Has Reno Been Affected by the Southwest Cutbacks?

I miss Reno! We used to go two or three times a year on Southwest (nonstop jet flights from Seattle). They ended those late last year. The only carrier flying nonstop now is Horizon (turboprops) and of course the price is too high (cheaper to go to Vegas). Southwest only flies to Reno via Vegas now, so I assume they dropped direct service from other points as well.

Anyone from the Reno area know if the changes have hurt Reno tourist traffic? The Reno airport is wonderful but so underutilized.

 

Reno is so "sad". I'm dating myself but I've been going there for 40+ years. I only go there now because it the closest CET casino. Alaska flies to Reno directly from San Jose. I haven't seen a drop off but I will ask when I go up there this weekend.

 

DaiLun,

Thanks. Let me get this right - Reno this weekend, the Palazzo in 12 days, and the Downtown Grand in 24 days? And my friends think I go to Nevada too much. I hope fortune favors you! What are your games of choice, and where do you stay in Reno?

 

I think what hurt Reno the most was the Casinos popping up around California, people who live around Sacramento Area used to drive over the Sierras and into Reno all the time. I do like to go to Reno for weekend trips as it is only 3.5 hrs drive for me only, I also cannot stand California Roulette.

 

. . . and Caesars in 26 days . . . yeah, some might think I go to Nevada too much, but there is a method to my madness.

In Reno, I stay at Harrah's. Because . . .

1) I hold the record for the "most unused hotel rooms" in Nevada, or at least I did when I was younger. A hotel room is just a place to lay my head Harrah's isn't that bad.
2) I am a CET player and I've made it my goal to make Seven Stars this year, so I'm working on my 2500 point (TC) days. Harrah's Reno/Tahoe are the closest to me.
3)My son's mother is in Sacramento, so I drop him off with her (visitation weekends) on Friday night and pick him up on the way home Sunday mornings.

I go so often because . . .

1) I am single, so I can . . . This is what I spend my leisure money on . . .
2) I am the custodial parent of a 13 year old and the custodial son of an 89 year old. These are MHT (Mental Health Trips) for me.
3) SWA flies out of San Jose (where I live) and the prices are very competitive (I rarely pay more than $200 R/T)
4) I don't pay for rooms or meals
5) I am an active Silver Striker, so I need to go at least 3-4 times a year.

Last year I went to LV (12) times.

I am primarily a slot player, but also play Blackjack and Craps.

 

Thunder Valley and Cache Creek KILLED Reno.

However, I have since backed off on Cache Creek. When you go to Las Vegas, or even Reno, if you're doing poorly, you can always go to another casino to "change your luck". In order to do that at one of the Indian Casinos, you'd have to drive a MINIMUM of 30 minutes.

Also, at the Indian Casinos, there are:

1)No Keno
2)No Sports Betting
3)No "live dice"

 

I agree, Reno is in bad shape...they mostly rely on Conventions and big events (Hot August Nights, Balloon Races, AirRaces, RibCookOff, Major Youth Sports Events). Plus they have the National Bowling Stadium and UNR...
BUT, that's good for people like me, who want a good "bang for the buck" on gambling & comps...

 

SW discontinued direct service from Portland last year also. The only direct service from PDX now is Alaska, also too expensive. So I just go to LV instead.

 

DaiLun,

Sounds like you've got it figured out. May the gambling gods be with you on your upcoming journeys! I have to share my travels and bankroll with my wife, and she's about as unlucky a gambler as I've ever seen. Seven years of video poker and she's still awaiting her first royal flush.

All those comments about the Indian casinos in California - do they serve free drinks? In Washington they don't. Between that and the fact that the performance of their machines is totally unregulated, I can never get too excited about spending much time or money in them. In Reno (at least at the Silver Legacy) you can still get quality drinks and premium beer (such as Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams) on the floor. Plus, they and the Eldorado both have great video poker.

 

I don't drink alcohol, but I will ask the next time I'm at Cache Creek. Yes, I guess the "unregulated" nature of slot paybacks would concern me, but I've done pretty well. I even hit my highest payout at Cache Creek on Christmas Day a few years ago. $12,000 on a dollar machine playing $10.

But, all in all, Las Vegas is still the best for me.

 

Don't forget Tim.... Reno has Lake Tahoe!. (grrrrr)

 

100% NO.
You can get free "Soft Drinks" (Soda, Coffee, Tea), but Alcohol CAN NOT be "comped" (Even in the Diamond Lounge at Harrah's Rincon, it's still not free.)
California Indian casinos are worthless, imho; and really only for people who want "gamble", rather than care about Expected Value.
The caveat to that, is Harrah's Rincon...as they USED to have good video poker, and obviously, they're connected to CET, so your points/status is good anywhere.

If you're in NorCal, go to Reno/Tahoe
If you're in SoCal, go to Vegas
/EndThread.

 

And Reno has good golf, one of the best smaller-town art museums around, the car museum, a cool baseball stadium.

 

ken2v,

And one of the most random large sculptures I've ever seen - the "America Goes Bowling" sculpture in the lobby of the huge bowling center downtown!

 

There's still a boatload of places that fly direct to Reno from Chicago to Texas to places throughout the west and midwest and the town is packed every weekend. I highly recommend Reno/Tahoe to anyone who's been to LV a few times and is wanting to try something different. Plenty of high paying slots and great 3-2 BJ.

 

I really enjoyed my trip to Reno in May. Stayed at Atlantis. It's not Vegas but I don't do the clubs or see many of the shows. The slots were much more fun in Reno & money lasted a lot longer.

 

Reno simply can't be Vegas. The concentration and density of casinos, alone, changes the experience. Sure, sure, Vegas has it's outliers -- Sunset way down there, Santa Fe way up there. But with Reno (and Sparks) there's not a lot of there there. Even whatever can be said of the concentration downtown, it ain't all that. Reno is really an individual-casino experience ... and then all the other fun stuff around the valley and up in the hills. Reno is more of what we consider a vacation destination than is Vegas.

 

Reno used to be as advertised:

"The Biggest Little City in the World"

When Fitzgerald's, Nevada Club, Flamingo Hilton, Harold's Club, Comstock, Onslow and many more were all open.

My favorite place was a little hole in the wall right next to the train tracks downtown.

On the 2nd floor they had "nickle pinball" bingo machines that paid out (legal in Nevada and Tennesee).

 

I lived in the SF Bay area from 1996-2003 and I made SEVERAL gambling trips to Lake Tahoe and Reno. I never used to get much I the way of comps in Tahoe except for freeplay. I am not much of a slot player so I would use the free play in one of the designated machines. As soon as I could collect the winnings I would cash out and play video poker with what was left. It was one of those trips that I got my one and only Royal Flush in a Tahoe casino. Lake Tahoe always seemed to be a party destination for myself and friends rather than a hard core gambling destination.

My first trip to Reno was in mid-1990. It DEFINITELY has changed since then! When I started going to Reno on a regular basis, I would get decent offers from Harrahs so I would stay there for a reduced rate and get some food comps as well. It was probably 1997 when Harrahs seem to change quite a few things in their comp policy and my offers completely dried up. I switched to the Flamingo Hilton for a bit but then they were sold so I tried Silver Legacy for awhile. I like the casino and restaurants but I never quite got comfortable there. It was late 1999 and I wanted to find a place I could “call home”. In a move pretty much out of desperation, I tried Circus Circus. I went and talked to the Race Book Manager who actually took the time to sit down and talk to me. He was GREAT! I told him what kind of daily action I bet on horse races and he said “You spend that here and I will comp your room and meals no questions asked.” DEAL! Until I moved to Ohio, Circus Circus was my place of choice 15-20 times a year.

I go to Reno probably once every 18 months now (I went in February of this year) and it seemed to be doing ok. There is just not enough business to support SO MANY casinos so a lot of them have gone over the past 15 years. I really like Reno and will continue to go there and I actually prefer it over Vegas all things being equal.

 

I used to walk through Fitzgeralds all the time and actually stayed at the Comstock once.