Visitreno

[Shooty]

Hi, I've been lurking here for some time and thought I'd contribute to the cause.

A bit about me and my biases. I've been visiting Reno since 1987 or so. I got in the habit of going by myself from Sacramento, and now I fly there solo for a few days every year. The wife doesn't like Reno much; she prefers the shopping and the entertainment of Vegas, which we also visit once a year or so.

I love to gamble, but I've never really gambled. What do I mean? I make a good living, but I still prefer a $2 craps table to a $5 one. Gambling has never been about money for me. I just like to play. And so the lower the limits, the better I like it. I'm a true cheapskate gambler.

Took Amtrak from Emeryville on Sunday June 17. The scheduled 7 hour trip took just over 9. Had an hour wait in Truckee for traffic to clear. I wasn't in a hurry, so I didn't really mind.

Wheeled my luggage to Siena for three comped nights. Because of the good pit and classy, friendly atmosphere, I think this is my favorite place to gamble. $0.50 roulette with a single zero, $2 craps with 10x odds, great $5 single deck blackjack, pai gow poker, TVs set to sports throughout the pit, what's not to like? Well, 10/7DB video poker has been eliminated, there's that not to like. But overall my favorite casino, and believe me I've been to nearly every one in Nevada.

Just some quick notes:

• The Siena's rooms are nice, clean, and modern, with free wi-fi.
  
• I didn't know the Siena has a small pool and hot tub on the fourth floor. It does.
  
• Reno's bus system is great for tourists. For $1.70 each way, adults can get from downtown to the modern Peppermill or Atlantis. The comfortable, modern number 1 bus runs every 10 minutes throughout the day. Similar service from downtown for the Nugget and other casinos in Sparks.
  
• Peppermill's new sports book includes a deli with GREAT pastrami sandwiches. $9.50 for a huge stack on rye with slaw and a pickle. I had it twice and loved it. Eat the sandwich in the sports book. You can sit at a table with a TV you can control, to pick just the right game to watch. The TV has a port to plug your headphones into. And the TV also has a mouse you can use to surf to several popular sports websites like mlb.com and espn.com. Honestly, for a guy like me, it doesn't get much better than that.
  
• The bars at Eldorado still have great bartop video poker. Both 9/6 jacks and 10/7DB. Great selection of beers, liberal drink comps, and Thomas Kemper root beer!
  
• Dollar Rent A Car has the best rates in town, by far. However, they recently closed their Circus Circus location. Meaning my slick plan to rent at the airport and return at the casino downtown was foiled: I had to return at the airport. No one at Dollar called to tell me of this change; I learned when I picked up the car at the airport.
  
• I still use traveler's checks, which AAA issues to me for no fee. I cash them slowly at Cal-Neva. Typically, when I cash 2 $100 checks there, they give me 2-3 drink tokes.
  
• The Great Basin Brewing Company in Sparks, like pretty much every microbrewery in the US, has great beer. But in summer it also has a great patio out on the wide sidewalks just a block east of the Nugget. Well worth a trip for beer hounds.
  
• Terrible's takeover of the Sands Regency looks really positive for tourists. What I'd long considered a dump seems much more lively and modern on my first post-takeover visit. Might be worth a stay.
  
• Shooters is bizarre. What exactly is the deal there? On the two nights I stopped in, the same 5-6 women where there, "dancing" on the bar, dangling from the pole, hopping back and forth over the bar, and just being super obnoxious. Unless they're simply prostitutes, I don't get what they're up to. No one seemed to be tipping them to do anything. Just lots of yelling and dumb behavior. I mean, I'm fine with all that, just . . . I don't get it.
  
• I like walking Reno's Riverwalk in summertime. The Truckee River is beautiful, and the city's improvements are all very welcome.
  
• Took a drive over Henness Pass out of Verdi to CA-89, then down the west shore of Tahoe to Grover Hot Springs State Park near Markleeville. It was hot outside that day, so I decided not to hop in the water, but I'll definitely do it next time I'm in the area during winter.
  
• The Nugget Diner's Awful Awful is very good, but they make great hot wings too.
  
• Once again, my quarters betray no urge whatsoever to hop into a Silver Legacy slot.
  
• Reno seems really safe to me now. I'm generally pretty confident wherever I go, and that now includes Reno. I think people's fears about safety at night in the core of Reno is largely unfounded. Not that bad things can't happen, but I don't think there's much to fear, assuming one's prudent.

Thanks for hosting this board, it helps me between trips. One suggestion, however, would be to make a more prominent link to the forums from the home page. I think a lot of visitors might not see it as the home page is currently configured. Other than that, it's a great place to think about Reno. Cheers!

[alison]

Shooty,
Welcome to the Board.

Thanks for posting yor recent trip observations. It always nice to get a new perspective on things.

The sportsbook at the Pep sounds like something my husband would really enjoy. Do they sell headphones there for the tv's? I might use this as a way to get him back to the Pep. Another trip for me.


Again, welcome and looking forward to reading your future reports.


Alison

[Barb]

I also enjoyed reading your report and observations.
Wecome to the board Barb

[BC Dave]

Shooty
OK, bizzare is a good word for Shooters. The apparent fascination of certain board members (which obviously includes me!) with the place is more or less an inside joke. My apologies to tose of you who've heard the jist of this story before.

I first ventured into Shooter's a couple of winters ago when three of my traveling companions dragged me over there. I started forming an exit strategy as soon as I sat down. I did not like this dark noisy hole in the wall. But my friends bought me a beer and I settled in for at least a short while. A friendly, entertaining and very unconventionally clad bartendress offered us jello shooters and a strange concoction made with Red Bull and spirits. These drinks were on the house. Well, you gotta have another beer if they're going to treat you that well. I thought to myself, "I've never seen this side of Reno and it's kinda fun!". After an hour of unexpected fun there I had to leave to go meet Jerry at the Sienna. John was there too and I told them about this bizzare bar I had just been at.

They wanted to see it too. I led them over there (past some creeps shoving each other just outside) and we grabbed seats at the bar and waited for the entertainment to begin. Well, nothing happened. Our once friendly waitress just poured our beers, looked at me and said, "You again." No free shooters, no fun. We downed our beers and left. John, Jerry and I have kidded each other about Shooter's ever since.

I've been back to Shooter's a few times since then. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes not. You can meet some interesting characters there, some pretty straight, some right out of a David Lynch film.

Anyway I agree with your other comments on Reno and thanks for the tips too. Welcome to our board, we have a lot of fun here. Hope you do too.
BC Dave

[john]

Thanks for the TR and all your observations, Shooty. Hope to hear from you again soon.

Oh....don't listen do Dave. He, Jerry and I had a super fun time at Shooters. At least after we convinced Dave to keep his clothes on and the police left.

I took your sound advice and placed a more obvious link to the board on the home page.

Did you get your screen name because you frequent.....NAH!

[remano]

Nice report. I agree with you about safety in the streets of Reno. Bad things can happen anywhere and you have to use common sense, but Reno is no worse than any other American city of similar size. You encounter some odd balls but I have never felt unsafe. Whenever I hear a comment about Reno's street people I think that person must not have been to San Francisco recently. I have never seen so many people sleeping in doorways, passed out on the sidewalk and living out of shopping carts. Reno doesn't even come close, not even when some of Vistreno's more prominent contributors are in town.

[Dave]

Welcome to the board! Loved your insight. I am a real fan of the Siena as well so you must be a good guy!
Dave

[Shooty]

[stan_allen]

As a California Bay Area resident, I have to chime in with Remano regarding the comparison of Reno to San Francisco - it is absolutely true that whatever Reno's street people problem, it's magnified a hundred-fold in SF. For a city that regularly hosts lavish and glittering "Pride" parades, they really should hold a "Shame" event focusing on the hordes of bums.
It's not for lack of money, either, as millions of dollars are spent annually on the "Homeless", but the city just can't or won't really do anything about it.

End rant.

Shooty, thanks for your detailed trip report and notes - both Alison and I will heartily agree on the lack of urge to gamble at Silver Legacy, though we'll part on the topic of the hotel itself - I personally like the combo of staying at the 'Leg but gambling at Cal-Neva.

[Mammothgambler]

Shooty:

Thanks for the trip report and welcome to the board. You've got it right, the board members here will help you out tremendously!

floridagambler