled until 3 pm, headed for the casino.

Played some quarter slots, lost $15 so we took a break and headed to the bar on the main casino floor.Hubby wanted a light lunch....back to Lord Fitzgeralds. Watched the first group of players in the 3rd and final session while enjoying a couple of drinks (if you leave the Fitz thirsty....its your own fault...lol ).

My 3rd session got me over 10,000 points but winners wouldn't be announced until later that evening at the awards ceremony/cocktail party (8 pm). We returned to Lord Fitzgeralds just before 8 pm, the room was packed, people eating and drinking and waiting to find out who the winners were. Got in line to get the winners list, all were listed except for 1st thru 5th place as those would be a surprise

Looked over the list...found my name, I placed 18th (out of 150 players) that had a $25 prize. Not bad for my first time, I was happy After all the winners had been announced and paid....it was photo time, each winner 1st thru 5th got their pictures taken and then they asked the whole group of winners up on the stage for a group photo. Then, it was food and cocktails.....which ended around 9:30 that night.

After hearing the point total for the 1st place winner I learned that she had only beaten me by 4200 points.....so getting that close to $10,000 was exciting for me I had a great time, met lots of nice people and I can't wait to get another invitation to a Fitz slot tourney! Kevin you were right....they do treat you like kings & queens, everything was fantastic.

I think it was a good deal for the slot tourney, $299 includes your entry, room for two nights, your food (all you can eat) and drinks (all you can drink) for you and a guest, a free gift along with the chance to win up to $10,000

John, don't forget dinner when we return to Reno....hubby thought you might enjoy the prime rib special at the Fitz (hubby's buying)....sound good?

As for the rest of my gaming in Reno....I broke even on this trip...so all in all, it was great...I'm happy Looking forward to our return.