April 14-22, 2016: Reno Trip Report
For years, Las Vegas has always been my number one vacation destination. Although with all of the changes that Sin City has undergone over the past few years, as of last year, I've decided to start visiting Reno, once again.I still love visiting Vegas, but it started losing some of it's glitz and glimmer when the casinos started "de-theming" their properties, implementing resort fees which continue to rise, reducing casino comps, and now the implementation of parking fees by MGM which will probably spread to other properties in the near future. I still plan on visiting Vegas, but I've decided to start spending part of my vacation time on Reno once again.
I flew to Reno via American Airlines out of ORD (Chicago), since Southwest did not have any non-stop flights for the day/time that I wanted to travel. Interestingly, the airfare was not much more than some of Southwest's flights which required stop overs.Luckily, I had TSA PreCheck so I didn't have to wait in those long security lines at Ohare. Although, I wasn't so lucky on my return flight, since I didn't receive the TSA PreCheck at RNO.
Reno may not have all the glitz and glimmer of Sin City, since it's a smaller town, but it's less hectic, and often provides a more relaxing trip. It's also a great town for those who also like taking side-trips to Lake Tahoe, Virginia City, Carson City, etc.
I've visited the Eldorado several times on previous trips, but this was the first time that I've stayed on their property. I would have preferred the Peppermill, but they did not have a room available for my entire stay, so I decided to give the Eldorado a try, since it was a freebie. I had a comp offer for Harrah's too, but I read a number of reviews that said their rooms haven't been renovated in ages while the rooms at the Eldorado were much nicer in comparison.
Deluxe Room...
Peppermill Resort & Casino
Later that week, I moved to the Peppermill for the remainder of my stay where I had 4 nights comped in a Tower Room. Although when I checked in, they gave me a free upgrade to a Tower Suite.
Tower Suite...
Gambling...
I was playing mainly VP (Deuces Wild and JOB), since the slots were not being nice to me. I had $50 in freeplay for slots that was part of my comps at the Peppermill, but the Buffalo Gold devoured that in a matter of minutes.
I found a bank of Buffalo Stampede slots at Harrah's and gave them a try without having much luck. The only reason I went to Harrah's is to give them some playtime, since my TR points were due to expire next month.
Most of my VP play was at the Peppermill where I was having some pretty good luck. I won back all that I lost at the Eldorado and Harrah's within the first day playing Deuces Wild at the Peppermill. These were the 2 best hits, but I had several Royals with Deuces and many smaller wins. After figuring out my Wins/Losses at the end of my trip, I came home with an extra $600 so this turned out to be a winning trip.
I finally hit my first Royal!
In summary...
*I met up with a few friends (both local and a few from out of town) during the course of the week. We did lunch/dinner on a few occasions, but we all had our own agendas for the week, as well as some different things planned. I pretty much stayed in the Reno area and didn't do any long distance side-trips like I did during my March 2015 trip. This was more like a leisurely vacation for me, so I spent a lot of time in the casinos playing VP and slots. This is a lot different from my Vegas trips where I'm constantly on the go and never have time to sleep ...LOL.
*I made my traditional stop at In N' Out Burgers. They have them in Reno too!
*A friend and I tried the dinner buffet at the Eldorado on Thursday (the day I arrived). It was okay, but I was expecting much better. The best part was the carvery station where they had smoked brisket, roasted sirloin, BBQ ribs, roasted pork loin, and roasted turkey breast. They also had a variety of Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and American dishes. What really surprised me was that they didn't have any desserts ...Yikes! All they had that evening were a variety of fresh fruits and fruit salad items.
*Considering the nice suite that I had at the Peppermill, along with that huge jacuzzi, I also spent more time in my room than usual ...LOL.
In closing...
The weather in Reno was beautiful all week, except for the day of my departure ...the only day that it rained! I had a 3pm flight home, so I arrived at RNO at about noon, since I heard that the security lines were long. Unfortunately, I didn't get TSA PreCheck on my return flight, so I got stuck in the long line. There were hardly any people in the TSA PreCheck line.
Luckily, there was only a 15 minuted flight delay due to the weather, but they more than made up for the time loss in the air and we landed at ORD a few minutes ahead of schedule.
Now, it's time to start planning my next trip which will most likely be to Las Vegas this coming Fall.
