Reno, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Elko, and Wells, NV

This is a great report. Really informative about some things I knew nothing about. Thanks.

 

Well, it's 8:30PM and I'm making up for last night's staying out too late.

I went over to the Gold Dust West casino and signed up over there, and managed to successfully lose all of today's winnings plus $100. But hey, I got a free Prime Rib dinner out of it.

Oh, and I forgot that there was soup. New England clam chowder


Don't get me wrong. It was a good dinner, but not worth what I lost to get it. Actually, I was only in $100 but once again, I got stubborn and spent a lot of money in one machine.

So, after dinner and on My way out, I decided to play $0.25 "Double Nudge", where if you get the crystal symbol, it nudges such that you get a winning payout.

So, on my last pull, I got this . . . .

5x times 5X times 100 / 4 = $625.00 I took the TITO and got the heck out of Dodge (or Gold Dust West, as it goes).

Next, I decided to make a tour of the "entertainment". Now, traditionally, I'm used to "Entertainment" being out in the middle of nowhere. The 4 entertainment venues were all downtown on 4 corners of the intersection. I did go to all 4 that were open, but I didn't choose the lineup at any of the 4 parlors that I entered. I did talk to one Asian worker (Chinese from mainland China) just to get an idea of what the pricing was. She hemmed and hawed, but I understand that business was slow and we agreed on a price, but she didn't understand that I was looking at a future session.

So, here are the souvenirs that I got.

It's 8:45, and I didn't get a nap today, so it's bedtime for me.

Elko has satisfied me as a retirement destination. It isn't the one horse town that I "kinda" remember from 55 years ago. There is industry, and a job for everyone if they choose to get one. (Wal-mart greeter? I think not.) The final trip will be in November/December to see what it's like in the winter. After that, it's scheduling

I'll get up tomorrow and eat the breakfast that comes with the room, and then it's back to Reno. On Sunday, I will pass through Vacaville and look at an electric Bike for my son. It's $1300 ($900 less than my bike). If all looks good, I'll pay the guy and BFF will pick it up Tuesday (He has an SUV)

It's been a "fun" trip, and tomorrow's another day.

 

I've really enjoyed this. Thanks. One thing to consider is the quality of health care options there. Where I live, the hospital is so-so and only one or two doctors have been here more than a couple of years. I have volunteered for an organization to drive people to medical facilities and most are 80-200 miles away and we don't go 80+mph!

 

Thank you for pointing that out, and yes, I've considered that. The hospital in town has gotten pretty bad reviews. I will need to look at that before I make a final "final" decision.

 

Or, just move to Canada. Lots of small towns to live in, and less worry about health care .... ..

GG

 

It seems that bad hospital reviews are endemic to smaller areas, and IMHO, deservedly so. That said, I think the quality of life, offsets that concern. A more relaxed way of life and a generally healthier environment may add years to one's life.

As and aside, I was raised in a city. My wonderful cardiologist works in Portland, OR. A few months ago I had to walk through tents and sleeping bags with people on the sidewalk on the way to his office. It was only a couple of short blocks.

 

Sounds good to me. Why haven’t you been able to take advantage of this benefit before.

 

Sou

ha I remember going with my Chinese friend to these restaurants. I believe he spoke fluent Cantonese and Mandarin. He had trouble speaking whatever the employees spoke and I would have to translate there English. Still got the must more interesting menu from them.

 

Because

1)everywhere I've lived has been a "high cost" area, and I couldn't take advantage for the benefit.
2)Nowhere I've lived (outside of the Northern California Bay Area) has been anywhere where I wanted to buy a home

A VA no down loan isn't much use when the "decent" homes are 5-10X the GROSS YEARLY salary.

 

The 80 mph speed limit reminded me of a story from long ago. We were in SLC for nationals, but we came in a day early so we could spend a night in Wendover Nv. We were on 80 heading west and my buddy had it up to over 95 mph. All of a sudden we heard a horn honk twice and then an 18 wheeler flew past us! A new respect for truck drivers came about that day.

 

Why weren’t you eligible before? Where you making too much or getting loans that where too much?

On the Chinese food I figure in most large enough places cities have figured that non Asians also like regular Chinese and they have expanded there regular menus. In town Elko probably not the case. I remember back in college my friend spoke Cantonese and Mandarin but couldn’t understand the dialect or language they spoke at the restaurant. I would have to translate there English which he couldn’t understand, it was funny.

 

I’m amazed that the brothels are out in the open. I’ve always thought they had to be in the middle of nowhere.

 

I think it's based on county population, but they don't hide. Same thing driving through Parump.

 

Yikes. I don’t know why but I assumed you had a home in the Bay Area you purchased years ago when pricing was more reasonable. That and maybe inherited some property. Lol figured that was how you funded your “hobby”.

 

I think it's been many, many years since anything in the bay area was reasonable.

 

Had the free breakfast at Stockmen's before I left
Two eggs, two sausage patties, hash browns and toast with coffee


Comped as part of the hotel stay


OK, left Elko at 8:15AM, and made it to Reno by 12:15PM. Had lunch at the Pho restaurant across the street from Harrahs Reno, parked at Cal-Neva, no charge for parking at Cal-Neva
Here's the pho



Made it to Silver Legacy, got a parking space just outside in the Handicapped area, and went to the kiosk to check-in. Boy, CETDorado is really getting cheap. $15.00 to check in before 1PM. It was 12:45, so I went downstairs, and look what I hit!!!

Made a quick $500. I went back up at 1PM and the kiosk told me that the room was still being "prepared", so I waited. When I went to the desk to inquire, they said that "they are still cleaning your suite, we'll email you when it's ready. Suite, huh. OK, let me digress a little about hosts. People (on this board as well as on other boards) consider me an "overtipper" when it comes to my hosts. Well, this is the the reason that:

1)I will continue to give CETDorado play in both Reno and Tahoe.
2)I have taken care of my hosts there and they often reciprocate with things like unsolicited $500 FP and complimentary suites. And this even though I DROPPED two levels, from 7* to Diamond Plus.

'nuff said on that. as always, YMMV.

OK, so I was told that I needed to wait, so I went over to a WWW (Wierd, Wicked, and Wild) machine and made another $120. So, clawing my way back


It was 2:45 PM and I ended up putting back $100, but I'm still up $500 for the day, which decreases my losses to a dull roar.

3PM and I went to the desk and my room was ready. Look at this!



Soaking tub in the room

Keurig with 6 K-cups (5 of them going home with me tomorrow . . . )

Large bathroom


The windshield crack is getting worse

I just checked the insurance policy and did not find any exclusion for windshield damage

Right now I'm so tired that I'm going to take a nap. I have decided against making the next level at Atlantis, and I will go over there tonight and pay down my markers.

I know where my host will be at 6PM, so I will visit him and give him his red envelope at that time.

Thanks for following along.

 

I LOVE this report! I'm a sucker for a road trip, especially one out west.

The more pics the better. The ones you're sharing are great!

And I hope you're getting all the info you need to make the right decision for your retirement.

 

Well, thanks to this trip, I am now 90% sure of the destination, have an end goal in sight, and milestones that I need to hit.

Preparation starts 7/1/2021, after my "last" trip to Las Vegas until HGS 2021 in November/December.

 

OK, let's finish up the trip. Saturday, I didn't do so well at either Silver Legacy or Atlantis.

I told my CET host that I would continue to play at Reno and Lake Tahoe to support him and my Lake Tahoe host. He mentioned to me (with a long face) that as of June 8th, they are "separating" Reno and Lake Tahoe. Before June 8th, Lake Tahoe and Reno were considered the same "area" and play counted towards both hosts. No longer. Still, I gave him the "hong bao" (red envelope), thanked him for the suite, and went about my business.

After getting my a** soundly "spanked" at Atlantis, I decided to eat at an AYCE Sushi place on Virginia St. The place was called "Tokyo Sushi", but run by Chinese people.

I selected seaweed salad, three types of nigiri (hamachi (yellowtail) , salmon, ikura (salmon eggs), and a deep fried yellowtail roll called "Godzilla".


fish to rice ratio was adequate (less than Nabe or Sakana), but the price was right, with hot tea, $40.00 tip included.

So, after that, it was back to Silver Legacy where the "joint was really jumping". It was difficult to find a parking space. The craps table at Silver Legacy had partitions down, but the minimums were $25.

So, after getting beat up soundly, I decided to go to bed.

Woke up at 6AM and got ready to go. Out of Reno at 7AM, still full from the late dinner, I actually stopped at a Vista Point to take some pictures



There, my obligatory "sightseeing pictures".

From there, I stopped at a produce stand to get some provisions (BUTT RUB AND SLAP YA MAMA)
and then on to Vacaville, where I was to meet up with a guy selling a Juiced Scorpion Express that I was buying for my son. After determining that the bike was too big to put in my car, I paid him, and then, after determining that it was too big for BFFs Honda Pilot, I resorted to plan "C" which was to take the train up Tuesday, and rent a cargo van one way to bring it back.

Returned the car to Enterprise, and filled out the incident report about the cracked windshield. When I got home, I filed the claim with AMEX, and let see if I get a better result this time.

So, back to the real world.

I am now 90% "sold" on Elko as a retirement destination. It is NOT the "one horse" town that I remembered from my youth. It has a Wal-Mart, a Home Depot, and I'm told employment for anyone that "wants" a job (for my son, not me as a Greeter at Wal-Mart) am also pretty "sold" on buying a manufactured home as an investment for my son, who will likely be moving with me.. I will make it a point to get him up there prior to making the final decisions next year.

I now have a budget to shoot for, and target dates to make. I plan to be ready to pull the trigger by June of next year to nail down the site and order the home. Unless something goes totally wrong between now and then (including the Nov/Dec visit), I'm all go for Elko in 2023!

Thanks for following along, pictures of the Juiced bike in the other thread.

 

Are you considering existing manufactured homes as those set up up costs are huge when compared to the cost of the home itself?

Also, I believe NV is one of the states that is tax free for 401k withdrawals ...