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July 2012 TR - Plus had some questions for you

 
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dfens



Joined: 19 Jul 2012
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Jul Sat 21, 2012 9:22 pm    Post subject: July 2012 TR - Plus had some questions for you Reply with quote

I had some questions on the bottom of the Trip Report. Any answers would be welcomed!

Who are we:

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.

We love gambling (frequent trips to Vegas and Indian Casinos in California and Oregon) headed off to Reno. We live on the coast so the 100+ temp were killing us. Luckily, the Eldorado/SL and CC have great air conditioning on our arrival. Our check-in at El Dorado was a “breeze” with a fairly short line. A great start for a 3 night trip!

Room:

The Spa Suite at the Eldo was definitely roomier than their standard room. Like the majority of Reno rooms the furniture was showing its age but it was sizable. We were put on the 5th floor which seemed great as it’s closer to the casino and on the same floor as the pool/ gym. During the first night I heard a lot of noise and realized that we were level with the loud air conditioning vents and I didn’t get much sleep. This may have been my punishment for using the “Suite Escape” special that the Eldo was running.

Early in the morning I went to the front desk to see if we could get a room change. I offered to pay the difference for any other available suite but the nice front desk employee said that there wasn’t anything available until after the 3pm check out. I said we could make the room switch later and gave her a tip for her great service. Just an hour later my wife received a call that a room opened up one of the upper floors. Though both rooms were Spa Suites, the upper one had two banks of huge windows and of course a great view. It was freaking amazing and my wife couldn’t be any happier.

My wife loves spas/massages and there’s none the Eldo. They do have a small pool with an outdoor bar and plenty of chairs. Next to the pool is a very small gym. The gym has great treadmills, ellipticals and individual tv screens (or ipod connectors) to each machine. They also have fans so you could set one up at your machine to create a breeze. Also, they had bottled water in the gym. Many pool goers walk into the gym to take the bottled water to the pool.

Food:

The Eldorado buffet for a weekday night was good for $13. I admire the amazing service. We had no idea what kind of slave driver was managing that night, but no glasses went half empty before a refill was offered, empty plates were cleared seconds after they were done and coffee was offered after our meal. I noticed that no matter how big the party was, every table was served extremely well. What really irked us was the couple sitting next to us left only a $2 tip. I only hope he left the other part of the tip on the credit card for the hard workers there.

We also had Happy Hour at Brew Brothers at the Eldo. I’ve eaten there before but always sat at the bar. This time, we decided to sit at a table in the “porch” adjacent to the main artery between the Eldo and Silver Legacy. The have some good happy hour specials including some cheap pints of beer, great burgers, nachos, etc… The food portions so large it ruined our dinner but we didn’t mind. Overall, the food was your basic bar food/Tex Mex which is the perfect combination with beer.

We loved Hash House a Go Go. We’ve been to the restaurant/Tractor Bar in Vegas and San Diego (the restaurant and bar are in different locations in SD). The main difference with the Harrah’s location is that the service was pretty bad. The other locations are run extremely well (if you’re in the one in the Imperial Palace in Vegas, notice how fast the table is turned, usually two people working in unison to clear plates, clean tables and rearrange condiments and chairs to perfection) whereas the Reno location has barely any staff and the wait time for the servers is bad. Waiting 15 minutes for the server to acknowledge when you first sit down is acceptable to me during a mad rush of people but the restaurant was empty (only three tables had customers when we arrived). There were other issues with the service but I'll skip. The food was as expected: huge, amazing and satisfying. I would definitely eat there again even with the lackluster service.

Our major regret was eating at Pho Mein in the Eldo. We agreed that this may have been the worse asian restaurant we’ve been too. Before you get excited, we’re both asian and have extensively lived/traveled on both coasts and have experienced “small town” asian restaurants. Pho Mein plain out sucked even when we didn’t pay for it (used our comp points).

Gaming:

We signed up to see the Eldo gave out any comps for new players (they didn’t). Though we love the Shoot to Win craps machine in the Eldo (only one downtown), we spent hours each night playing craps. The craps tables in the El Dorado are the aircraft carrier types, about 16ft feet long. I never noticed the $5 craps minimum go higher at anytime (we didn’t play during the weekends). It was standard low 3x4x5x odds. What was amazing was how nice the dealers were. When I first got there I thought they were chatting for tips. Nope, they were sincerely nice even the boxman wanted to chat. Maybe I’ve been jaded by the harsh treatment in the Vegas strip casinos but this was the kind of place that makes me want to keep playing even when I’m losing money. And don’t think they were stiffs, once when I was warming up the craps table alone, the stickman asked me if I wanted to switch and take the whip while he threw for me. I screamed out a drunken, “hell yeah” which made him change his mind.

The Eldo played 80s music over the speaker during all three days which was fine with me. The Eldo was the place we played the most and it was definitely the best in our opinion when it came down to cleanliness, professional dealers and good security (Silver Legacy would be next). I would also add that the cocktail servers were great and I was never long without a drink. I didn’t see any decent video poker so I limited myself to table games there. (no luck finding the decent VP machines mentioned in VPFree)

I also briefly played at Cal Neva on another trip but the typical crazy reviews on yelp/tripadvisor convinced me to return. I knew that my wife had no desire to revisit that place due to the smoke, smell and sketchy vibe. I don’t blame her.

So, I ended up waking up early to go to the Neva and it was FANTASTIC! I’ve spent time in the armpits of Central America and also spent weeks in Dutch Harbor Alaska so maybe I’ve already gone through my indoctrination for crazies. Anyways, go to Cal Neva if playing $3 blackjack 3-2 payout (single deck) or $3 craps (shorter table) outweighs playing in less than ideal conditions. This includes rubbing elbows with possibly homeless characters, people with apparent mental issues and all the while basking in the Neva ambiance that includes heavy smoke and the smell of old people.

Here are just some of thing that happened during my time at the Neva:

1. It seemed like there’s a game where crazy looking patrons would try to bait the floor supervisor to fight. The sup didn’t seem very happy about the verbal abuse. I thought it was a one-time thing but I saw different patrons do it on all three days I was there.

2. Weird patrons who desperately eye other patron’s chip stacks. For instance I had $500 in chips to cash out. The cage has to call someone when the cash-out was over $500 so during my wait a shady looking character says, “Why are you spending Vegas money in Reno?”. He’s hovering inches from me, staring at my chips and keeps repeating the same sentence over and over. I just smile, shrug my shoulders but more importantly braced for the shank that never came.

3. A guy staggered over to me at the craps table. By his clothes and smell he appears homeless, by staggered walk he looks drunk or high and by his super dark sunglasses he kept on he must had infrared vision because the Neva is so dark I have no idea how he was able to see. Anyways, he hovers over me as I’m playing from stick left 1 (and of course there’s no stickman at the Neva). I ask if he wants to play and he’s unresponsive. So I pick up my chips off the rack and invite him to the spot and move away from the guy. The dealers were nice and told me to move back but my position doesn’t make a difference to me. The dealers were cool and passed the dice out of order to me because I would have been next if I had stayed stick left (I passed out of respect to the other patrons).

One morning I walked to Sands and the Siena to see if they had table games. I heard the Siena had closed their tables in 2010 and when I went all the tables games in the Siena were closed (I think because it was early in the morning). The Sands had some blackjack tables open but no craps (there was a table so I think it was just closed in the morning). I think both had small gaming floors and looked deserted in the morning.

A week after our visit we received an upgrade on our Eldo player’s club card. Since we mostly played craps the floor sup must have confuse our bets with the high rollers playing next to us.

Other Adventures:

I wanted to surprise my wife with something so I booked a 2 hour private beginner’s climbing lesson at Basecamp in Commrow. For two people it was $100 ($80 for two plus $20 tip) and worth every penny. It was exciting, physically demanding and learned enough to climb at other facilities. If you have spare time, I highly recommend it.

Questions I have for you:

We loved our trip and heading back soon. I looked at this forum/yelp/tripadvisor for info but still need some advice:

1. Has anyone gone tubing in the Truckee in Reno. I'd love to hear about your experience? Any suggestions on which company is the best to go with and how they dealt with the logistics of shuttles, etc…

2. Craps conditions (table minimums, odds, hours) in Reno/Sparks. Nextshooter , GTC and other websites have outdated information.

3. Which are the best players club to join? Does any give out any worthwhile gifts to new players (more than the $5-$500 free play Silver Legacy does).

4. Anyone travel on the riverwalk path? I wanted to take the wife rollerblading on it but need to find out if the pavement is smooth (like a sidewalk) or bumpy (like the street). If it’s bumpy, I’m going to fly off my longboard and end up in the river.

5. Does anyone do long distance running near downtown Reno? I’m looking for extended routes that don’t have stop lights that can be done close to downtown. I’m looking for approximately 10 mile routes but I’d take any route that’s good. (I ran early in the morning to avoid the summer heat)


Last edited by dfens on Jul Wed 25, 2012 1:29 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Mammothgambler



Joined: 25 Dec 2005
Posts: 619

PostPosted: Jul Sun 22, 2012 7:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi, welcome to the board and thanks for the trip report! A couple of things:

Thanks for the info on the suites at the Eldorado, I was wondering how they were. Always looking for options for when I can't get into my mainstream Harrah's downtown. I recently stayed in the ones at the Silver Legacy for the first time and they were awesome. I have not yet tried the buffet, which I've heard is great, but since you got upgraded and are now a Gold member there, keep in mind they have awesome discounts for Gold and above members at the buffet. Their website has the current prices.

Oh yeah, 100% agreed about the Hash House a Go Go kinda lacking in service in comparison to some of the other locations - but you still gotta love it! One thing I was pretty bummed about was that as of March, they stopped giving out the honey biscuits - now you gotta pay for 'em!

Thanks for providing the pricing information for CommRow - I'm an intermediate climber and was wondering what they charged ballpark for a session.

I actually got a heads-up from a fellow board member here some time back that the Pho 777 restaurant, across from the East Tower at Harrah's, is definitely worth checking out.

In response to your questions:

1. Never been tubing in the Truckee, but if you've got a day to kill and are down for a little road trip, head about 165 miles down the 395 to the Owens River in Bishop, CA - 17 miles of floating if you do the whole thing and there's a huge rope swing at the end. You can literally get lost out there! It's practically in my backyard and I didn't check it out for the first time until recently, truly an awesome place!

2. I've found the players clubs in Reno are varied, but it all depends on what you're looking for. I've had the best luck with receiving lots of comps and free play with a minimal investment at Harrah's and the Grand Sierra Resort (I just joined up with the GSR in March, played thru $400 during my first visit, and since then, they've upgraded me a tier level and are sending 2 free nites and $100 in free play every two weeks. This is probably the fastest payback I've seen among all of 'em - haven't spent hardly any of my own money there yet). Silver Legacy and Eldorado seem pretty quick to accumulate, and the SL also gives you the option to convert your comps to freeplay and vice-versa while the Eldo doesn't. I found that a bit strange since they're next door neighbors under the same ownership. Never gotten anything major at Circus Circus, Cal Neva or Sands Regency, but I haven't really played there alot. The Peppermill is probably the slowest out of all of them, although I did notice they've now got point and comp multiplier days just like the rest, but still, they're the slowest out of all of 'em and will rob your points in a heartbeat. I've been in Reno a ton over these past few months and haven't really seen any special offers for new players other than the mainstream $10 or so of free play they'll give you, but the promotions seem to be changing by the day, so it's probably best to check directly when you're signing up. After a few trips, you'll get a pretty good feel for who's doing what in favor of what you're after.

3. Yes, the riverwalk path, and that whole area surrounding it, is very, very skateable/longboardable. You might encounter a small crack here and there but that's about it. My Sector 9 hasn't failed me yet, and there's lots of cool areas to check out around there. However, avoid the sidewalks on Virginia that start right on the outskirts of downtown, they're hard to walk on sometimes, much less ride - varying widths, potholes, craters, missing sections, etc.

Hope this helps!

Mammothgambler
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JD



Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 956

PostPosted: Jul Sun 22, 2012 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

IF you have a rated card from ELDO, I have a couple of ideas you might want to try.

Take your new bride to the Siena for a spa treatment. While she does her SPA, take you highest rated card to the Siena club and get an instant upgrade card with I think $ 25 in comps instantly. DO NOT LOSE THE SIENA CARD .... this card is used to get restaurant comps directly without a pin or ID.

Drop a $ 2 bill tip for a drink at the Mill Street bar and tell them "JD" & John recommended the Siena to you. On second thought....maybe you should NOT mention John.

I have NOT tried their craps game but I'm told a little play earns comps quick. Most cocktail waitresses belong to the $ 2 bill club as well.

When the wife's SPA is done enjoy the OUTSIDE seating (and spend your new comps directly from your card) at the cafe or Da Vinci bar.

Best view ever from the outside patio of the river.
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dfens



Joined: 19 Jul 2012
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Jul Sun 22, 2012 3:21 pm    Post subject: Appreciate the feedback! Reply with quote

Thanks for your responses!

Mammoth – Just read your TR! Thanks for the heads up on the riverwalk path and we’ll definitely bring the rollerblade/longboard for our upcoming trip!

Also, Basecamp is only $17 for a day ($12 for a daypass plus $5 gear rental). It’s on the smaller side if you’ve been to other indoor climbing areas, but nothing beats climbing outdoors on Virginia St (they also have two bouldering areas indoors and a tightrope). They have a juice bar and (alcohol) bar right next to Basecamp if you need to let the arms/legs take a rest between climbs. Also, they have lockers to store you things but I would bring a lock to make sure to secure your things.

JD – I read your review on yelp. I thought the Siena had craps and tables but just weren’t open in the mornings. I’m glad they are still there and going to check them out again. (I’m also sure the Sands have a craps table open during prime hours, but my poorly written TR makes it seem like they don’t)

Thanks for the heads up on the Siena players club. I read somewhere that a casino matched another casino’s players club rating but I couldn’t find it again until I read your post. I’ve been searching all the players club websites but then found it under “promotions” in the Siena website.

Thanks again for slogging through the TR and responses!


Last edited by dfens on Jul Sun 22, 2012 10:24 pm; edited 1 time in total
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john
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Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 1181

PostPosted: Jul Sun 22, 2012 4:43 pm    Post subject: Welcome, dfens Reply with quote

Welcome to the board and thanks for the informative and detailed trip report. Here's an update on the Siena's new member promotion taken from their website:

The First $200 is on us! + Instant Upgrade!
This promotion is available for new Siena Rewards members only. New members can receive up to $200 Free Play based on their first 24 hours of slot play when they join the Siena Rewards club. Plus, when guests join Siena Rewards, we will instantly upgrade them to their player’s status at other casinos. Direct guests to the Siena Rewards center for information, official rules and a promotional rack card.

Complimentary Lobster Tail – Just for being a Siena Rewards member!
Enjoy a complimentary lobster tail with the purchase of any of our exquisite UDSA Prime Steaks anytime this summer at da Vinci.

JD and I tried the free lobster tail with a steak. The meat was good, but the tail lacked a whole lot of flavor. It tasted like a, well, free lobster tail.

I've abandoned the Siena due to the mysterious free play awards. They say it's based on your last 3 months play, but in consecutive weeks, I got $15, $25, $30, $30, $0, $0 while maintaining a consistent level of play. The guy at the service desk said he'd check with the slot manager to see what went wrong, but I told him to forget about it and turned in my card.

Maybe the Grand Sierra will be my next home.
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dfens



Joined: 19 Jul 2012
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Jul Wed 25, 2012 1:28 pm    Post subject: Thanks! Reply with quote

John – Thanks for the reply! I’m getting the feeling that you and JD tore up the casinos not too long ago!

We’re headed back to Reno this weekend to check up on the Siena freeplay. With all the problems that Siena has had with everything (including supposed malfunctioning slot machines), I wouldn’t be surprised if their comp system went to bunk.

You may have heard, but a MGM employee was caught stealing freeplay’s from customers. He transferred their comp points to fake players cards and made $860K before he got busted. I guess monitoring your comp balances is important but difficult when the whole comp system remains mysterious to the player (and most casinos won’t let you check your comp balance at home/on the web, exceptions being TR and Eldo).

http://www.lvrj.com/news/casino-company-analyst-pleads-guilty-in-860-000-slot-scheme-150907615.html
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Jul Thu 26, 2012 8:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the trip report! I'm so glad you appreciate the divine environment of the Cal-Neva - it remains my favorite place to play, though it's not for everybody... if you're there on a Saturday morning, ask at the players club about getting a free entry into their slot tourney. Cal-Neva also has roulette near the Top Deck restaurant during the evenings.

Play just a bit at Harrah's and you'll have loads of really cheap/free rooms. If you've played any of the Harrah's down in Las Vegas, you should be in the system - log in and go to reservations and punch in your dates!

The Dog and I did Las Vegas last summer just to check it out and we really do prefer Reno because we like to gamble, but we're not high rollers. If you're a low-roller, LV is only good if you like to try and spot stars and be dazzled by the fancy buildings.

Lastly, welcome to the VR board! We're glad you're here!
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JD



Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 956

PostPosted: Jul Tue 31, 2012 3:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So John didn't get his "free play" chit?

Odd...since I just got my 3rd "2 free nights" AND a $ 150 free play" coupon in the mail.

ya don't think they treat MY zip code differently than a local zip do you?

Ten MORE $ 150 Free play coupons" and I'll be half way to EVEN !!
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dfens



Joined: 19 Jul 2012
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Aug Thu 09, 2012 5:34 pm    Post subject: Thanks everyone! Reply with quote

Lily – Thanks! I read your trip report about a Harrah’s host approaching you which is insane to a low roller like me. I’m assuming you must be at a high TR level or playing the hell out of the slots!

I have a new TR coming. The Siena promotion rocked and I visited some of the local casinos. My brain still hurts trying to adjust to $1 craps but it was all worth it!
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Mammothgambler



Joined: 25 Dec 2005
Posts: 619

PostPosted: Aug Thu 09, 2012 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dfens, glad you were able to get a good trip in! were you able to find any good places to longboard? I'll keep you in the loop if I find any new terrain, it's going to be home as of next week!

Mammothgambler
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dfens



Joined: 19 Jul 2012
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Aug Thu 09, 2012 7:12 pm    Post subject: longboarding Reply with quote

Mammoth - I longboarded down the riverwalk and then shifted off to the streets when the trail went to "no bikes allowed" (occurred a few times on the route). The whole goal was to get my wife out there on her rollerblades but she slept in, so I just went about 2 miles out.

I noticed skaters about every night in the river walk area area between Cal-Neva and Siena. It's a smooth circular area about 30 yards wide and skaters were there every night. I also watched the local roller derby team practicing there which was really fun because those crazies were skating hard.

The river walk trail is pretty sweet. On another day I ended up running on it and followed the Reno Marathon course (and went at least 8 miles.. I forgot my gps watch at home). It was pretty nice, smooth and only crossed a road where I had to stop a few times downtown. I'm definitely going to run it again.

Ironically, the fun part was longboarding downtown. The fake cobblestones around the Eldo/SL/CC made for a fun ride. The streets were pretty empty and flat (compared to San Francisco at least) so it was pretty enjoyable. The only thing is that the streets are extremely dirty and mix of heat resulted on my wheels having asphalt/grime all over it when I was done.

On my previous trip I ended up gambling/drinking at Cal Neva every morning. On the latest trip I worked out each morning probably saving me 1500 calories and dollars. It was a win win situation for me Very Happy
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dfens



Joined: 19 Jul 2012
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Aug Thu 09, 2012 7:21 pm    Post subject: WOW! Reply with quote

Mammothgambler wrote:
dfens, glad you were able to get a good trip in! were you able to find any good places to longboard? I'll keep you in the loop if I find any new terrain, it's going to be home as of next week!

Mammothgambler


Are you moving there? You're going to be living the dream (and responsible for hosting all of us when we visit) Razz

Definitely, let me know anything you find. Hell, if you officially become a local they need to create a new section in the forum. Instead of "Trip Reports" you'll get a section to yourself (and John) named "Locals Know Best".
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Mammothgambler



Joined: 25 Dec 2005
Posts: 619

PostPosted: Aug Thu 09, 2012 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, living the dream, off comps for the moment as of next Tuesday! Hopefully something will work out on the job side too, although it's been awesome having a breather and I can still claim my unemployment benefits from another state in the meantime. I'm leaving a sick mountain playground here in Mammoth but there's going to be lots of new terrain to explore there too. And there's still nonstop flights to the beach, so surf is still practically in the backyard.

Sounds like you got a chance to hit all the hotspots downtown. The cobbles are fun.

Yes, John has a great thing going here. This board's been the source for me since 2004, all the way back when I was still a Floridian. Met tons of cool people here and hope to meet them in person someday.

Mammothgambler
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