Visitreno

remano · Joined: 20 Dec 2005 Posts: 717

This is the text of an email I just received from Fitzgerald's. Some of you may have received the same thing, but there have been questions about whether upcoming events are still on so I thought I would post it:

"As you may know by now, Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel in Reno announced last week that we will be closing the property by November 30, 2008. We are aware that this place meant a lot to all of you. Therefore we are personally inviting you to join us and visit with friends and Fitz family one last time before we close the doors.
We realize that you may have questions regarding your Lucky Buck balances, therefore we have created a question and answer document to address some of your concerns. Remember, you can still use your O'Lucky bucks for room, food and beverage! We are still running our October Events, so please join us for the last Slot Tournament. The Jack O Lantern tournament will be over the October 24th weekend. Please call Special Events at 1.800.431.3134 to book your spot! We are also running special rates for our Farewell Fitz Promotion through October and November with mid- week rates starting at $22.
Please see the press section of our website for updates to our schedule.
Come see us for your last chance to EAT. DRINK. GET LUCKY at the Fitz. Hope to see you soon!
Warmest regards,
Fitzgeralds Management"

stan_allen · Joined: 19 Dec 2005 Posts: 1129

It would be interesting to witness a casino closing, that is, to see what it's like when they actually stop all table and machine play for good - though I think I might not have the stomach for it.

The movie "Casino" offered us a glimpse of what such a scenario might be like, although it was the type of closing where the patrons don't even get to cash in their chips - you see a bunch of guys stretching police tape across the entire cashier cage, and anyone who has ever exchanged chips for money will immediately recognize the weight of such a moment - it would be as though Wall Street itself collapsed, and.....oh, wait.

RenoLady · Joined: 23 Feb 2006 Posts: 316

R and I were in Vegas when the old Aladdin closed. We actually ate at their buffet the last morning, oblivious to what was coming. The employees were odd, the food was scary, we were confused.

Then later, we passed the closed building with police tape around it. We asked and were told that was it. Much later when it was actually dismantled, you could see ashtrays and small furniture in the debris. We couldn't believe they left a lot of that stuff in there! It was eerie.

JD · Joined: 18 Dec 2005 Posts: 956

When the Comstock closed you could see it coming. First the slot machines upstairs began disappearing. They tried to spread out the remaining ones, but it was odd...to have so much room. Soon, the upstairs bar cosed and the slot count declined again. One of the bartenders said the annual license fee was so large, the casino could save a LOT of dough by cutting down on the "less popular machines".

Same scenario when the Pioneer closed up. Housekeeping was going downhill, duct tape on tears in the carpeting. Same story on the Sundowner.

When (now I'm dating myself) Eddie's Fabulous Fifies REOPENED under new management in maybe 1992 or so, I took my old Eddie's chips in there to at least buy a drink. "Sorry man, THAT'S the old Eddie's chip. Can't get a book of matches for THAT"

So I took it across the street and sold it at a coin dealer for 3x the face value!! lol. He said if I had the unusual "Eddie's Fabulous Fifties" $ 50 chip, he'd give me $ 450 bucks cash!

joeschmeaux · Joined: 05 Oct 2006 Posts: 43

I was at the closing of the Holiday Hotel. They closed the casino at 12:00 am, despite there being many guests in the hotel that night. It was strange checking out the next morning with the dark casino in the background.

I must admit, I'm still amazed that the Sienna ever opened. I hope it doesn't go under in these tough times. It would terrible to have an empty building there. On the other hand, if it were to close, it would represent a great opportunity for the city to buy the property at firesale prices in order to raze it and expand the river walk.
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