Tahoe/Reno

Thinking of maybe going out to Tahoe next winter for some skiing. I've been out there a couple times, and its a beautiful place to ski. Haven't really gambled much while out there though, and don't really remember much about it. Was also thinking of adding a day or two on the front or back end to stay in Reno. I've flown into Reno at least 3 times, but never seen anything but the airport and highway out of town.

Who here has gambled in either Reno or Tahoe? Any recommendations? Do you think Reno is worth staying for a night or two?

Also, what kind of limits would I expect to find in either place?

I've been to Reno several times in the past year. I don't know anything about Lake Tahoe.

Whether it's worth staying depends on what you want out of your games. I've spent 99% of my bankroll and time at the Peppermill and Atlantis, so I'll speak to those:

* The Peppermill has three classes of basic rooms:
- Montego Bay - cheapest, recently redone, fine for basic needs
- Peppermill Tower - pretty nice rooms
- Tuscany Tower - very nice rooms, large bathrooms, newest tower

* The Peppermill has single deck blackjack with Reno rules, double deck with Downtown LV rules, and a couple of shoes with h17 and das. $5 minimum tables are abundant except during the busiest times, when it goes to $10. $1000 max is what I found, but I'm sure the higher limit tables have higher maximums.

* Craps at the Peppmerill features $5 minimums ($3 during very slow times) with 3-4-5x odds. Max is $1000.

* Video poker at the Peppermill is very good with abundant 9/6 JoB and NSUD. There's little, if anything, at the 100%+ level.

* They have slots aplenty, though I think the inventory at Atlantis is better (see below).

* I haven't stayed at Atlantis, so I can't speak to their room quality.

* The Atlantis has the same blackjack that the Peppermill has, except they may or may not have shoes. I've seen $3-500 and $5-500 tables. I'm sure you can get higher maximums if you want.

* Craps at the Atlantis is the same as the Peppermill, except they're more consistent about having $3 minimums.

* Video poker at Atlantis is, in a word, awesome. They don't have FPDW, but they have every other game you could ever want - some with 100%+ variations.

* Lots of the newest slots end up at the Atlantis.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

Tahoe has been very hard hit by the Indian casinos in Sacramento. I know they closed down Bill's and turned it into a strip club
They might close Horizon as well.

Columbia Sussex that owns Montbleu owns Horizon casino. It is my understanding that they are seriously considering shutting down Horizon since revenue at Lake Tahoe has been reduced so badly because of competition with Sacramento Indian casinos.

It would not be surprising that they moved the game to Montbleau.

Judging by the report on the NGCB site, Horizon looks like a mini-slot club.

	TOTAL SLOTS	TOTAL GAMES	TOTAL TABLES
HARVEYS RESORT HOTEL/CASINO	1948	134	45
MONTBLEU	631	32	6
LAKE TAHOE HORIZON CASINO RESORT	200
LAKESIDE INN	344	10	3

Here are the Reno casinos broken up by revenue group last fiscal year

Over $72 million
ATLANTIS CASINO RESORT
ELDORADO HOTEL & CASINO
HARRAH'S CASINO HOTEL RENO
PEPPERMILL HOTEL & CASINO
SILVER LEGACY RESORT CASINO

$36m - $72 million
GRAND SIERRA CASINO
JOHN ASCUAGA'S NUGGET

$12m - $36 million
CIRCUS CIRCUS HOTEL/CASINO - RENO
CLUB CAL-NEVA
SANDS REGENCY, THE
TERRIBLE'S RAIL CITY CASINO
WESTERN VILLAGE
GOLD DUST WEST
BALDINI'S SPORTS CASINO

I have stayed at Silver Legacy and played craps mainly there and at El Dorado and a little at Circus Circus. All three are connected via bridges, making it easy to move around. Between the three, there are enough decent places to eat so you could last a couple of days without getting bored. The last time I was there was over two years ago, and I'm not sure how much might have changed. I craps played a few times at Sienna which had low minimims and 10x odds, but I have heard that place is no longer operating as a casino. No big loss there as they treated me like crap over a $20 discrepancy. At SL/ED/CC craps was $5 / $10 minimums and 3/4/5 odds. With a players club card (those are not connected so you would need one for each casino) you "earn" comps which you can "pay yourself" getting vouchers from machines that you can use to pay for meals, show tickets, or you can apply comps to your room charges. One caution there - I have never been able to to get them to use the entire comp balance against the room charge, so I always had something left over. My guess is that they have a policy to leave something in the comp account for some reason, maybe to lure you back so you can use it before it expires -- yeah, I got a letter telling me I should go back to make sure I didn't lose my $5.95 in comps!!

Thanks all for the info. Pacomartin, I noticed on your table that you didn't include Harrah's amoung the Tahoe casinos. I thought that was the one of the larger ones out there. Or is that part of Harveys?

Go to each casino web site and sign up. They will swamped you with offers!!! Reno/Tahoe must be hurting.

I was skiing in Tahoe this past February and had a blast. I'm already jealous of you for next winter.

I gambled just a little while I was there. I liked the Lakeside Casino the best. It's not very big, and had a locals vibe - lively without feeling crowded. I can't remember the table limits, but I'm a pretty low roller and was very comfortable. Dealers were fun and friendly, and bar service was excellent. (Gotta love those free Sierra Nevadas!) I'm told the Mexican restaurant there is good, too, although I didn't try it.

I do recall that Harrah's had higher minimums, felt very crowded, and featured mostly everyone's favorite 6:5 tables. It wasn't for me. I didn't try Harvey's across the street. (I missed seeing Joan Jett perform there by exactly one day, dang it.)

The Horizon was creepy. I was there looking for Sigma Derby (which I later learned has moved across the street to the Montbleu) and got out as fast as I could. I don't remember what night of the week I was there, but the place was empty. Very depressing.

Quote: ruascott

Thanks all for the info. Pacomartin, I noticed on your table that you didn't include Harrah's amoung the Tahoe casinos. I thought that was the one of the larger ones out there. Or is that part of Harveys?

Harrah's bought Harvey so it is all operated under the same license. All the casinos are closely grouped with Lakeside a short drive from the other ones.

Quote: ruascott

Who here has gambled in either Reno or Tahoe? Any recommendations? Do you think Reno is worth staying for a night or two?

I have stayed at El Dorado, Harrah's Reno, Silver Legacy, Peppermill, Circus Circus, Montbleu, and Harveys. Suggestions...

Most luxurious rooms: The Peppermill's new Tuscany Tower.
Best location: The Silver Legacy.
Best buffet: El Dorado.
Most generous players' club: The Peppermill.
Best winter swimming pools: Montbleu in Tahoe or John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks
Best summer swimming pool: The Peppermill.
Favorite tourist attraction: historic Virginia City.