Preface: I drove round trip from eastern Wyoming to Reno, NV via I-80 for a part pleasure, part business trip, a total of about 1800 miles.
Wendover:
First off, Wendover is often labeled as a typical truck-stop gambling town. That’s a little misleading, although not that far off. That’s not to be taken as a negative comment. It is what it is and I generally enjoyed myself while there.
Property:
I stayed at the Rainbow, one of three properties owned by the same firm, also including the Peppermill and Montego Bay. There was no check-in line, it went very smooth. I was surprised to find out that you’re on your own as far as parking, competing with the day time visitors of the casino for an outside parking spot, similar to a motel.
The room was small, with one wall completely covered from ceiling to floor with a huge mirror. There was no escaping myself!! The room and the entire property are encompassed with loud colors, neon and faux flora. The bathroom was very, very small, with the sink outside the bathroom. The room seemed clean, the décor is outdated, but very old-school “Vegasy,” which is something I like, and is to be expected in a place like this.
Casino:
Small, but not as small as I expected. There was band both nights I was there, playing Motown cover tunes. They were fairly good, although the guitar player couldn’t pick a lick of blues if his life depended on it.
I strictly bet on sports and play craps (oh, and video poker when I’m bored). Therefore, these are the only things I can comment on. I was thoroughly impressed with the Race and Sports book at the Rainbow. It was larger than I expected, it was very adequate, the lines were good, the staff friendly and helpful. Although they don’t have the Daily Race Form for the horses. Betting on a horse race without looking at a Form is just like lighting your money on fire.
The craps tables were a bit of another story in Wendover (and in Reno for that matter). The first night, there was only one table open with a $3 minimum, also the tables in Wendover and in Reno both had 10x odds, which is good. These are my favorite types of tables because you can still put down $25 on the pass line if you want and back it with $250, but the table maximum is still $5000 so you can pretty much bet what you want, unless you are truly a whale. In addition, if the table gets cold, you have the option to don’t put anything down or put $3 or $5 down or play the don’t pass line. I firmly believe that the $25 dollar tables in Vegas are for suckers only because of this. You can go ahead and play the $25 table and look important to total strangers (which has never made any sense to me anyhow) or play the lower limit table and bet your $25 when you want to anyway!!
Back to the craps tables in Wendover (and in Reno). Generally, the tables were surrounded with amateurs, which is fine and can be expected, but it really takes away from the continuity and flow of the game. Any one that plays a lot of craps surely knows what I mean. Hey, not to be critical, but I took the time to learn to play, learned the odds, the table layout and the lingo before I stepped up to a live table, and I’m sure glad I did. Besides affecting continuity, I also believe that it directly affects the “mojo” of the table. I also believe that the dealers can affect the “mojo” as well.
Which leads to my biggest complaint – the dealers. I felt like telling a couple of these guys, “Hey, if you hate your job that bad then QUIT!” Don’t take your frustrations out on the customers. This happens everywhere, but in Wendover and Reno, it seemed worse. There is a lot going on at a craps table. There are a lot of side conversations with dealers and other players. During this time, dealers often like to tell you how to play, what to put down, etc. Which is fine for the most part, because if you know it’s a bad bet, then just tell him “no thanks.” But some of these guys where lying to customers, telling them they needed more money for an odds bet, when in reality, they didn%26#39;t at all, the more money the dealers where requesting was doubling the bet. One tried this on me, which was bad, because I know craps odds. I just told him no thanks.
In addition to this, the dealers general disposition was just unpleasant, making it a bad experience all around, in both Wendover and Reno. I wasn’t doing that bad either, it just wasn’t a good vibe. So, I’d eventually end up at a bar, playing video poker, with a resounding feeling to just get drunk.
On to Reno…..
I got up fairly early Thursday morning and drove the 400 plus miles across the northern Nevada desert to Reno. I actually like that drive. There is little to no traffic, lots of cool, weird desert stuff to look at, and even weirder people to stop and talk to, which I did often, but that’s another story.
Ah, Reno. I hadn’t been to Reno in over ten years. To talk or write about Reno, its gaming industry, hotels and downtown could be a novel in itself. If you’ve been there recently, you know what I’m talking about. Basically, if you don’t like downtown Las Vegas, you would definitely hate Reno. That fact, on its own lends to a certain appeal, but that could be just me.
Property:
I stayed at the Sands Regency in downtown Reno. This hotel and casino has gotten plenty of bad reviews, and I can see why some would not like it. It’s old and run down, but my room was clean and the price was right. (Actually, everything else was booked solid because I had to make last minute travel arrangements due to the business portion of my trip.)
Check-in was a short wait, about 10 minutes, and the desk manager happened to be back there with the clerks, his presence made the experience much better because he was seemed very customer oriented…..and the other employees, well, not so much.
My room was very large, including a large bathroom. As someone stated before, I also believe that the rooms are larger because it’s an old hotel, before they figured out they could make more money by cramming people into smaller spaces. My assumption is that the true reason the rooms are larger is because the Sands, back in the day, was a nice hotel and the place to be.
Casino:
The casino floor is set up kind of strange, with corridors going this way and that, I found the layout very confusing, even after two days there, I found myself doing circles at times looking for the sports book, restrooms or elevators.
The sports book at the Sands totally stinks. The lines are crappy, and the ticket writers are jerks. I spent little time there, although I found myself stopping by from time to time because I was staying at the hotel, trying to give a chance. Every time it was the same, so, never again for me. I did my wagering at Fitzgerald’s two blocks away. The sports book there is one tiny little window, stuck back in the corner of the second floor of the casino, with only two small TV’s with bad reception, and it was still better than the sports book at the Sands.
The experience at the craps tables was the same. See comments above.
Other Properties:
I quickly walked the two blocks over to Virginia St, where most other hotels and casinos are located. The El Dorado and Harrah’s are clearly the two nicest properties downtown. The El Dorado seemed the best, with some higher end restaurants, décor and amenities. I ate lunch at the Brew Brothers Pub and Brewery; the food, atmosphere and beer where all very good.
I eventually stumbled into the Cal-Neva casino. Whoa, what a blast from the past. I’m too young to know what the old Reno was like, but this place, I think, is still a good indication. I loved it. The casino was kind of dark, but full of life and people, the cocktails where strong and delivered by fast, by friendly attractive waitresses. The pit bosses were guys named Sal and Vito, the place was just fantastic!
One major complaint about all the casinos I visited in Reno - the layout. They all seemed to be full of smoke and mirrors (literally). To me anyway, they seem very hard to navigate and to have any sense of direction as to where you are at. I had some very frustrating times figuring out where I was when it was time to leave or use the restroom or to find a cashier’s cage. And, speaking of restrooms, there are very few on the casino floors at the four main casinos I visited. It seemed I could never find a restroom, and when I would finally ask someone, I’d be sent on a journey upstairs, downstairs, then to the right, to the left and through this corridor and that. Not very conducive to keeping someone on the casino floor gambling.
Back to Wendover…..
Saturday, I drove back to Wendover. This time, I spent most of my time at the Wendover Nugget Hotel and Casino. By far, I liked this one the best in Wendover. The casino layout is open and navigatable. The general atmosphere is just nicer than the overly crowded (with machines, not necessarily people) other properties. That doesn’t mean the casino is any smaller, because it is not. The space is just utilized much better. The dealers were slightly friendlier, and they had a great band that night. Next visit to Wendover, I’ll be staying at the Nugget.
Hope this trip report will be helpful to any of you brave enough to check out northern Nevada. Post any comments or questions, I’ll be happy to answer, if I can.
Trip Report: Wendover/Reno, NV - 3/14-3/18
Sorry, a few grammatical errors in my TR, I noticed a couple of ';where%26#39;s'; that should be ';were%26#39;s'; and probably a spelling error or two. Please don%26#39;t be terribly offended or annoyed, thanks!! :)
Trip Report: Wendover/Reno, NV - 3/14-3/18
Acey-Deucey, Good through TR, know what you mean about smokey casinos. Don%26#39;t know why one of the LV casinos doesn%26#39;t go smoke free, I bet (lol) they would be full. Interesting to hear about the 10x odds, from your TR I got the impression those odds are generally available where you were in Reno. I used to play at Silver Legacy, generally a nice workable layout. I do remember the Cal-Neva good to hear it%26#39;s still going, definately had the old time Reno feel, lots of fun.
My comment about the smoke was just a matter of fact. I wasn%26#39;t complaining. I don%26#39;t smoke, but it doesn%26#39;t bother me either.
Really nice report! Thanks a million....
I am heading with a group to Reno this Sunday. We always, always, and always end up at the Cal-Neva at some point. The drinks are stiff, the service fast and the $0.25 roulette speaks to the Cheap-O members of the group, such as myself. You%26#39;ll likely find us there on Sunday night after midnight.
Oh, and do they still have the $1.50 Heiniken %26amp; Hot Dog?
Finally, one of my favorite seats in Reno? Cafe Anderotti%26#39;s at Harrah%26#39;s overlooking the lights of the Cal-Neva.
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