Re: Semi-OT: Reno Trip Report 5/25 - 5/30

On Sat, 31 May 2008 07:59:19 GMT, "C The Shocker"
<pdxchris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

As I promised several weeks ago when I inquired about people's experiences
with Reno, here is my trip report for my wife (hereto referred as "V") and
mine's Memorial Day week trip to Sin City, Jr. This is VERY LONG, so if you
hate sifting through the muck, I'm sorry.

Prelude:

Weeks previous, V and I decided to drive from Portland to Reno (~550 miles
each way, 10 hours via shortest route, stopping for gas and food) because
even with our gas-guzzler cars, it was cheaper to drive than it was to fly
on Southwest's cheapest "Ding!" rates ($69 per each way + taxes/fees).

Fate would smile on us as I was given 7 free day coupons for renting a car
through Avis (my work has an account with them that gets heavily used, and
they send us these coupons regularly that never get used). Looking through
the choices that Avis offered, and not being able to use the coupons to get
my first choice, a Toyota Prius, V and I settled on a Pontiac Vibe. It
proved to be a wise choice, as we averaged 36 MPG on both legs of the trip
(and this is going over the Siskiyou mountain range and though Mt. Shasta
and Lassen National Parks), which IMO is phenominal, and saved us extra
money.

After referring Cheapo Reno (thanks, Matt!), V and I decided on the
Peppermill. We booked a standard Tower room back in January at $69.99 per
night for Sunday-Thursday. This would turn to be a good move booking so far
in advance because the hotel realized that Sunday was Memorial Day, and
therefor an extra holiday, and jacked up the rates for that night to match
weekend rates sometime in March.

As I usually do before most vacations, I hyperplanned everything, and
researched to the point of overkill. I searched every online forum I could
find for trip reports, comments, pictures, and media press releases about
the Peppermill. Most accounts were favorable, and the hotel was going
through an expansion that was getting good reviews. Most of the negatives,
however, revolved around construction noise and activity, so I obtained an
email contact at the Front Desk and, through several back-and-forth emails,
was able to relay my desire to be away from the bustle.

Sunday, May 25th - Finally!

V and I depart Portland at 5:30am. V hates long car rides, so we built an
extra attaction into the trip that would break the monotony for her on each
way. The trip down was a stop and visit to Wildlife Safari in Winston, OR
(http://www.wildlifesafari.org/). V is a huge animal person (as evidenced by
our 3 dogs, 5 cats, Parrot, 3 Parakeets, 2 Gerbils, 8 Fish, and a
Tarantula), so this was a big treat to her. We saw elephants, giraffes,
bears, and all types of Elk, Dear, Bison, and a whole host of other animals.
The place is very cool, and is a recommend to anyone coming through the
area.

We arrived in Reno at around 6pm, and immediately got lost. The Peppermill
is nowhere near the Downtown area, but after being given directions, it
wasn't hard to find. Check in was quick and painless, and the 20-dollar
trick was successful (in fact, the young woman who checked us in seemed
giddily shocked at the tip), being upgraded from a standard Tower room to a
suite in the new Tuscany tower on the 18th floor (one level below Penthouse
level) in RM#81832. The room was a smoking room, and given the fact that V
and I are non-smokers, we were fearful of needing to change rooms.However,
the room was apparently too new to get a smoke smell "burned in", and we had
no issues. The room also had a beautiful view of the Sierra Nevada mountain
range, and off to the side Downtown Reno could be seen. They also gave us a
bottle of champagne and VIP passes to any restaurant in the place.

Note: I've stayed in a number of the upper-mid level Vegas hotels over the
years (Luxor, MGM, TI, Mirage, Golden Nugget), and I have to say that the
appointments and quality of the Peppermill Tuscany Tower matches or exceeds
them all. The bathrooms were completely marble, a two-person soaking jacuuzi
tub and a shower stall with double-head nozzles. The furniture and bed of
the room and sitting area were high-quality and well maintained. If I didn't
know I was in Reno, I'd swear it was a 4-star Vegas hotel, and I'm not
exaggerating. I was that impressed.

After freshening up from the trip, V and I headed down to the slickly-lit,
over-the-top, FANTASTIC casino to begin our quest for riches. On the drive
in, we saw billboards for Peppermill's current slot club sign-up promotion,
which was a refund of up to $100 on your first hour's play. Sounded like a
good deal to us, signed up, and then got the real story: they do refund the
money as promised, but not in cash, they load up to $100 on your slot card
as playable credit. Still, not that bad, and off we went. V ended up ahead
$30 after her first hour of play, so no refund needed there. I on the other
hand burned through my $100 in about 15 minutes (on Max Bets). Sheepishly, I
tucked my tail through my legs and headed down to the promotions desk,
explaining my tale of woe. They smiled, since I obviously had "SUCKER"
stamped on my forehead, and cheerfully loaded the $100 in free play on my
card. I searched out for a suitible machine to lose my second $100 of the
trip, and settled on a "Lucky Lemmings". Fate decided, however, that I
should be reprived from my sadness, and turned my free $100 into $240 of
cold hard cash! Hey, this gambling stuff is easy! A little more play, and a
visit to the Coffee Shop (V - French Dip Sand/Bread Pudding, Me - Chicken
Fried Steak, both excellent), and we crashed in the room at 12:30am, up $200
for the short day.

Monday, May 26th - $$$$$$

Up and at 'em at 7 am (V and I both work 6:30am to 3:30pm at our jobs, so
early mornings are a habit). Coffee Shop again for breakfast, V had
Blueberry Pancakes, I had a Chili Burger (hey, it's vacation!!), both were
good. Played a little while at the Peppermill, then drove downtown to see
what's there.

A little commentary about Reno: the place is a fascinating dichotomy of
Opulance and Ghetto. You can tell that there's serious money floating around
this town, but two-thirds of the downtown area is boarded-up shantytown or
run-down bum-gambler pits and the other 1/3 is swank over-the-top casinos or
fancy office buildings. Why they can't take some of that cash that's
obviously running though this place and invest in new properties and some
national marketing as a lower-cost viable alternative to Las Vegas is beyond
me.

V and I parked in the Cal-Neva parking garage (and didn't feel like my life
was threatened!), and proceeded to do a casino crawl, hitting in order:
Cal-Neva, Harrahs, Nugget, The Fitz, and the Eldorado. We signed up for slot
cards at all of these, and was thrown various offers that were just shell
games, and we didn't fall of any of them. However, our good luck continued,
and downtown turned into an ATM for us, cashing out by the end of our crawl
$300 ahead. Hey, this is gonna be a trip for the ages!

Back to the Peppermill for a nap and then down for dinner. V is not a Buffet
fan, but I can usually talk her into one go-round per vacation, and this
time we took in the Peppermill's. I sampled the roasted turkey, corned beef,
chicken fajitas, and hand-scooped ice cream, V ate Chicken Pot Pie
casserole, Prime Rib, Egg Rolls, and banana creme pie. To say it was a
dissappointment would be an understatement. The atmosphere of the place is
great, but the food is/was TERRIBLE. I'd like to think that we just hit it
on an off day, but the selection was one of those that said "we're trying to
do the ethnic food thing, but no one has a clue about it, and because we're
doing that, forget the comfort buffet standbys". We didn't give it another
chance during the trip, so I'm left with the negative on that one. Give it 4
out of 5 for the atmosphere and the ambiance, but 1.5 out of 5 for the food.

Played slots for the rest of the evening until about 2 am, finished the day
up another $200, making that $400 for the trip.

Tuesday, May 27th - Reality starts to creep in.

Slept in until 8am, and felt like we had sacked in all day.

Hit the favorite machines first thing, and almost immediately dropped $100.
Well, just a bump in the road, nothing to be alarmed with.... Hit the Coffee
Shop for breakfast, V had Blueberry Pancakes again, I had a Clubhouse
Sandwich and Fries. Both were good, but the quality was starting to slip...
either that or we were just getting tired of the place.

Back to the casino, and very quickly down another $100... time for a change
of scenery!

Next on the agenda was to check out the Atlantis, which was about a mile
down Virginia Ave from the Peppermill. For some reason, we couldn't find the
valet area, so we self-parked. This turned out to be a disaster, as the
parking lot was going through some construction, and half of it was blocked
off (the half CLOSEST TO THE BUILDING)... and of course, the other half was
full to the brim. After driving around for ten minutes, we finally found a
space about as far away from the casino as humanly possible. Oh, and did I
mention that it was frikkin cold and windy that day? V and I were not happy
campers when we finally entered the casino, and our mood didn't change much
when we realized that this must be the world's WORST LAID OUT CASINO EVER.
Dead-end alleyways, machines stuck seemingly right in the middle of
high-traffic areas, and just a general chaotic feel to the place. We signed
up for the slot cards, and within 20 minutes had run through $100 without so
much as a courtesy reach-around. Screw this, we said, and high-tailed it out
of there.

Some time-killing seemed to be next on the docket, since our gambling
fortunes had taken a turn for the worst. We drove around a bit, and found a
Wal-Mart. Well... those places are always good for a laugh or two just in
the people watching. Spent about an hour there, and actually bought a few
clothing items that didn't look like they were designed for Jethro and
Mary-Lou. After that, we drove around town a bit, and made more note of the
general Ghetto feel of the place, with pockets of high-brow buildings or
homes that seemed like they were randomly dropped there from space.

Returned to our room for a few hours of napping, some recreation *wink*, and
a quick shower. Feeling refreshed and invigorated (and hungry), we headed
down to, where else?, the Coffee Shop for Meal #4. V had the Chicken
Fettuccine, and I had a Tuna Melt and Fries. Her's was terrible, and mine
was so-so. The Coffee Shop is definately wearing out it's welcome.

Switched up the gambling a bit, with V trying Let It Ride and Blackjack
(Double-Deck $5 with 3/2 BJ pay), and me on Craps and Pai-Gow. Fortunes
turned again, and we re-couped all our losses from earlier in the day.
Around about 11pm, we were falling asleep at the tables, so we had a couple
of nighty-night drinks and hit the sack. Finished the day Even, and up $400
for the trip.

Wednesday, May 28th - DOWN GOES FRASIER!! DOWN GOES FRASIER!!!

Up @ 7:30 AM, this morning I went down to play by myself for a while,
leaving V to sleep in. Played machines till about 9, up $50, then collected
V and hit the Coffee Shop for Meal #5 and the last of the trip. I had
another Chili Burger, since I enjoyed the last one, and V had a Denver
Omlette. Both were cold and lifeless. We decided that our love affair with
the Peppermill Coffee Shop was officially kaput. We said our tearful
goodbyes, and headed to the casino.

This is were the trip turned ugly. We would have had more fun taking
crumpled up 20s and throwing them at the bums outside the boarded-up
Virginian than the ass-kicking we took this day. Slots, blackjack, Let It
Ride, Craps... all of them made like the proverbial ***-sandwich and we
were forced to take bite after bite. It got pretty grim, so bad that V and I
were sickly laughing at how fast the money was running though our fingers.
After being down $450 for the day, effectively wiping out our winnings and
eating into our original bankroll, we cried uncle and went back to the room
to watch TV.

About 8pm we had reservations for the Steakhouse, which turned out to be
excellent. V and I both had Petite Filet Mignon with garlic mashed and
veggies, with salad and excellent bread rolls. The meal was superb, well
worth the $100.

We discussed returning to the casino, but both our asses were still sore
from the pounding we took earlier (without lube, no less!), so we broke away
and went to a nearby theater to see the new Indiana Jones movie. Tiny
Review: It was so-so. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece like the first
Raiders, but it definately left you with the feeling of "why'd they bother?
Oh yeah.... MONEY".

Back to the Peppermill, about an hour of play breaking even. Done. Bed.
Finished the day down $450, and down $50 for the trip.

Thursday, May 29th - NO MAS!! NO MAS!!!!!!!!!!!

Forced ourselves to sleep in until 9am. Hey, vacation, right? Woke up
groggy, and wasn't thrilled when housekeeping very nearly barged in on us.
Our fault for not putting up the DO NOT DISTURB sign, I suppose. Up and out
by 10am.

Breakfast was a quick coffee and donut at the Biscotti's Bakery at the base
of the Tuscany Tower... and we kicked ourselves for not trying this earlier.
The cakes and pastries were EXCELLENT. We made it a point to have dinner at
the main Biscotti's restaurant that evening.

Down to the casino, and if possbile, our luck turned worse. We ran though
the remaining $150 of our initial bankroll in record time, and decided that
another change in scenery was in order.

Back downtown, which earlier had been our financial savior. First stop: ATM
for a bankroll recharge. Then, Silver Legacy. Big Machine inside a huge
dome. Ooooookay. It looks kinda cool, I guess. Same ol' slot machines around
it, so let's have at it! Sign up for slot card, listened to the bull***
Ponzi-scheme offers, and headed to the machines. More of the same. Little
wins here and there, but couldn't make up for the Case Of The Magically
Dissappearing 20 Dollar Bills. Dejected, we headed over to the Circus
Circus. Well... it's nicer than the Vegas one, at least. Wandered around the
Midway area, and it being the middle of the week, hardly a kid to be found.
In fact, hardly ANYONE to be found. That's no fun! Made our way down to the
casino. Decided against signing up for the slot card, as we can't imagine
ever wanting actual room offers from this place. Played a little bit, lost a
disproportionate amount... enough of this crap! We're outta here.

Back to the Pep, and dinner at Biscotti's, which is their newest eatery. V
had a Roast Prime Rib sandwich with killer Au Jus and seasoned fries, and I
had a very weird burger concoction with italian bacon, feta cheese, and
thousand island dressing on egg-grilled sourdough bread. It was absolutely
fantastic, and I am dreaming on how to make this myself at home. Once again,
we kicked ourselves for not making this place our restaurant of choice and
skipping the Coffee Shop.

*sigh* Our last night in Reno, and perhaps it's for the best, as the
Peppermill had it's last laugh on us. Chewing us up and spitting us out,
finding new and innovative ways to suck down 20 dollar bills into machines
and give little or no play in return, V was reduced to a hollow shell of a
gambler and I was chasing losses until I realized that down that way lies
madness, or homelessness... so with our last $40 tucked away, we bade
farewill to the pit of evil that the Peppermill Casino had become in it's
final days of our trip, and retired to the room, beaten and humbled.
Finished the day down $510, finishing our gambling at down $560 total.

HOWEVER... I had budgeted $900 for gambling for the trip... so... WE WON
$340!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! GO US, GO US, GO US!!!!!

Friday, May 30th - The Long Ass Drive Home

Up at 8am. Shower and out by 9am. Check out was smooth and painless (except
for paying the bill). All of our play, our sweat and tears and our very
souls that we poured out to that casino... what is that worth in the cosmic
scheme of things? Apparently, about $140 bucks to the Peppermill. "SOLD!",
we said, being punch drunk and wanting to get the hell out of Dodge.

On the road by 9:30am heading back to Portland via Susanville, BumfuckEgypt,
and I-5 North. Our original plans was to take us to the Oregon Vortex House
of Mystery (http://www.oregonvortex.com/), but the closer we got, the lamer
it sounded, and we just wanted to get home and lick our wounds.

And that brings us to... now. It's 1 am, and I be tired. I hope you enjoyed
reading this.

Bottom line: The Reno Peppermill is all that and a bag of chips. I was
stunned at how fantastic this place is, and the Tuscany rooms rival just
about anything Vegas can offer.

Next time, though.... we're flying.

Really great report, C, and extremely helpful, as I'll stay at the
Peppermill in just 10 days. I'll stay clear of the coffee shop, I
think.

Thomas

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