Visitreno

[Shooty]

I've managed to figure out a way to hit Reno next month, for the first time in about a couple years. Seems my favorite live band, Tool, has decided to start a brief tour at the Reno Events Center on Sat Jan 14. And since good rock shows rarely come up here, I do solo trips like this every year or so to make sure I don't spend my golden years with working eardrums. I mean, why would an old guy want to be able to hear?

So-o-o-o-o, a few questions:

What's the Siena like now? It used to be a big favorite, for all the reasons that probably caused it to go out of business. How's the craps? The VP? And why does its online room reservations not work?

I'm hoping that the Niners will be playing their first playoff game that weekend. Where would people recommend I watch? I kinda like Bully's on Mae Ann, but any other local joints that I should know about?

What's the winter scene like in the Freight House District? Is it only fun during baseball season? Or does it stay lively all year round?

Is there still gambling at Cal Neva? Or is it just a beer pong hall now?

Just some early questions, can't wait to hit the weird little city I love.

[LilyJDragonfly]

Oh, the Cal-Neva is still rolling dice and dealing cards. Beer pong is limited to the middle floor somewhere, along with that 6:5 blackjack. The good stuff is still down on the main floor with $3 3:2 single deck blackjack and so on....

The VP at Siena (the one time I played there) was nothing special, though there was a Sunday hit-a-royal bonus or something. Needless to say, I did not hit a royal.

The tables at Siena seemed decent enough, but no players on a Sunday afternoon... in fact, there were less than 10 players in the whole place when we were there during the summer. However, they do allow you to chose your name that gets printed on your players card.

[remano]

Here's my 2 cents worth:

Bully's - "Mae Anne" could refer to Bully's #1 on Sierra Highlands or #7 at Robb Drive & Mae Anne, they're only a mile or so apart. Both are lively sports bars with lots of TV's and poor to average bar-top video poker. If you inquire they will comp some drinks while you are playing video poker, but I don't know if this applies during game times when the places are crowded. The menu has stayed pretty much the same recently although prices have increased and they've eliminated the monthly "Bully's Newspaper" format. I guess you'd describe it as pretty good pub-grub. There are plenty of 49'ers fans all over town but I don't know if any Bully's or any other bar is a specific hangout. The Bully's on Robb is home to a local Packers group that takes over the McQueen Room for Packers games that aren't on local broadcast TV, but still open to the public and all fans are welcome.

Siena - I like this place but I fear for its staying power. The casino upgrade was effective, in that they made it seem roomier and brighter without really changing it much. The entrance directly from the parking lot is convenient and they laid out the coffee shop more efficiently so there's also room for a sushi bar in that corner. They have had some pretty good lounge bands, sometimes a band or singer at the bar on the casino floor and later in the evening up in the balcony which you can hear from the floor, but not a lot else in the way of entertainment. I don't know what the rooms or spa are like.

The problem is that there never seem to be many people there. We were there during prime time on Street Vibrations Saturday night, the other downtown casinos were packed but only about half of the tables at the Siena had any players gambling. A few weekends ago we stopped in after a show at the Pioneer Center, about 10:30 on a Saturday evening, and there was literally only one player at the tables when we arrived. We pretty much tripled the gaming population but it didn't get much more crowded the rest of the evening. This is a shame because the table games offer the best rules in town - single zero roulette, single deck "double on any two cards" blackjack, multiple odds craps (I think 3x 4x 5x), low limits and the dealers and drink service have been first rate. Video poker is only average and the sports book is just an afterthought tucked into a former hallway, but generally its a nice place to play if you don't mind being a little lonely. Because of their location they are going to have to offer a lot more than just better rules to get people there. After we left the last time we walked through CommRow and it was booming by comparison, and they don't even have bartop machines.

Have a good trip, and don't forget to report back!!

[Shooty]

Thank you for your replies, I know each of you knows Reno inside and out.

Bully's calls their location at Sierra Highlands "Mae Anne", they call the nearby one "Robb"

http://www.bullyssportsbar.com/locations.html.

I've been to the Mae Anne one, and it looks bigger than the other one, but I've never been for a big Niner game. Good wings by the way, much better than the lousy Joe Bob's Chicken Shack down south on Virginia.

Where would you want to watch a big football game in the casinos downtown? Would Peppermill, Atlantis, or the Nugget in Sparks put on much of a show?

Sounds like the Siena has the same problems as always, just now with new owners. I really liked the old place, especially 6-7 years ago, for the good VP and great craps. I'll go and report my reactions when I get back.