October 27 - November 6, 2015: Las Vegas Trip Report

October 27 - November 6, 2015: Las Vegas Trip Report

After the stress of selling my home, buying a condo, packing, and moving, I needed a vacation to unwind. Needless to say, Las Vegas was calling my name! It's my favorite travel destination where I can get away from the "real world" for awhile and just concentrate on having a good time.

Planning a Vegas adventure is half the fun...

I booked my roundtrip flight on Southwest Airlines and I always opt to pay extra for their Early Bird Checkin which guarantees you a spot in the Group A boarding. Once you get use to SWA's boarding procedure, it's really not too bad, especially when you're in the first group to board the plane. I always manage to get my favorite aisle seat.

Something else that I noticed is that SWA's flight attendants seem to be friendlier than other airlines that I've used in past including American and United ...or maybe I've just been lucky, so far ...LOL.

I had several casino offers for complementary rooms, but the Orleans has alway been good to me in the past. I had an offer for 4 free nights with $40 in food credit, so I decided to book the Orleans for my entire 10 days. When I checked the reservation calendar online, it showed that no rooms were available for 5 of the 10 nights ...Yikes!  So, I called the Orleans and they did have a premium deluxe room available for all 10 nights! 

I'm lost without a car, so I always have a rental car when I'm in Vegas. I usually choose the rental car company based on my discount offers and whatever specials might be available. Although, I have a preference for renting Mustangs whenever possible. The only company that had one available was Hertz, so I used my AAA motor club discount and reserved a Mustang convertible.

For entertainment, I reserved tickets through the MLife website for Terry Fator@Mirage and Carrot Top@Luxor. Both shows have been on my "to do" list for quite awhile.

MyVegas was a bust this trip. I couldn't find anything that I liked and all of the good stuff was sold out.

The only other event I had scheduled was attending the LasVegas4Ever Halloween meet at Henessey's. I attended their first "Mega-meet" back in 2009, so I was looking forward to seeing some familiar faces again and meeting some new board member too.

So let the good times roll!

Day 1, Tuesday Oct. 27:

I reserved a ride with Echo Limousine and arrived at MDW (Midway airport in Chicago) way to early as usual ...LOL. I was TSA Precheck, so getting through the TSA security line was quick.

The weather in Chicago was cloudy, cool, and it started raining shorty after I arrived at MWD.  There was no severe weather, so no delays and my flight was on schedule.

An egg and cheese croissant for breakfast...

The flight to Vegas was uneventful which is alway good. I was watching movies on my iPad for most of the flight. I download the Furious 7, Jurassic World, and Avengers Age Of Ultron onto my iPad before leaving home. Our plane landed at LAS before 2pm. It was close to 3pm after I picked up my rental car. A silver 2015 Mustang Convertible...

The check-in line at the Orleans was fairly long, but line moved right along. There was a small problem checking in, since they didn't have the premium deluxe room that I had reserved, so they ungraded me to an executive suite for no extra charge.

The Executive Suite is nice, but it's starting to show it's age. They've been renovating their deluxe rooms, so maybe the suites will be next on their agenda.

I brought my GoPro camera with me, so I also shot a video of the room...

Restaurants at the Orleans...

There are several changes, in regards to the restaurants at the Orleans.

The Prime Rib Loft is using a section of the Courtyard Cafe while their restaurant is being renovated.

Canal Street was boarded up with work going on behind the walls. I'm not sure if they are going to reopen or if it's turning into a new restaurant. 

Costa Cantina, the Mexican restaurant is history! I dined there on my last trip and thought their food was pretty good.

The Orleans Steak & Seafood is a brand new restaurant located across from the French Market Buffet. I dined their twice during my trip ...more on that later.

After stopping at the sushi bar at Koji's for dinner, I spent some time playing VP (mainly Deuces Wild) and pretty much broke even for the night. I was up by about $400 at one point, but that didn't last long ...LOL.  Overall, VP at the Orleans was terrible this trip, so I spent more time playing slots ...Buffalos!

Day 2, Wednesday Oct. 28:

I usually don't eat too fancy for breakfast, so I ended up at the McDonald's at the Luxor and had the hot cakes with sausage and coffee. I wanted to pickup the tickets that I reserved for Carrot Top and Terry Fator, but it was too early, so the Box Office wasn't open yet. I had about an hour to kill and I spotted a Buffalo Stampede slot in the casino which I've never played before. In fact, I'm rather new to the Buffalo slots, so I was surprised when I discovered all the different varieties of Buffalo machines.

Anyways, I put in a $20 bill and hit the max bet. After a few spins, three Gold coins popped up on the screen and low and behold, Free Games! This was the start of my winning streak on the Buffalo Stampede slots.

I kept getting those Gold Coins and with all of those free spins, the credits kept building up and up and up ...LOL. A slot manager was nearby and she was all excited with all the free spins I was hitting. Since this machine was new to me, she was pointing out the different combinations of wins as they came up on the screen which was cool. Needless to say, I was drawing a big crowd after a while, so I forgot to take photos before I cashed out.

The slot manager also told me, if possible, to try and cash out under $1300 to avoid having to pay taxes. The free spins stopped when I was just over $1200, so I cashed out and stuck in another $20 and kept playing for awhile. The machine stopped hitting, so I cashed out at just under $50.

I spent the rest of the afternoon roaming around the strip. I stopped by the Wynn and was surprised that Popeye was still there. I thought they were going to move him to a new location.

Later that evening, I met up with a local friend back at the Orleans for dinner. We ended up at Koji's. We ordered the Roasted Duck, Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Spicy Eggplant. Koji's is one of my favorite restaurants at the Orleans and their food is always good and consistent.

Day 3, Thursday 10/29:

I decided to take a drive out to Red Rock Casino to get a replacement players card, since I misplaced my card from my last trip. I didn't see any Buffalo Stampede slots, so I played the original Buffalo for a while with no luck. After grabbing a slice of pizza at Villa, I decided to head back to the Orleans.

That evening, I had a ticket to see Terry Fator's show at the Mirage. His show is a must see for those who haven't seen it yet. It's one of the best shows that I've seen in Vegas!

After the show, I took a walk around the strip trying to decide where to have dinner.

Every place that I wanted to try was packed, so I ended up back at the Courtyard Cafe at the Orleans. I ordered the Butterfly Jumbo Shrimp which came with either soup or salad. I opted for the homemade chicken noodle soup. Everything was pretty good, but the breading on the shrimps was a bit too salty.

After dining, it was back to the Buffalo Stampede! ...and look what happened...

Those Gold Coins kept popping up again! This was the first of two hand-pays of my trip at the Orleans. I also had 2 smaller wins of $800 and $200 that night on the same machine. I only had about $500 in total losses up to this point, so I was still way ahead in the win department!

Day 4, Friday Oct. 30:

The highlight of the day was attending the LasVegas4Ever Halloween meet in the Claddagh Room at Hennessy's Tavern on Fremont St.

For my readers who don't know "LasVegas4Ever", it's a Las Vegas website/discussion board for Vegas fanatics. Lots of friendly members on board who share their travel adventures by writing trip reports, blogs, reviews (hotels, restaurants, etc.), and everyone shares information for planning trips, gambling, etc.

The meet started at 4pm, but I got delayed in traffic, so I arrived around 4:30-ish or so and a good number of members and some of their friends were already present.

It was nice seeing some familiar faces who I've met at the first meet back in July 2009 including Blonde4ever (LV4E's webmisstress) and TrawnaJack.  It was also a pleasure meeting some other board members for the first time including Otto, Kodidog, Marg, Mario, Howard, and several others.  I didn't take any photos at the meet, but a few members shared their photos on the LV4E board and on the LV4E Facebook Group.

The meet ended at around 7pm and I was debating whether to stay downtown or head back to the Orleans for dinner.  I valet parked at Mainstreet Station, so I headed in that general direction and decided to try the new Steak and Seafood restaurant back at the Orleans.

The Orleans Steak And Seafood Restaurant...

From what I've been told, the new restaurant opened a couple of weeks before my visit.  It's a fine dining restaurant with an "a la carte" menu and as the name implies, they specialize in steaks and seafood entrees.  Their menus and hours can be found on the Orleans website, but here's the link to their Dinner Menu


I found the wait staff to be very friendly and accommodating throughout dinner.  To start out, they served a freshly baked mini loaf of bread with butter which is very good. It was so good that I ate the whole loaf ...LOL.

For the entree, I ordered the 12 oz. Prime Rib (medium rare) and a baked potato with butter, sour cream and chives.  I wish I would have remembered to take a photo, since everything looked so delicious.  The Prime Rib was cooked perfectly, tender, juicy, and with lots of flavor.  I didn't need to add any other seasonings at the table.  The baked potato was also cooked to perfection.

I was impressed with both the food and service, so I made a repeat visit at the end of my trip.

Buffalo!

After dinner, I headed over to those Buffalo Stampede slots again and my favorite machine was open.  After about 30 minutes or so, those gold coins started appearing and the credits started adding up again!  I cashed out with this...

...but I continued to play for awhile until the machine stopped producing.  I put back in a little over $100, but I recycled quite a bit of credits over about an hour and a half before moving on to play some VP.

I usually don't play 3 or 5 play VP, but I thought that I'd give it a try, since I was playing with my winnings. I was on one machine where I was switching between 3 play and 5 play Deuces Wild which kept hitting, so my $100 lasted for about 2 hrs of play before I cashed out with a $57 profit.  That was the best VP play I had on this trip.  No Royals, but a couple of 4OAKs which came far in-between.

Day 5, Sat. Oct. 31:

On my agenda for this trip was to make my rounds of some of the local casino that I've never visited on past trips.  First stop was the M Resort.  I guess my timing was bad, since they were having a give-a-way promotion for card members.  The line at the Players Club booth was a mile long, so I couldn't get near the place to sign up as new member.  I didn't want to play any slots/VP without a card, so I just walked around the casino for awhile to get a feel of the place.  The M Resort is nice, so I'll probably stop by again on a future trip.

After leaving the M Resort, I made a stop at South Point.  I visited the place on my last trip, but didn't sign up for a players card so I decided too this time.  I spent part of the afternoon playing slots/VP.  I also found some Buffalo Stampede slots, but they weren't very nice to me ...LOL.  I ended up losing about $200, so I switched over to VP and was playing Deuce Wild. No big wins on VP either, no Royals, and no 4OAKs.  Whatever small wins I did hit went right back into the machine, so I left after losing another $100.

I thought about heading downtown that evening to check out all of the Halloween craziness, but I was too tired to do anymore walking.  So for dinner, I ended up at In N' Out Burgers.  I always stop by at least once on every trip. They were packed inside and out, so I went through the drive-thru and ordered take outs (Double Double Combo) and brought it back to my room.

Later that night, guess what happened again?  Buffalos!  I ended up with my second hand-pay of my trip.  WOW!!!  It's a good thing that I didn't go downtown ...LOL!

Day 6, Sun. Nov.1:

Another day of nice weather, so I decided to take a drive out to Mt. Charleston to shoot a video of the scenic route along Hwys 95, 157, 158 and 156.  This was my first trip out to Mt. Charleston so I was looking forward to checking out the area.

No need for words to describe Mt. Charleston, since the video speaks for itself...

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to check out the ski lodge, but I plan to head back on a future trip.

Carrot Top at the Luxor...

I arrived at the Luxor early, so I spent some time playing Buffalo Stampede.  After all, this is where my winning streak on those machines began ...LOL. Anywho, there was one machine open, so I stuck in $100 bill and started playing. Unfortunately, the guy sitting next to me had the hot machine. He was getting those gold coins over and over again. Although, he was betting the minimum so he wasn't accumulating a lot of credits.  My machine wasn't hitting at all, so I ended up losing the $100.

What can I say, Carrot Top is hilarious!  I've been meaning to see his show on past trips, but I never got around to it until now.  I had a great seat, 2nd row center stage!  I forgot the name of the guy, but the opening act was a comedian. He wasn't too bad, but definitely not as funny as CT.  

I've seen some of CT's material on TV, but his live show is definitely something that you can't miss.  I'm sure the TV censors would go crazy with some of the props and material that he uses in his live show ...LOL.  About half-way through his show a bucket dropped down from the ceiling on a rope with a bottle of Crown Royal inside.  I wasn't expecting him to head out into the audience passing out shots of CR, but he handed one to me ...LOL.

Back at the Orleans, the Buffalo Stampede slots were not being nice to anyone.  At one point, I was ahead by about $300, but ended up putting it all back in and lost another $100.  I switched over to VP and just broke even playing more Deuces Wild.  Before I called it a night, I donated another $50 to the Megabucks slots.  Well, it looks like I still can't scratch winning Megabucks off of my Bucket List.

Day 7, Mon. Nov. 2:

I spent a good part of the day hanging out with a couple of local friends.  So, nothing too exciting to report.

Although, I was rather surprised when I received a call from a host at the Orleans.  I guess all the time that I spent playing those Buffalo slots and VP showed up on their radar, since I also made it to the next level (Sapphire) on my 3rd day.  I never made it to that level in all the years that I've been playing at the Boyd properties.  The host thanked me for choosing to stay and play at the Orleans and wanted to up my dining credits from my original $40 offer to an amount that I couldn't possibly use up by the end of my trip.  So essentially, all of my dining expenses that I charged to my room were bring comped.  Nice!  Needless to say, I tried to take advantage of that offer as much as possible ...LOL.

That evening, I decided to give the French Market Buffet a try for the first time.  The prime rib at the buffet couldn't compete with the one I had as Steak And Seafood.  This one was rather stringy and tough.  Although, the BBQ ribs and short ribs were very good.

I was surprised to see cajun style boiled crawfish.  These can't compare to the super fresh ones that I alway get when I go to New Orleans, but they were okay.  I went back for more of those! 

I didn't have room for those cookies, so I wrapped them in a napkin and stuffed them in my pocket for later ...LOL

Day 8, Tues. Nov. 3:

I spent a good part of the day just hanging out on the strip.  I parked the car at the Monte Carlo and started walking north from there.

This is the new stadium in back of the Monte Carlo.  I took these pics from the walkway between the self-parking garage and the Monte...

This one is facing the opposite direction towards Aria...

It was mid-morning and I didn't have breakfast, so I stopped at the Food Court in the Monte for a bite to eat.  It's been awhile since I had one of these at Nathan's...

Later in the afternoon, I made my way over to Planet Ho, since I wanted to try the lobster roll at Lobster Me.  Those lobster rolls are yummy!

Walking through City Center, I also spotted this thing and I couldn't help but take a photo of it ...LOL

Back at the Orleans, I didn't get Stampeded by the Buffalos like the day before ...LOL.  To my surprise, I ended up hitting the minor progressive jackpot for $840.  I also accumulated an additional $400 for a total of $1240 before cashing out.

Since I had a late lunch, it was close to 11pm when I went to dinner at the Courtyard Cafe.  I didn't have anything fancy, just a burger and fries.

Day 9, Weds. Nov. 4:

Wednesday was a chilly and wet day in Vegas.  So, I decided to check out a few more local casinos for the first time.  I started out at Sam's Town.

Sam's Town was much larger than I had expected.  I liked the feel of their casino, so I spent some time adding more point to my BConnected card playing ...guess what? ...yup, Buffalo Stampede!  Unfortunately, Sam's Town Buffalos didn't like me very much ...LOL.

Next stop was the Eastside Cannery. After walking around inside the casino for awhile, I didn't get much of a "vibe".  I'm not sure if I would make a return trip, but ya never know.

The final stop was the Green Valley Ranch in Henderson.  Like Red Rock, it's a Station Casino, so I gave them some playtime to see if I'll get on there radar for some offers.  I like the looks of the GVR, even though it's far from the LV strip.  I'm not sure if I would like staying there or not, but if I get a nice offer, I might give it a try.

Pizza Rock!  Wow, I was surprised when I saw that they have a Pizza Rock at the GVR.  Needless to say, I had dinner there before heading back to the Orleans.

When I returned to the Orleans, the parking lot was packed, so I ended up using the valet.  I guess SEMA was in full swing, since I spotted lots of SEMA folks in the casino.

The Buffalos were stampeding most of the player tonight too. No one was winning including me, so I switch over to VP for awhile with very little luck.  I also donate a few more dollar to Megabucks and still no big win ...Darn, I still can't check that off of my Bucket List!

Day 10, Thurs. Nov. 5:

This was my last full day in Vegas, so I headed out to Red Rock Canyon for a while.  I often visit Red Rock Canyon to get away from the craziness of the LV strip, but this time I had my GoPro camera with me so I did the scenic loop drive again and took a video of the entire scenic drive.

Later that afternoon, I spent a few hours hanging out on the LV strip, people watching ...LOL ...before returning to the Orleans.

For my final dinner of this trip, I went back to Steak And Seafood, since I really enjoyed my dinner there earlier in my trip.  This time I ordered the combination special which includes a petite filet mignon, shrimps, a lamb chop, grilled asparagus, and mushroom risotto.  I also order a side of "Pomme Frites" which is basically french fries with a special truffled vinegar sea salt and jalapeño ketchup on the side. This time, I remembered the "food porn" too ...LOL

Everything was very good, except that the risotto was slightly under cooked for my taste.  I was tempted to order dessert, but I was so stuffed that I couldn't eat another bite.

I also have to thank those Buffalos for being nice to me on my final night at the Orleans.  I hit another minor progressive jackpot for about $800 and I cashed out with an additional $400 for a grand total of $1200 for the night.

Day 11, Fri. Nov. 6:

The day we all dread!  Time to leave Las Vegas and return home!  I got an early start as usual. I like to check out in person to make sure all the charges are correct, so I don't receive any surprises down the road.  Everything looked good and all of my dining charges were comped. No resort fees for the 4 comped night too!

After checking out, I drove over to the car rental return which was busier than usual.  A lot of the SEMA attendees were returning home, so there was a wait for everything including the shuttle buses to the airport.  It's a good thing that I got an early start.  At LAS, I didn't receive TSA Precheck on my return flight, so I got stuck in the regular TSA line which was long, but they allowed everyone to keep their shoes on and computers, liquids, etc. didn't have to be taken out of your carry-on.  So basically, it was the same as going through the TSA Precheck line.

There was a delay on take-off, since we were waiting our turn in line on the tarmac.  Although, they made up for the delay in the air and we arrive in Chicago on time.  The line for taxis was also short, so I got a ride home as soon as I exited the door.

Well, another Vegas trip is history...

- I wish that I had booked 2 weeks instead of 10 days!  My Vegas vacations are alway too short!

- I usually don't spend a lot of time gambling, but those Buffalos were so good to me this trip, I spent more time in the casinos than I had planned. So, a lot of my original plans got thrown out the window!  I haven't had a winning trip like this in a long time!

- Now, I have to start planning my next Vegas trip! LOL!

March 11-18, 2015: Reno Trip Report

It's been over 7 years, since my last trip to Reno which was in September 2007.  That year, I went to Reno to see the National Air Races and Air Show (September 9-22, 2007 Reno/Las Vegas Trip Report). 

Back in January, a few friends started talking about taking a spring trip to Reno around March or April.  Since most of us live in different states, due to relocating for work, retirement, etc., we thought it would be cool to meet up and have sort of a mini reunion. Thanks to the internet, we can still keep in touch, no matter where we're located these days, so it made planning much easier.

Anywho, not everyone was able to schedule an entire week of vacation, but we did have a couple of days where everyone was in town at the same time.  Overall, we didn't have a formal schedule of things to do, but a few of us who would be in town early did plan a 2 day road trip to see some parts northeast Nevada that we haven't seen before.

Note: Since some of my friends do not want their photos and identities plastered all over the internet, I'm respecting their privacy and not including any photos in which they appear or their names in my report.

Day 1, Weds. March 11:

It's been years since I've flown out of Chicago's Midway Airport and the last time that I flew with Southwest Airlines was back in mid-2000 (I think ...LOL).  It's been more convenient flying out of Chicago's Ohare, but considering the cost of air travel these days, I couldn't pass up SWA's prices.

Midway is a nice airport, albeit smaller than Ohare.  The smaller size makes it more manageable getting around, but there is still lots of walking depending on where your gate is located.

I've been using Echo Limousine service whenever I need transportation from home to the airports, since they are very reliable and always on time.  They're a bit pricy, but I've had too many bad experience with Taxis arriving late and almost missing my flights in the past.

I had an 11:15am flight and arrive at the airport around 8:30am.  Being able to go through the TSA Pre-check line also saves a lot of time, since you don't have to remove your shoes and remove liquids, laptop PC, etc. from your carry-on bags.  I also opted for the EarlyBird Checkin (additional $25/roundtrip) so I was guaranteed to get into the A boarding group.  

One of my friends who flies out of BWI (Baltimore-Washington) had a connecting flight out of Midway, so we were on the same Chicago to Reno flight which was cool.  We were catching up on old times, so the flight went by pretty quickly.

The only problem we had onboard the plane was that there was no tap water available, so no water in the lavatories.  Although, they did have hand sanitizer available.  Anyways, it didn't create any major problems.

The flight time to Reno was a little over 4 hours and there were no delays.  The flight wasn't completely filled, so my friend and I had an open middle seat.  The flight home was a different story though. Completely booked and there were 3 screaming toddlers onboard ...more on that later ...LOL.

Budget Car Rental had a special 35% off rate, if you booked your flight with SWA.  So, I decided to give them a try.  This is the first time that I rented from Budget and their service at the Reno airport was pretty good.  As you can see from the photo, I rented a 2015 Mustang.  I was surprised that they had the latest model available.  This one has the new 4-Cylinder Eco-Boost engine which preformed surprisingly well.  It accelerated faster than the V6 and I was getting over 30 miles/gal too.  Although a Mustang without a V8 just doesn't feel the same ...LOL.

Peppermill-Reno...

I arrived at the Peppermill about an hour before checkin time and they had my room ready.  I reserved a standard King/non-smoking in their North Tower.  The North and West Tower rooms are a good value, since their rates for my stay were $49.99-59.99/night, although they do have a resort fee of $15+Tax which includes...

Property wide premium wi-fi.

A coupon book valued at over $75.

Access to Internet Café.

In-room coffee.

Airport shuttle service.

Access to the Electric Car Charger Station.

Local and 800 phone calls.

Access to Fitness Center and Resort Pools.

Access to business center.

Parking in 6-story Parking Garage and Valet Service.

Faxes and Photocopies (limit 5 per day).

Concierge Service.

Overall, I would say the room was comparable and a bit nicer than the Deluxe King room that I had at the Monte Carlo-Las Vegas on my October 2014 trip.  The hotel has good in-room wifi too, as well as in their casino and other areas of their property.

I remembered that there are In N' Out Burgers in Reno and one is located a couple of miles south on Virginia St.  So guess where I ended up for dinner? LOL!

View from my room...

Day 2, Thursday March 12:

As a group, we all didn't get together until the end of my trip (March 16-17), but a couple of friends and their wives who were in town early, sorta hung out together off and on during the early part of my trip.

My friend who retired and move to Mesquite, NV, also drove out to Reno for a few days too.  He's the one who was tutoring me on Deuces Wild and I ended up having a winning trip playing VP at the Peppermill-Reno and at the Red Lion-Elko.  More on that later.

A few photos of downtown Reno...

On past trips, I've dined at Oceano at the Peppermill which is a seafood and sushi restaurant.  Their food was always good, so I decided to have an early dinner that evening.  I sat at the sushi bar and I wasn't disappointed in the quality of their sushi.

Days 3-4, Friday & Saturday March 13-14:

We also planned a 2 day road trip along I-80 East, since we've never visited that area of Nevada before.  There were 4 of us all together and we all couldn't fit in one car, since we were either driving sports cars or compacts ...LOL.  So my friend and his wife drove their compact and my other friend from Mesquite and I took my Mustang.

An acquaintance recommended staying at the Red Lion Hotel/Casino in Elko which is about a 4 hours drive from Reno.  So, that was the furthest east that we traveled.  If we were to continue east on I-80 for another 3 hours or so, we would have made it to Utah ...LOL.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos, but my friends took some along the way.  As soon as they email them to me, I can add them to my report.  So for now, I hope I don't bore ya'll with my ramblings.

A few of the towns that we stop at to explore included Fernley, Winnemucca, Carlin, and Elko.  Being a city boy from Chicago ...LOL ...seeing the countryside and towns in the Wild West is rather interesting.  Lots of cool scenery and wildlife along the route too.  

Red Lion Hotel & Casino-Elko...

I was pleasantly surprise at the quality of their rooms, casino, and restaurants at the Red Lion.  They have everything that you need under one roof.  For a rather small town, they also have quite a few hotels and casinos.  OMG! They even have a WalMart!  LOL!  Many of the small towns in NE Nevada are mining towns including Elko and Carlin.  So, during the weekdays, everyone is at work and the casinos, etc. are not too busy.  Although things pick up quite a bit on the weekends.  Saturday the casino and restaurants were packed with locals.

Since this was a planned road trip, we made reservation ahead of time.  Room rates were $82/night (no resort fee) for a premium deluxe King or Queen.  The room was actually bigger and nicer than my Peppermill room and included free wifi, an in-room frig, microwave oven, coffee maker, and safe.  Since this was our first stay at the Red Lion, they  included free breakfast vouchers for their Cafe. Their food and service were also very good and the portion sizes were huge.

We had dinner one night at their Aspen Bar & Grill and their Kodiak style Atlantic Salmon was excellent.  You also get your choice of salad or soup and 2 sides.  I had their homemade mushroom soup, corn on the cob, and baked potato.  The Kodiac style Salmon is a must try, if you ever visit the Red Lion.

If you sign up with their Slot Club, they also have some good promotions.  If you lose $100 within 24 hours after signing up, they give $100 back in freeplay.  On Fridays, if you accumulate 500 tier points, you get a free room.  Since I had a winning day that Friday, I wasn't eligible for the freeplay.  Although, we all received comped rooms for Friday, since we each gambled enough to gain 500 points.  I also did pretty good playing Deuces Wild with some coaching from my friend.  I did hit a Royal, but with Deuces, so I still haven't hit my first real Royal yet ...LOL.

Day 5, Sunday March 15:

The weather was surprisingly good for my entire trip and some of the locals that we spoke with said the temps were unusually warm for this time of year.  Overall, it was in the upper 50's to as high as 70 degrees on one day and no rain (or snow ...LOL). 

We hit the road back to Reno, after having breakfast at the Cafe.  Since we made fewer stops along the way, we made it back to the Peppermill by checkin time.  I had another room reserved in the North Tower and it was just 2 door down from my previous room.

I met my friend from Mesquite for dinner and we hit the casino for awhile where I hit another 4 Deuces for $500.  One thing that was getting me sorta confused was how the pay tables were setup on the VP machine in both Elko and at the Peppermill as compared to what I'm use to seeing in Vegas or at my local casinos.  The number of credits played is also set up differently too.  You can probably see the differences in the photos that I posted above.  

Day 6-7, Monday & Tuesday March 16-17:

The rest of the crew arrived in town by Monday evening.  Since we were all staying at the Peppermill, it made it convenient for all of us to meet at the Fireside Lounge for drinks and then decide on where to have dinner. There were 8 of us in total and we didn't have any problems making dinner reservations at Cafe Milano at the Peppermill.  I believe Cafe Milano is equivalent to the Peppermill Cafe in Las Vegas.

It was good seeing some of my old  friends again, since so many of us have scattered all over the country.  I won't bore you with any detail, but we pretty much just roamed around downtown, gambled, and met up for lunch/dinner over those 2 days.

Oh, and I hit 4 Deuces on 3 more occasions before my return home.  I think this was one of my most productive trips in regards to gambling, even though I did not win anything large enough for a handpay.  Perhaps that's good, since I don't have to worry about filing any W2Gs at the end of the year.

Day 8, Wednesday March 18:

After packing, I went downstairs to Cafe Milano for breakfast.   It took me awhile to decide what to order, since there are lots of goodies on their menu.  It's been awhile since I've had Eggs Benedict, so I gave that a try.  The eggs were poached perfectly and it was very good.  I wish I would have taken more food porn photos, but this is the only one I remembered to take ...LOL.

Needless to say, I wish that I could have stayed longer in Reno.  There are still lots of other places in the area that I would have liked to have visited.  Hopefully, it won't take me another +7 years to plan another Reno trip ...LOL.

Anywho, I had 2:30pm flight with no delays.  The flight was completely full and as I mentioned earlier on, there were 3 screaming toddlers aboard!  Luckily, I have a good pair of Bose Noise-canceling earphones which is a life saver, to say the least ...LOL.  I plugged in my iPad and was watching movies for most of the flight home, so I only heard the screaming when I had to get up to use the lavatory.  I really felt sorry for the guy who had to sit next to two of those toddlers.  The 3rd one was sitting several rows further in front.

After landing, I was also in shock that all of the snow/ice that I left behind a week earlier was all melted ...LOL.  I leave town, so Chicago just had to warm up.  Now why couldn't it have warmed up a few weeks before my trip!