It had been over a decade since I had last visited Reno, Nevada. So, I decided to take the drive and stay overnight before returning. The video below needed to have audio removed due to copyright issues. There wasnt much to hear except for the music that I was playing.
Over the last few years, trips to Nevada casinos and/or ski trips meant going to South Lake Tahoe. Previous years, during college and some years after, was the exact opposite and I wound up in Reno. The difference in drive times for compatible driving conditions was any where from 30 to 90+ minutes. The shorter distance of Highway 50 made it appealing but the 2 lane portions of it can really slow you down. Interstate 80 is a multi lane roadway the whole way.
From San Francisco to Reno is 80 all the way. South Lake Tahoe forks over to 50 at Sacramento. 80 is less scenic until you get into the foothills. I left around 10am. With a less than one quarter tank, I had to stop off for gas in Fairfield. Theres an Anheuser Busch brewery and the Jelly Belly Factory open for tours in Farfield.
After filling up, I got back on track. Past Vacaville is Davis, home to UC Davis. Sacramento is shortly past. Once you get to Auburn, you begin to hit the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The rest of the way is a drive through the mountains until you hit the flatlands of Reno. I arrived around 2:30pm
I did notice some differences in the city in comparison to what I remember. Some of the major hotel/casinos were still there while others had been renovated/changed. Overall it did look like a shell of its old self during its hey day. Granted it was Thursday and the pandemic is beginning to wane, but the sparse number of people on the streets day/night lead to that feeling. Because of Covid, the ubiquitous buffets were shuttered at all the casinos that I stopped into. Restaurants/cafes/eateries were still open to feed the visitors.
Reno has always played second fiddle to Las Vegas. The glitzier Vegas draws more people and more money. It has the funds and resources to reinvent/rejuvinate itself as many times as it needs to. The more local intimate feel of Reno begins to feel like a 70's kitchen clad in sea foam green.
There have been improvements. The Riverwalk along the Truckee River is very inviting. Later in another post, I describe my time there.
Gambling was once one of the big draws. But indian casinos now dot areas around the bay area and with much shorter drives, the need to stay and play was no longer as attractive. I walked to a number of casinos looking for a Pai Gow table. El Dorado had a nice $10 minimum table that I played at for a little while. Walked away $20 lighter in my pocket. Many of the other locations did not have many tables open if they had any open at all. There was a $15 table at Silver Legacy; I passed. To my chagrin, the $10 table was closed when I returned. After dinner and a cruise around downtown, I wanted to get my money back before going to bed. It was not meant to be.
The next morning, I was going to take a leisurely breakfast, play some hands of Pai Gow, have lunch, and head home. I condnsed it down to wake then drive home. On the drive in, west bound 80 had a back up miles long around Verdi. Not wanting to sit in traffic prompted the early egress.
