That offer at the Peppermill was irresistible ....$19 for the first night, with the second night free, so I finished up
my sprinkler project, worked on my lawn edging and headed for Reno for some well-earned R&R.
I drove up with dreams of a jacuzzi suite to soak my aching muscles, but it would have cost $100/night to upgrade, so I passed on that offer<g>. The standard Peppermill rooms are extremely nice, plush carpeting and wall coverings, table with comfy chairs, desk & chair, bathroom with lighted make-up mirror and plenty of room. There is also a
fully-stocked fridge in each room, with rather expensive choices, so I didn't even ask for the key<g>.
Mom settled in for a nap, and I explored the casino. Drat! They've removed the last two FPDW machines.
They still have plenty of quarter FPDB (mostly progressives), and I even found a bank of nickel FPDB. I also found quad 3s on one of those quarter DB machines, which allowed me to break even on my first gambling session, even after enjoying some of those wacky nickel video games<g>. Dinner was at the Peppermill buffet, $28 for two
seniors (just turned 55, give me my #$&! discount!) and was worth every penny. One of the nice things about this buffet is the salad station where they will mix up a salad to order ....two choices, and I opted for the shrimp salad instead of the chicken caesar. Mom opted for a nice slab of prime rib, and Daisy was delighted with two types of tasty, meaty ribs .....and desserts included black forest cake and cheesecake, so I didn't miss the pecan pie too
much<g>.
I couldn't get mom to try the nickel video slots, but I think I've created a nickel DW addict ....she sat at the same machine, playing one nickel at a time, having a ball and making money ...while Daisy played the max 10 coins and lost money<g>. I think I should have followed her example, because I just couldn't find a winner anywhere that
night! I also should have stayed up in the room when I walked her up, but instead I went bak downstairs and gave them the rest of my day one money.
We slept in late the next morning and decided to have breakfast at the new Siena Casino on our way downtown to meet my brother. The Siena is on the site of the old Holiday Casino, and it's quite an improvement. The old Holiday was just that ...old & dingy. The impression I got when we first walked in was bright, cheerful and spacious. The machines are not crowded together; and there was a good mix of video poker and slots. ...no FPDW, no full-pay nickels of any kind but lots of FPDB in quarters, 50-cent and dollar denominations. I sneaked upstairs where I found a nice maid that let me check out one of the rooms, and they've also done a nice job here. The room was larger than expected, king bed with a nice white comforter, armoire with a 19-inch TV, table & chairs, desk & chairs, and an adequate bathroom with hair-dryer and coffee pot. I'd definitely be comfortable staying here on a future trip.
We settled in for breakfast at the Contrada for a late breakfast, and that may have been a mistake<g>. Mom's eggs were fine, but she thought her bacon had been re-heated. As for Daisy, well, it's the first time I've ever sent a meal back<g>. I ordered the Eggs Benedict, served on good Italian bread with a parmesan alfredo sauce, but my
eggs came out just about hard-boiled. I smiled at Russell, our very nice waiter, and asked if hard-boiled was also the Italian style. He smiled back, said he was no cook, but he didn't think so! He told me he'd bring me some new poached eggs in about two minutes. Ten minutes later, he came back to apologize and said my meal was free.
Twenty minutes later, I got my poached eggs. Russell was far more upset than I was; I think he's had a few battles with the cook before<g>. He was more cheerful when he got a 25% tip of what the bill should have been, but even with my free meal, the bill (before tip) came to $17 for two coffees and one breakfast. True, we were eating breakfast late, but this is a 24-hour venue, and I think it should have been a much fresher meal. I will probably give the Contrada one more chance on a future trip, but they will have to get their act together or there won't be a third time. Aside from one unseen cook, the employees I talked with at the Siena were all outgoing,
friendly & cheerful, so I left with a good impression.
We met my brother briefly at the Fitz, long enough for me to find Fitz has 5-6 FPDB machines on the second floor by the keno lounge.
Finding them and getting them to pay are two entirely different things, so I wasn't sorry when we headed back to the Peppermill<g>. Mom took a nap, and I headed over to the Atlantis searching in vain
for FPDW. At this point, I think the Hilton is the only place in Reno that has FPDW, and I'm not even sure those
machines are still there.
Atlantis did have quarter 10/7 FPDB, with a progressive, but I had no luck on those
machines. I did double my money on a deuces machine that seemed to be a hybrid between Deuces Deluxe and Bonus Deuces, and I also hit quad 3s on a gimmick DB machine that reminded me of the Treasure Chest machines at Boyd's properties in Las Vegas. Altogether, I left the Atlantis ahead ...the ONLY time I left a casino in that fashion<g>.
We headed back downtown since bro was using his Lucky Bucks to buy dinner at Limerick's Pub at the Fitz. The Pub sorta reminds me of the Pullman Grill, a nice steakhouse with a casual atmosphere, but the service and attitude stunk! First, we showed up 6 pm at a restaurant that was 35% empty and were told we had to wait 20 minutes for
“first available” since we didn't have a reservation. There were actually more people in the restaurant when we
returned and got our table<g>. Our waiter was prompt in taking our order, but that's the last nice thing I have to say about him. Our salads showed up promptly, but it's the first time I've seen my mom NOT finish a salad since her salad was soaked in vinaigrette dressing, with what looked like a quarter-inch puddle in the bottom of the
plate. We waited about 20 minutes for our entrees and probably never would have gotten our beverages if bro hadn't flagged down a passing bus boy. In fact, that busboy was the only friendly employee in the place that
night. I made the mistake of ordering a Cobb Salad in a steak joint, so my salad was just OK, but the other entrees (Prime Rib and Filet) were excellent. The waiters service in getting the bill was exactly as good as the rest of his service<g>. Even so, I will eat here again ....that may seems strange, but my bro has had good meals and good service every other time, so I guess they just had a bad night. Next time, I will order a steak<g>.
My mom & I wandered out to Virginia Street after dinner; I wanted to buy a couple of USA t-shirts, decals, etc ...and I was surprised to find both of the shops across from Harrah's closed by 8:30 pm! So far, it had seemed there was a good crowd in the downtown area for a Monday night. I found everything I wanted in a store one block down toward the El Dorado, and we headed back to the Peppermill ....and I got another surprise... there was almost no traffic on Virginia Street at 9 p.m. If I wasn't wearing a watch, I would have sworn it was 3 am in the morning! Mom sensibly went to bed when we got back to the Peppermill; Daisy played for a couple of hours
with minimal damage.
Bro came out to meet us for breakfast at the Peppermill buffet on our last morning ...good as always. They have
blintzes and an omelette station ...what more could I ask? Well, their morning dessert were only donuts, muffins
and danish, but a smile and a “please” got me some cheesecake<g>. Mom & I played a little more nickel VP, but we were both ready to hit the road home.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I'd definitely like to stay at the Siena some time. It's close enough to walk downtown during the day and has enough variety of machines to keep me happy in the evening.
Reno is really turning in DB territory. It seems strange that most FPDW are gone, but I could find FPDB most places and usually there were FP progressives (highest I saw was $1350). I also want to brush up on Deuces Deluxe since the machines I saw at Atlantis should use the same basic strategy.
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