A Weekend To Remember

What can I say?  Every time I go to the Peppermill in Reno, it just gets better and better.  This trip, as I mentioned last week, was to go to the Stone Temple Pilots concert on Friday and then relax and enjoy the rest of what the Peppermill has to offer.  First, let's talk about the concert.

Mrs. P., Dick Tracy, Mrs. Tracy, and myself were the culprits of this trip.  We showed up, checked in, and found that our rooms were placed across the hallway from each other on the 10th floor.  Mrs. P. and I had a killer view of the pool from our room, so we set up the bar quickly in our room and had a few drinks.  Dick Tracy and I decided to go down to will call and pick up the tickets our casino host and friend set up for us.  We had reserved seats, with the option of going to the general admission floor, AND VIP passes!  We were not expecting those, but it meant that we had access to the open bar VIP room throughout the entire show.  So clutch and delicious.

After having some appetizers at Biscotti's, we went into the VIP room and got a few drinks.  Eventually, we made it to our seats and waited for STP to start the show.  It was funny that they were running a little late and didn't get on stage until 8:30 (show was scheduled for 8pm.)  There was a thought in the back of my mind that something was wrong, but all worries were unfounded when they walked out and went balls to the wall opening with "Crackerman."

Scott Weiland's voice sounded great.  The band was well rehearsed which was impressive since this was their first stop on the tour.  The rest of the set list went like this:

1. Crackerman
2. Wicked Garden
3. Vasoline
4. Heaven and Hotrods
5. Between The Lines
6. Hickory Dichotomy
7. Still Remains
8. Big Empty
9. Bi-Polar Bear
10. Silvergun Superman
11. Plush
12. Interstate Love Song
13. Big Bang Baby
14. Down
15. Sex Type Thing
Encore:
16. Dead And Bloated
17. Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart

(Set List courtesy of Setlist.fm though I don't think they have it exactly correct and I corrected it.)



The show was amazing.  Scott Weiland was charismatic and the band was on top of their game.  I was surprised that they didn't play "Creep" and "Sour Girl."  I was disappointed that they didn't play "Army Ants" or "Meatplow."  However, as a whole, the show blew me away and our group fully enjoyed it (even the girls who are not fans did agree that it was a well done concert.)

STP - 7/8/11

After the show, Dick Tracy and I headed to the Craps table (surprise, surprise) and rocked quite the fruitful session.  Even the girls eventually found their way down to the table and made some money.  There was an older Asian in the corner of the table that CRUSHED it on a roll.  I would guess we won 80% of our money on his roll and in the end, Dick Tracy and I were up over $400 each.  This was simply unbelievable based on how drunk we got.

"This weekend was brought to you by the letter 'M'"

 After grabbing a bite to eat, it was on to bed.  We were so drunk that sleep was pretty awful and I ended up puking up Maker's and nachos in the morning.  I was able to get back to sleep for a little bit before eating and then heading to the Spa.

There really is nothing quite like using the sauna, steam room, hot tub, cold tub, and all of the other amenities to sweat out all of the booze from a long night of heavy drinking and watching STP.  Dick Tracy joked about what the potential alcohol content of our sweat was.  I'm guessing 20 proof.

After some rejuvenation and a short and disappointing Craps session with some of the biggest assholes I've ever played the game with, it was off to Bimini Steakhouse for the nicest meal you can get at the Peppermill.

Dick Tracy generously treated us to the meal as a birthday present to me.   What a guy!  Bimini is a very upscale restaurant where a two-hour leisurely meal is expected.  The food was phenomenal.  We had Coconut Rum Battered Shrimp to start and I had the Filet as my main course.  Mrs. P. had a massive plate of crab legs and joked about this huge looking claw being from "Father Time Crab."  He apparently tasted delicious.

"Damn you Peppermill for catching me!"

Afterward, we made it back down to the Craps table for another disappointing session.  However, we were not losing all that much money, we just didn't like the people at the table so it wasn't worth sticking around.  Depressed, Dick Tracy and I headed back to the Terrace Lounge to play Video Poker.  This is where I won a $1000 progressive jackpot two weeks ago...

We sit down and within five hands, I get dealt a pair of Aces, hold them, hit the button and the next three cards come Ace, Ace, King.  BOOM.  $430 just like that.  Apparently the Terrace Lounge and I will continue to be friendly on future trips!  So ended night two.

In the morning, Dick Tracy and I got breakfast without the girls because they wanted to sleep in a bit longer.  Eventually, we made our way back to the rooms and checked out.  Our new tradition is for some afternoon Sunday gambling before leaving.  With our luggage stored in the car, we went to the Craps table.

The table was pretty full, so we walked around to the new Poker room and played some Video Poker at the bar.  No luck.  Upon heading back to the Craps table 20 minutes later, Dick Tracy stopped at some slots to play $20.  He hit a jackpot of $240.  BOOM.  Re-energized, we had to hit Craps immediately.

And this is the point where I had one of the best rolls of my life.  I hit a number of points (probably 4 passes) but with come bets I had an extra 5 or 6 of those (I think... I don't think I'm exaggerating, but hey- I wasn't keep exact track!)  In the end, Dick Tracy and I were again, up another $400+ each.

We found the girls at Roulette and played with them for a bit.  It was pretty casual, but we ended up doing alright.  On the way out, Mrs. Tracy had two $25 match play coupons.  Dick Tracy posted the $50 necessary to play two hands of blackjack (dealt at the same time.)  The first hand was a 19 and the second was a 12.  The 19 stayed, obviously, and the 12 hit to an 18.  The dealer showed a 7, and ended up busting.  Solid gambling this weekend!!!

In the end, it was a great trip- in fact, one of the best trips to the Peppermill ever.  The place really gets better and better every single time.

Peppermill, Poker, and Jackpots

What a birthday weekend trip!  It had its highs, it had its lows, and everything in between.  I'll try to recap this quickly while still giving a descriptive account of the magic that goes on at the Peppermill Reno.

First- code names for the members of our group involved in this trip:

- My wife = Mrs. Prime or Mrs. P
- My male friend = The Detective
- My female friend and wife of The Detective = Mrs. D
- Commenter Dread
- My female friend who came up on Saturday night = Flower32

Ok, now that we have the lame anonymous code names out of the way, let's get to business.  Mrs. P, Mrs. D, The Detective and I drove to Reno in my car and got there around 4pm.  We listened to a fucking awesome mix of 90s music that I personally made for the trip on the way up.  It was great.  I'm not sure the girls feel the same way, but whatever.  We were finally at the Peppermill and that was the important thing. 

Side note: Can the powers that be please put a ban on the song "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter from ever playing at any casino ever?  We parked in the parking structure and that goddamn song was playing right when we stepped out of the car.  Fuck that.  It makes me want to get back in the car and drive home.  I'm totally kidding, obviously, but it just feels like a bad omen.  I've tweeted this request to the Peppermill.  I hope they follow up with deleting this dumb song. 

We were able to get our rooms on the same floor just across the hall from one another.  Clutch.  Our room was immediately ready, so Mrs. D and the Detective came up to our room with us.  Upon entering, there was a custom spa robe hanging by the closet.  It took a second for me to realize that Mrs. P had set this up and it was a birthday gift for me!  So awesome!  The Peppermill's spa robes are second to none and I had gotten Mrs. P one for Christmas.  I kept talking about how I would buy one for me if I won some money (and as it turns out, they don't regularly have my size so Mrs. P worked with the spa director to get my size and have the robe placed in our room- what a great wife!) 

The Detective and Mrs. D had gifts for me as well.  A Chicago Bears beach towel and a bottle of Jack Daniels?!  Yes please!  Even Mrs. P's mom and step dad got in on the action with a box brought up by Mrs. P.  It contained $75 in Peppermill chips.  Excellent gift giving from everyone involved!!! Thank you all!

We drank a bit in the room- I had brought up a bottle of Gentleman Jack and a bottle of Single Barrel Jack (yes, quite classy- I know.)  The Detective and I got a nice buzz on before their room key was delivered to our room (it was being cleaned when we checked in.)  Then, it was off to the casino floor.  We picked up our free play at the member services desk, met up with Dread who had arrived and checked into his room.  If I'm not mistaken, we then went to the Craps table for an uneventful session of dice rolling (read as: we lost some money.) 

At 8:30 we met up with the ladies at Romanza for an Italian feast.  The Peppermill really has a great variety of food choices.  I went with the Tuscany Trio which included Chicken Parmesan, Lasagna, and Fettucini.  It was ridiculously delicious.  The server found out it was my birthday and she gave me a free birthday dessert and made a crown out of aluminum foil.  It was funny looking, but I attempted to get the group to call me "Your Grace" for the remainder of dinner.  I was unsuccessful.

After dinner, we went back to the Craps table because it is officially gambling heroin.  The game is great.  If you don't play, sack up and learn because it is the most fun table game in the casino.  Side note: don't play Blackjack unless you can count cards effectively.  If you can do that- don't get caught, either.  You really can't win when it comes to Blackjack.

After another unsuccessful session of Craps (still addicted, though) we went to play video poker and get drinks at the Terrace Lounge.  I was playing the Progressive Jackpot Double Double Poker game.  I had lost about $65 of my $100 before I was dealt three Aces and two 7's.  Now, normally one would just take the full house and win $22.50.  However, in Double Double there is an extra bonus for 4 Aces and that bonus gets even bigger if you have a 2, 3, or 4 as your kicker.  I asked Dread what to do and he said, "Take the full house."  Very sound advice.  I asked the Detective what to do, and he said, "We're here to gamble aren't we?  Go for the big pay out!"  I debated this for a few minutes, leaned back in my chair and eventually just hit the button to release the two 7's.  In their place came Ace, 2.  BOOM.  $1000 just like that.  Amazing stuff.  I've never gotten paid out like that on Video Poker before and it feels fucking fantastic. 

Saturday morning, I woke up earlier than everyone else (as I have a tendency to do) so I decided to go down and play some poker in the Peppermill's brand new poker room.  This place is unreal.  Brand new everything.  TV's, lounge area, drink station, food station, high stakes poker area, automated check in- it is just phenomenal.  They did such a great job with this place- I am beyond impressed. 

After playing a few hours with terrible cards, I hung in there and was down $30.  It was time for breakfast at the re-designed Cafe Milano.  As you can tell, the Peppermill has been upgrading and re-modeling an number of things inside and so far, everything they have done has been 1000% positive.  I thought it was great before and now it's even better! 

After brunch we played some afternoon Craps- this time, it was successful!  Up $200+ which made us all feel better.  I obviously won a big jackpot the night before, but it feels great to win and of course I want the rest of the group to win money back as well.  Everything was positive.  We were complimented by the dealers for knowing what we were doing and maximizing our bets (i.e. playing the game correctly.)  It is nice to be validated by dealers, though it's probably not necessary after seeing some of the morons that play the center of the table WAY too often.  Stupid suckers. 

Speaking of suckers, I placed some sports bets.  Betting on baseball sucks.  Don't do it.  I put money on the Tigers, Brewers, Cubs (it was against the fucking Royals!) and later put some money on the US Soccer team.  The Tigers and Brewers won easily to get some money back, but the Cubs wasted a great start by Big Z against some Royals pitcher with a 5+ ERA.  I should know better.  The US Soccer team got up 2-0 and blew the lead to lose 4-2.  What assholes!  Overall, though, the bets weren't big so I'm still up substantially for the weekend ($1000 goes a long way!)  

In the mid-day, we went over to the Spa because we had day passes.  This place is magical.  It pretty much cures any hangover you might have.  Sauna, Steam Room, hot tub, cold tub, TV with baseball on it in the lockroom by the hot tub, and the Caldarium is fantastic.  This will be a more regular occurrence on our trips up there.  I can't talk this up high enough. 

We went to Chi for dinner which is the Pmill's delectable Chinese restaurant.  We hit this place almost every time we go to the Peppermill.  The General Chicken is great!

After dinner, we headed to Craps again for the annihilation portion of the weekend.  This table was as cold as possible.  It went around the table and I don't think one shooter rolled a point on any roll.  It was awful.  We were still sickeningly full from dinner and now depressed from dice rolling.  We went back to the Terrace Lounge for Video Poker and drinks (a great way to clear our heads.)  VP was not successful for me, but I was still up for the weekend by a lot, so it was all good.  We eventually headed to bed and watched Chappelle's Show- probably the highlight of the evening to be honest.  Mrs. P, Mrs. D, and the recently arrived Flower32 were escorted by our friend and Director of Player Development (great title!) to Club EDGE for dancing.  It sounds like they had fun, but since we were separated, I don't know all the details.  It sounded like fun (for girls- us old guys don't care for the clubby environment anymore!)

In the morning, I went back and played poker, this time winning $25- then it was on to breakfast.  The Detective wanted to stay and play more instead of immediately check out and leave at 1pm.  I was on board (of course) and so was Dread.  It was back to Craps for one final try...

AND THIS WAS WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR!!!

This table was the exact opposite of the night before.  It wasn't a question of if each shooter was going to roll a point- it was HOW MANY POINTS they would roll.  Absolutely phenomenal.  The best roll was a female first time roller that absolutely crushed the table.  She rolled for probably 30 minutes or more and made at least 7 passes (that's not including all the Come Bets we had- we cleaned up on her roll.)  After a few hours, we walked away up $400+ each (obviously, we probably aren't up exactly the same amounts depending on various actions taken during the game by each player.)  It was a fantastic way to end the trip.  I had $1000 left and we felt like winners- which is quite important. 

As far as birthday weekends go, this was pretty great.  It makes turning 30 on Wednesday that much easier.  I can't wait to go back up... (I may just be going up for STP in two weeks... and by "may" I mean, I am going for sure!)  The Peppermill could be my favorite place in the world.  I don't think I'm exaggerating. 

Going, Going, Back, Back To Reno, Reno

Since my birthday is on Wednesday, I get to call my shot and bring the Mrs. and a few of our friends up to the Peppermill in Reno- quite possibly my favorite place on Earth.  Why do I love this place so?  Well, I'll tell with you with a few succinct points:

- It's a freaking casino!  Not like the pseudo-casinos of California Indian Gaming ilk.  It is a real Craps, real Sports Betting, fully loaded Nevada casino.

- The comps are fantastic!  I'm not sure how we got in to the "free room" club so quickly a few years ago, but boy do I love getting free rooms.  We've now also been able to build comp levels to sustain at least a free room and a free meal.  I have to be honest, I doubt Harrah's is hooking things up so quickly for our level of play.

- It's just been named a 4 star resort!  That's just a fun fact.

- It's a green energy resort!  This affects me zero, but it is another fun fact.  They are the only casino resort to use geothermal energy to power their resort.  They parlayed a multi-million dollar drilling project into efficient and green power.

- The dealers are friendly.  I can name a number of dealers who I personally love being around.  At Craps, Don, Phillip and Erik are pretty cool dudes.  At Poker, Anthony, Tyler, and pit boss Jeremy are always fun to joke with.  I'm glad I get to know respectable folks while gambling away my rent (kidding, of course.)

- GREAT Sports Book.  I've been at plenty of shitty sports books.  Harvey's in Tahoe comes to mind.  The Peppermill's Sports Book is comfortable and perfect for NFL Sundays.  It is highly recommended.

So Highway 80 awaits and we're ready to roll out.  I can't wait- if nothing else, I know we have Spa/Caldarium passes for Saturday to sweat out the top shelf booze we'll be drinking.  As Bart Scott would say- "CAN'T WAIT!"