Visitreno

Shooty · Joined: 22 Jan 2006 Posts: 182

A story currently on the NYTimes homepage describes how Reno "is looking to shed its image as a fading casino town in favor of one as a high-tech hub of e-commerce ventures, an Apple data center and a testing ground for drones."

BC Dave · Site Admin Joined: 18 Dec 2005 Posts: 1598

The article states that, " For most Americans, Reno stirs up images of worn-out casinos, strip clubs and quick divorces."

Reno does have a number of closed casinos and that does tarnish it's image. But the casinos that remain are for the most part well looked after and I think can hold their own in comparison with Vegas properties any day. (The CalNeva looks worn out, but hey, that's it's theme!)

It's funny though - When we were picked up at the airport in Bellingham after the last trip, the driver asked us where we had been. Once he had our answer he said,"Reno! Nobody goes there anymore!" We had just seen Reno bustling with gamblers and tourists that weekend in March. There's obviously a disconnect going on here.

john · Site Admin Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 1181

Yes, BCDaveMod, a lot of folks evaluate Reno by the state of the casinos. However, I ran across an article on 10best.com that mentions other attractions for visitors to enjoy in Reno. I've had a number of requests for information on things to do in Reno other than gambling, so I know there's a demand for that. But realistically, if there was no gaming in Reno, we'd get maybe 14 visitors a week.

mjames1229 · Joined: 23 Dec 2009 Posts: 407

I don't necessarily agree. If you removed all but one casino, Reno is not much different from Milwaukee.

And in Milwaukee we have plenty of "stuff" to do. Nobody really thinks of us as a tourist destination, but combine all of our professional sports, theaters, lakefront, festival season, etc., etc... before you know it, you can't get a room at the Budgetel for less than $100 on weekends during summer.

Though Reno would have a few challenges (like a metro area not large enough to support professional sports teams, or being a place that all of Illinois thinks of as their own northern suburb of Chicago) remember that nature abhors a vacuum.

My guess is that without casinos, Reno's tourist industry would really hammer the natural beauty of the area... the golf, mountains, snow activities, proximity to Lake Tahoe, etc. Create a couple of music festivals to go with the air show and Hot August Nights, figure out a way to be a Christmas destination, etc., and before you know it, Reno is not perceived quite the same.

This is a long winded way of saying that the decline of gaming is giving Reno the PERCEPTION that the town is run down (Lord knows, I fight that with bowling buddies all the time that are experiencing "Reno Fatigue"). But remove the thing on the decline and Reno becomes Salt Lake City, Phoenix or Denver.