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Shooty
Joined: 22 Jan 2006 Posts: 182
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Posted: Jan Tue 28, 2014 4:18 pm Post subject: Harrison, Ford, & Me |
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I've stumbled into a brief trip to wonderful Reno, Nevada for Presidents Day weekend. Would enjoy the chance to hoist a few with any other VisitReno types who might be about the Biggest Little that weekend.
I'll be landing around 1P on Sat Feb 15 and leaving the morning of Tue Feb 18, staying at Harrah's. Solo trip for me. No particular plans, just wander about, hit some of my fave bars south of the river, try not to get arrested.
We'll have 43 different presidents to toast (Grover's will be a double), so remember to have a hearty breakfast! |
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CaSwede
Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 866
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Posted: Jan Thu 30, 2014 9:43 am Post subject: Great Idea |
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It sounds like a fun trip. I remember your last trip report and it was great. I hope you do another trip report. Sorry but my RSVP is a decline as I cannot get away.
That is a lot of presidents to toast. I might recommend you take a break from drinking when toasting Clinton and smoke a cigar instead.
Have a great trip! |
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spdmrcht
Joined: 12 Oct 2012 Posts: 498
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Posted: Jan Thu 30, 2014 10:46 am Post subject: |
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sounds like a great trip. and a lot of toasts. When you get to Obama give him
a %%%%% for me! |
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Crapsjunkie
Joined: 03 Apr 2010 Posts: 40
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Posted: Feb Sun 02, 2014 8:16 am Post subject: What do you drink for Obama? |
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A Sloe Screw? |
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spdmrcht
Joined: 12 Oct 2012 Posts: 498
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Posted: Feb Mon 03, 2014 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: What do you drink for Obama? |
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Crapsjunkie wrote: | A Sloe Screw? |
A Slow Long Screw! |
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Shooty
Joined: 22 Jan 2006 Posts: 182
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Posted: Mar Tue 11, 2014 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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Here's stuff I did on my President's Day visit a few weeks back.
I landed just before 1PM and rented a car for a day. First, I was famished, so I went to the WingStop on Sierra Highlands for lunch. Excellent wings, cooked perfectly, highly recommended. I like video poker bars, so I then walked to Sierra Gold across the street. It's pretty much like the PT's Pubs I know in Vegas, kind of an upscale bar with an all-female waitstaff in ridiculous outfits. Would be great for watching sports, but beyond that nothing special.
I was lured to Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks for a cheap Saturday night. Visited many times, but never stayed there. They put me in a corner room at the top of the (supposedly nicer) East Tower with windows on two sides. There was a high-wind warning in town and the wind just HOWLED through the room. I liked it! The TV was weird, everything worked but the volume controls.
I'm amazed by the Nugget. Despite the recent sale and the impending downscaling, there was quite a crowd, lots of action. Somehow, the 3-4 active craps tables were just $3 minimum, and the blackjack tables were mostly $5. Gotta love Reno! Also, the bartop VP is very good, including quarter 9/7 DB.
I wandered over to Bourbon Square. Lots of people there too. I was surprised to find I had $8 in freeplay waiting, I'd only been there once before, very briefly. Ran through that quickly at the bar.
Not wanting to risk a DUI, I took the bus downtown (if you don't know, Reno has great bus service). Just south of the river downtown is Ceol Irish Pub, a non-gambling bar. They have music on Saturdays at nine. Again, the place was crowded. I spent about 90 minutes there drinking whisky and chatting with a group of local school principals. No wonder they drink!
Afterwards, I hopped the bus to Cal Neva. Reno has lots of pub crawls, and on this night it was a new one, a Pajama Crawl. Despite the light rain, there were lots of people staggering about in pajamas. They seemed to cluster at the karaoke lounge in Cal Neva. I wasn't looking to play, however, so I walked a couple blocks west to the El Cortez's karaoke bar. It too was packed. It was fun to watch loads of UNR students and dropouts sing Journey, but not fun enough to keep me there long.
By the time I got to the Nugget Diner, it was midnight and packed. Nevertheless, I waited about 15 minutes to order and another 10-15 for my meal to arrive. My god but the Awful Awful is a great burger. And all those fries! The best.
I walked over to Shooters, but since the pole went away I never see much worthwhile there. I hopped the bus back to Sparks and called it a night.
The next day, I packed up the car and had good lunch at a Panda Express. I then dropped my bags at Harrah's, my base for the next two nights, and headed to the airport to ditch the wheels. Around 130P, I caught the Atlantis shuttle. There, I played some VP at their sports book bar. Again, Reno is such a great value, they had quarter 9/7 DB at the bar.
After an hour or so, I hopped a bus downtown. I like to stay on every casino's mailing list, so I spent the afternoon walking around and dropping a little slot play at each place, letting them know I'm still alive. I think I went Sands => Circus Circus => Silver Legacy.
After Silver Legacy, I walked a couple blocks east along 4th to a place I'd heard about but didn't want to see late at night. Davidson's Distillery is a biker bar, a real one, not the sort of phony ones the concoct in tourist traps, but a real biker bar. As a non-biker, I'm sure I stand out, but I can handle myself pretty much anywhere. First off, the horribly-tattooed bartender was drunk, doing shots constantly but somehow not falling down, a great benefit of her alcoholism. The bar itself is pretty funny. There's a vending machine, but most of the stuff in it is motorcycle parts. There's also one of those machines where you move a crane and try to snag a prize, but most of the prizes seemed to be obscene stuffed figures and dildos. I had some fun screwing with the jukebox. I think the alcoholics in the bar mostly wanted Johnny Cash, Van Halen, and Skynard. But for $5 I got like 15 plays, and it was one of those internet jukeboxes that plays pretty much everything, so I loaded it up with Gang of Four, Weezer, Tones on Tail, System of a Down, Pixies, all sorts of stuff that probably isn't in heavy rotation there. I did hear a few grumbles, but it was from people who later and didn't realize I was the culprit. Again, I played some (this time terrible) VP, earning some Gambler's Bonus points, and scrammed.
After that, I went across the street to Louie's Basque Corner. It's famous for its Picon Punch, a Basque cocktail at this famous Basque restaurant. It was pretty good, and just $2.50.
I checked into Harrah's. I was in their (supposedly lesser) East Tower. It was fine for me. That night, Sunday, I remained in downtown proper, playing some roulette at Harrah's, VP at El Dorado's margarita bar, and the incredible (I'm serious) Willy Wonka machines with their moving seats at Silver Legacy.
I then went over to Cal Neva for blackjack. I can count cards using the K-O method, and I perfected my skills at Cal Neva years ago. But learning to count also wrecked the game for me, it just became boring! Plus, I don't like heat, so my betting range ($5 to $25) doesn't really generate enough profits to be worth the mental hassle. I played a little for old-time’s sake, but shifted over to craps, my favorite live game. I played about 2 hours and lost like $40.
I had dinner at Noble Pie. It's a hipster pizza place in the El Cortez. I'd never been, but I'd read great things about their wings, They were great! Huge wings done "Burgh Style", supposedly after the way their done in Pittsburgh. Strange, I spent two years in Pittsburgh and never saw wings like that, but whatever, they're really good.
Last stop of the night was Siena. It used to be my favorite casino in the world. But apparently the things I liked about it also made it go bankrupt. I don't much care for the new place. I really dislike the (seemingly) fluorescent lights over the pit. I also really dislike the short craps table they run with a single dealer. I ran a few coins through, but my heart definitely wasn't in it. Time for bed.
My last day, President's Day, began with me again checking out some cool VP bars. First was Sparky's out west on McCarran. It's similar to Sierra Gold, part of the same chain, but more downscale, and they let the female staff dress with dignity. After an hour, the bus returned at took me to Bully's on Mae Anne. I like this place for its, yes, WINGS! They're hottest sauce is pretty hot, and they serve huge mugs of Coors Light, the best beer for hot wings because it's so easy to drink in mass quantities. The guy behind the bar is an owner, and he said that this bar was the first to get those goofy Coors Light taps that look like a mountain and boast how extra cold the beer is.
Apparently the glacier forms from the humidity in the air after a few hours. Who knew? I played crummy VP to get the beer comped, then took the bus back downtown.
Last night in Reno. At 5PM, I took the bus down to Peppermill for their great happy hour at the Fireside Lounge. It's probably the best happy hour I've ever seen. First, it's a great room, and plays great live concert videos, one after another. And during happy hour, they serve really good appetizers for free. And by playing the good VP, they comp the drinks. Good drinks, including huge tropical things that'd get you stabbed for ordering over at Davidson's Distillery. Probably my favorite thing to do in Reno, happy hour at the Fireside. I ended the night with some Pai Gow Poker at Cal Neva, a great way to waste time and think about nothing. Oh, and seeing how it was President's Day, I did hoist one last drink to President Obama, I know he may not be popular in this thread but I think he's fantastic, someone who makes me even more proud of America. Disagree all you want, that's how I see it.
So that's pretty much it. No big wins, but no big losses either. Sorry this was so long, it was just a stream of conscious, fun for me to relive another great Reno trip. |
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stan_allen
Joined: 19 Dec 2005 Posts: 1129
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Posted: Mar Tue 11, 2014 3:59 pm Post subject: Gang of one |
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Love it! A very good mix of establishments; you covered the big boys, but also plenty of the satellite places that so few visitors make it to...
Gang of four in the biker-bar jukebox, beautiful!
Cocktail waitresses who dress with dignity are just fine, but you can bet that if I have a choice, I'll look at the other kind...
I know exactly what you mean about card-counting: it's just so damn much like work, it takes the fun out of playing! And you really do have to put your money where your counting-mouth is; if you're not prepared to actually bet in a way that reflects the count, then don't bother. Those two points are what kept me from ever going farther with it. Just give me a three-dollar table at Cal-Neva with reasonable rules, basic strategy, regular visits from the cocktail waitresses (I won't look down on any lack of dignity in dress), and I'm all set.
Good stuff, thanks for sharing, and no apologies needed, ever, for length - the more detail, the more we can enjoy by extension!
Last edited by stan_allen on Mar Thu 13, 2014 2:30 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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CaSwede
Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 866
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Posted: Mar Wed 12, 2014 7:43 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the report- it was great. I thought I knew Reno pretty well, but you mention places I have heard about. You must of walked a few miles and hit more places than I would think possible in the few days of your visit. |
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BC Dave Site Admin
Joined: 18 Dec 2005 Posts: 1598
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Posted: Mar Wed 12, 2014 11:11 pm Post subject: Wow and Yikes! |
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Man, Shooty, you know your Reno! Awesome report! I'm still putting mine together and I'm "shocked and awed" by your detail! But I think I share the same basic VisitReno philosophy. Gotta see and do it all! |
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Shooty
Joined: 22 Jan 2006 Posts: 182
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Posted: Mar Thu 13, 2014 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for all the positive responses. Yes, my post was far too long, but what the heck, it's not like I'm elbowing out any other posts 'round these parts
Reno is a great town. It used to be glamorous, but that'll never work again. Instead, it's now weird, but in a good way, like Portland is weird, like Austin is weird. The university is a big positive for the city. So are the remediated river, the access to Tahoe, and the low tax rates.
Would be better if they're wasn't such a big population of petty and not-so-petty criminals, but hopefully the economy will continue to improve and the trouble those people cause will lessen.
I've had lots of trips to Reno, but never had a bad one. |
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remano
Joined: 20 Dec 2005 Posts: 717
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Posted: Mar Thu 13, 2014 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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Excellent trip report, and not too long at all. Very enjoyable.
If you liked Ceol, you might consider St. James Infirmary next time, about 4 blocks west of Ceol on California, just before Arlington. It's a non-casino bar but usually has a pretty good vibe going. It's the only bar I've found that has both Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen (both on my personal "Great North American Vocalists" list) on the juke box. OK, so maybe they're not for everybody but there are plenty of other choices.
The St. James people also own the Brasserie St. James on Center Street, a nice little micro-brewery with some good beers and a small but interesting menu when you get hungry. I think one of their beers, "California Commons" or something like that, is also on tap at the poker room bar at the Peppermill, probably other places as well.
I know what you mean about counting cards. I learned it well, could even make "true count" adjustments for multiple decks. Then I cut through the anecdotes and hyperbole in one book and realized what the author was saying was that, if I found a game with good rules (available in Reno, not LV), and only one or two other people were playing, and I counted perfectly, and spread my bets from 1 unit to 4 without attracting any heat, and had a bankroll that could withstand a downward swing of at least 15 average bets and still keep playing, then I could expect on average to gain about one big bet per hour. Since my "big bets" are about $10, it wasn't worth the work - that's barely minimum wage. I'll just enjoy the play and have another beer, thank you.
And I agree with what you say about our President. I missed the chance to toast him on Presidents' Day but I'll do it for St. Patrick's. With a name like O'Bama he's got to be Irish, right? |
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Shooty
Joined: 22 Jan 2006 Posts: 182
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Posted: Mar Thu 13, 2014 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the tip about St. James Infirmary. As it happens, I've been there once, in October. I spent a Tuesday evening wandering California, from Ceol (great) to Biggest Little City Club (meh) to SJI. I too liked SJI, definitely a hip place, I'm sure I battered the hipness quotient. I haven't been to the Brasserie, I did look inside last month, looks like a nice place to bring some friends. Sadly, my friends only like Vegas, my Reno trips tend to be solo affairs.
Yeah, card counting is just a hassle at low stakes. It does work, but I have a job that pays far better, so if I'm going to work I'm going to do it for my paycheck.
I'm not going to turn this into politics, I respect a lot of people who don't see things like I do. But as it happens, Obama's great-great-great grandfather Falmouth Kearney came from County Offaly. Happy St. Pat's! |
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BC Dave Site Admin
Joined: 18 Dec 2005 Posts: 1598
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Posted: Mar Fri 14, 2014 11:48 am Post subject: Video poker perfect play vs card counting |
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Good points on card counting in Blackjack. Same thing applies to perfect play on Video Poker. With expected return (on some games) edging toward 101%, it sounds pretty good. Until you realize that (in theory) you might be ahead by only $100 after running $10,000 through the machine. At least you probably won't get tossed out of the casino for playing perfectly. I know one guy who was politely told he was no longer allowed to play blackjack at that casino. He was counting, but he was also losing!
I enjoy Video Poker and occasionally play some 21, but I agree that you might as well regard your free drinks as the most likely expected return. |
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stan_allen
Joined: 19 Dec 2005 Posts: 1129
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Posted: Mar Mon 17, 2014 1:37 pm Post subject: Just tell 'em I'm at St. James Infirmary... |
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Now that you've mentioned St. James Infirmary, I'm afraid I must force you to watch this clip: Cab Calloway singing "St. James Infirmary" within a Betty Boop cartoon - those Fleischman brothers really knew what was cool.
I sure don't get how those sweaty pit bosses know that someone's counting...if they threw out everyone who was playing but frantically concentrating, and varying their bets, most of the players would be gone! |
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