First Reno trip 8/8-8/10

After many trips to Vegas over the past three years I am finally making my way to Reno. All trips to Vegas were simply for vacations. Not only is this my first trip to Reno, but it's also my first bachelor party. I don't know what the best man has planned for this trip, (I'm a groomsman) the only thing I do know is that we are staying at the Sands. I've read reviews on the Sands. Let's just say I'm glad we are only there for two nights. Lucky for me, the groom loves to gamble. I hope we spend more time gambling than we do giving our money away to strippers. We will all be sticking to craps, blackjack, and roulette. I will probably make a couple stops at the sports book as well as some pai gow tables. Myself and the groom love to hit the craps tables while the rest of the crew prefers blackjack.

I wanted to preface my trip for those who might have any questions. I haven't seen a lot of threads about Reno so I'd like to inform those who are curious.

Do you have any tips that I should know about for Reno? Or for a bachelor party?

I've only been to Reno once. It was a real dump. Extremely depressing. Just from looking around, you can tell that it used to be a really big deal, but now it's just sad.

But, hey, you are there for a party. Drink lots and have fun.

Quote: AxiomOfChoice

I've only been to Reno once. It was a real dump. Extremely depressing. Just from looking around, you can tell that it used to be a really big deal, but now it's just sad.

Last time I was there was 1977 and it was
a dump then. Never went back.

I'm no authority, but I just got back from a trip to Reno last month. Here's my take on the downtown casinos:

For the best gamble, I would walk a few blocks over to either the Silver Legacy or the El Dorado. Or if you are a low roller and/or up for a possible adventure, try the Cal-Neva! :) I was unimpressed with Circus Circus (not very lively/exciting) and Harrah's (high minimums & bad games/rules).

The Silver Legacy had a pretty good game selection. IIRC, they had the only fully staffed craps table (2 Base Dealers, Stick, & Boxman) among the casinos we visited. The other casinos would not have a box, and some had no stick (base dealer was stick). However, we were there mid-week. This might be different on the weekend. The minimums were $5, but this is always subject to change. They had an entire Asian Games pit which included Pai Gow, both the Poker and Tiles variety, as well as some bac tables. Also, if you are interested in VP at all, Silver Legacy will have the best selection, including a few Full Pay Deuces Wild machines. I didn't play BJ at the SL, but they had several tables going.

The El Dorado had a decent (for Reno) $5 BJ game... 3:2, DD, H17, DA2, no RSA, no DAS, but we had to wade through a bunch of 'Super Single Deck' 6:5 tables to find it. Not too sure what's so 'Super' about 6:5. They also had a $5 craps table and at least 1 PGP game going that I saw. They also seemed to have Downtown's only live poker room.

The El Dorado, Silver Legacy, and Circus Circus are all connected, so you can go from one to the next without going outside, if you want to avoid some of Reno's more, um, interesting residents.

The Club Cal-Neva is certainly a throwback, and a low-roller's (like me :) haven. It's dark & smokey, and at times had some questionable clientele. But, it had $3 BJ (same rules as El Dorado), $3 3CP tables, $2 roulette tables, friendly dealers, cheap food in the cafe, and stiff (though not top-shelf) drinks that come pretty quickly. Oh, and if the game you want to play is not open, just ask the pit boss. I saw some one ask about the closed roulette table, and they closed down one of the empty BJ tables and opened the roulette table for her.

I didn't play at the Sands, but I did walk through the casino. It didn't seem too exciting, but this was during the day on a Tuesday. It's pretty small, but they were advertising $2 BJ, which was the lowest minimum around.

Oh, and some of the casinos were advertising Beer Pong tourneys on the weekends, if that's your thing.

Sorry, I can't help you out with any bachelor party tips other than have fun & stay safe!

Quote: Joeman

But, it had $3 BJ (same rules as El Dorado), $3 3CP tables, $2 roulette tables, friendly dealers, cheap food in the cafe, and stiff (though not top-shelf) drinks that come pretty quickly.

$3 CP? Craps? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

Thanks for all the info. I'm sure everyone on the trip will be into low-limit tables so I will pitch Club Cal-Neva big time. I'm just hoping for $5 limits. Anything less than that is a bonus.

Quote: befamous7

$3 CP? Craps? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

He said $3 3CP, which is 3-card poker, I assume.

Quote: AxiomOfChoice

He said $3 3CP, which is 3-card poker, I assume.

Ding ding ding, dumb question! Thank you.

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, 3CP = 3-card poker. The Cal-Neva did have $3 craps as well, but they were one of the joints with only 2 dealers manning the table. The base dealer on the opposite side of the shooter handled the stick and there was no boxman. I know it doesn't change the game from an outcome standpoint, but it just doesn't seem right not to have a full crew at the craps table.

BTW, I want to say that I am pretty sure max odds were 3x-4x-5x at all the tables I saw in the casinos there, but I couldn't swear to it.

The Cal-Neva also seemed to constantly have a Pai Gow Poker game going. I didn't play, so, I'm not sure if it was a $3 or $5 table.

I haven't been to the Peppermill in a few years, but if you have a car or want to take a cab, supposedly they have a younger, hipper crowd. Although, younger for Reno may mean late-30's!

I really like the Silver Legacy and El Dorado too. Peppermill and Atlantis are way too kitschy for me. JA Nugget in Sparks was always a nice place with a good gamble, but I hear it has gone downhill. (Whatever happened to TIMSPEED?!?)

Sparks is a fast growing town, Northern Nevada can become a great place to live. Reno has it's own charm, you can stroll through quiet streets, ride a bike, enjoy the scenery. New casinos look busy, mostly locals. Mining has been the main industry in Nevada. Not much of high tech, some warehouses.

I like going to Reno solely to gorge on mediocre all you can eat sushi and then stand for hours throwing dice. No dice in California...

I agree that Silver Legacy is the best property to play at, even though I ride the Harrah's asian bus from the bay area. One benefit of the bus is you can buy non neg chips and with 10% bonus. $500 cash gets you $550 non neg chips.

Cal Neva is where the strangest characters play at and where all the young people go to drink and buy in for odd amounts like $9, $24, etc and stiff the drink ladies.

Go to the sands around 8 pm. We have been playing some craps and blackjack mostly. I'm up on craps. The sands is offering $5 min with 10x odds. Not going to lie the sands has been impressive in comparison to the bad reviews.

(1) For the Bachelor's party, there is "Wild Orchid Gentlemens Club" on Virginia St.

(2) For great Vietnamese food, try the Pho place at El-Dorado. The roast duck noodle is fantastic.

I Love the Pepper Mill. Cool Vibe, Good machine paybacks ,One of my favorite Buffets.

Reno Casinos might not be all that but the outdoor life and scenery sure is better, Not to far from Lake Tahoe.

I would rather live in Reno then Vegas.

Quote: Konbu

I like going to Reno solely to gorge on mediocre all you can eat sushi and then stand for hours throwing dice. No dice in California...

There are dice in California.

They do something with cards to determine the outcome after you throw the dice, but you still get to throw the dice.

Quote: UCivan

(1) For the Bachelor's party, there is "Wild Orchid Gentlemens Club" on Virginia St.

(2) For great Vietnamese food, try the Pho place at El-Dorado. The roast duck noodle is fantastic.

Gentleman's club. They must be wild. Just hope the groom didn't pick up a souvenir there for the bride. The brothels seem safer all things considered.

Good asian food is hard to find. Around here, the closest good one is about 45 minutes away.

Quote: AxiomOfChoice

There are dice in California.

They do something with cards to determine the outcome after you throw the dice, but you still get to throw the dice.

OK no real dice in California.

Quote: Konbu

OK no real dice in California.

Can't argue with that. I usually refer to it as "fake craps"

As I stated before we were definitely taking advantage of the Sands 10x odds on craps. They definitely took advantage of us too. Long story short, we all got killed gambling. This includes craps, blackjack, and roulette. I played my usual pass with odds and either place the 6/8 or a come bet or two. I did dabble with the don't pass and don't come which worked out well for me. I don't know why I switched when it was working so well for me. I guess the best gambling story was the pair of characters who kept laying $400 on the 4 or 10. They were the type of players that make you wonder how they had 5k on them. Anyways, they also got killed on their bets. I myself tossed a couple 4s and 10s. Oh and a lady rolled 12 four times in a row the first night we were there. I've never seen that and obviously nobody was on it at any point. One thing I didn't like about the craps at Sands was during slower hours they would only have one dealer working the craps table so they pulled out this insert to shorten the table. I understand why they do this, but it sure felt weird throwing on a small table like that. I must say the Sands wasn't as terrible as I was expecting based on reviews. The rooms didn't have a refrigerators in them or irons but we knew that before hand. They brought extra towels and an iron with ironing board to our room with no issues.

The night life was surprisingly enjoyable. We went to Brew in Silver Legacy. At least I think it was called Brew, and I think it was in the Silver Legacy. There was some sort of superhero event going on so maybe that added to the crowd. There was also a lot of attractive ladies out. I don't know if I was surprised but it was Reno so I didn't give it much hope to begin with. Oh yeah, if you want to "pick up girls" or whatever your plan is, get out on the dance floor. No girl wants to dance with the lames that are standing around with no confidence like it's a middle school dance. Trust me, just dance. We headed over to the Gentleman's Club after meeting a lady who apparently knew the owner. I think she got our cover charge waived and we paid $300 for a bottle and sat in the VIP area. I've never been to a strip club so I have no clue what to compare the experience to. I didn't get a lap dance but I think some of my buddies were paying $40 for a regular one...? Again, I plead complete ignorance when it comes to strip clubs.

I wish I had some awesome gambling wins to discuss being that there was 7 of us on the trip. Gambling for all of us literally went like this; up, down, up, down, down, up, down, down. Come to think of it the biggest win we had was $160 on penny slots with a $5 buy in. Who cares, slots suck.

One last thing. What's the rule if the dice hit the table, bounce off a player, then land on the table? This happened at Silver Legacy. Of course it had to be a 7-out too.

Quote: befamous7

One last thing. What's the rule if the dice hit the table, bounce off a player, then land on the table? This happened at Silver Legacy. Of course it had to be a 7-out too.

Surprised no one answered this. Based on my anecdotal experience, it's almost always called a roll. If the player appears to try to hit it or influence it in some way, then the box man may call it no roll.

But lots of members have played way more craps than I have.

Quote: AcesAndEights

Surprised no one answered this. Based on my anecdotal experience, it's almost always called a roll. If the player appears to try to hit it or influence it in some way, then the box man may call it no roll.

But lots of members have played way more craps than I have.

Yeah I've seen dice hit players inside the table and be called a roll. I can't recall seeing the dice bounce off the table, hit someone, then land back on the table.

While leaning on the rail, I've personally had dice bounce off of me and be called a roll.

Also, I was once with a friend who had never played craps before. On her first ever toss, she hit the guy next to the stickman in the face with one of the dice... Stick called it a good roll. Dude had no serious injuries, and she ended up making her point, so all was forgiven!

Like AcesAndEights said, I don't know about a hard & fast rule, but my guess is they will usually call it a good roll unless the player is trying to influence the flight of the dice.

Thanks for the report! Sucks about the result though. :(