Parking can be a bit rough downtown if
you park in the wrong areas. I
have found two options that have worked for me in the past. I have either parked close to
the Truckee river just south of the downtown area, or I have parked in one of the several
large above ground parking structures located in the downtown area.
One of the worlds largest bowling arenas is in Reno. It is located just east
(several blocks) of the downtown area. This arena is huge! Often there are
professional tournaments that are held in this building.
When there aren't professional tournaments
happening in the arena admission is FREE. There is a large grandstand that provides
excellent views of all the lanes. One other note, is that there is an excellent tourist
office open to the public, located on the first floor at the main entrance. I have found
the operators of this office to be extremely helpful. They provide FREE travel information
(brochures and pamphlets) and also give away FREE maps of Reno. If you are searching for a
particular restaurant or a specific type of cuisine (See the
Restaurant section below)
this office is a good place to ask for directions or names of restaurants.
When in Reno do as the tourists do, accept their way of life on the road and try your hand
at gambling. Pray, chant, plead, weep, do whatever you have to do to appease the god's of
the one armed bandits we call slot machines. There seem to be many different gods you
could pray to in Reno town, or in any other gambling town, but in reality they are all one
in the same. Whether it be slot machines, poker, keno, or blackjack, the odds are in the
houses favor. However, regardless of this, gambling can be an interesting experience. I
always enjoy watching tired people who have been playing the slots all day long (and
perhaps all night long as well), begin to talk to what they perceive as "their"
machines. Depending on their previous luck or lack thereof, they will be pleading, talking
sweetly, or just plain shouting obscenities at the machine. I have noticed that some
people even give their machines nicknames. For example, I saw one lady pleading with her
quarter machine, "please Johnny, just one more winner for the bucket and then I will
leave." Others become quite Bullworth in their approach to dealing with the machines.
This usually happens after they have lost a substantial amount of money.
One casino that I highly recommend visiting, even if you are not a gambler is the
Silver Legacy. This building can't be missed, it is the one with the large round ball, located at
407 North Virginia Street. Most likely you will walk in out of the bright sunshine and be
awestruck with the largeness of the place. In front of you will be a 120 foot tall piece
of mining equipment that will seem to be continually minting silver dollars. You will see
thousands upon thousands of coins dropping from the mint. If you look up at the ceiling
you will see stars and clouds. These are projections from particular light bulbs located
throughout the building. Adding the noise from the mint to the noise from the slot
machines, and you have a casino floor that seems to be noisier then most of the others.
Another casino worth visiting is
Circus Circus. This casino offers FREE viewings of circus
acts. And then there is
Harrahs Casino; the first Harrah's casino was founded in Reno in the
late 1930's as a small bingo parlor. Today they are one of the world's
largest gaming corporations.
The main street in Reno, Virginia street, is a mix of casinos, bright lights (especially
at night), and interesting dealers of "old western" memorabilia. This is also
the street that you see the sign "The Biggest Little City in the World" featured
in many gambling movies.
The
Reno Rodeo (www.renorodeo.com) is the third largest rodeo held in the United States. It is now a 2.5+
million dollar event. It was founded in 1919 and from a small event then, it has now grown
to having over 130,000 people attend in 1997. Excellent competitions can be witnessed in
bareback riding, roping, barrel racing, and steer wrestling. Before the actual rodeo a 60
mile cattle drive is open to the public. This drive reminiscent of the cattle drive in
"City Slickers", costs an individual a price of $1,170. There are up to 55
spaces available and these are reserved months and years ahead of time. Space goes rather
quickly. For spaces in future cattle drives please call PHONE NUMBER (775) 329-3877. A
$200 deposit is required for spaces starting in the 1999 cattle drive. Just imagine the
excellent feeling of accomplishment after driving the cattle 60 miles across the dusty
plains of the Nevada deserts, to the crowded streets of Reno, with thousands of people
cheering you on.
Other annual events worth mentioning are the
Hot August Nights, (www.hotaugustnights.net) which is a musical
celebration of the 1950's and 60's. This event is held every year in the first week in
August. The Reno Grand Prix races are held in late September. The
Nevada State Fair
(www.nvstatefair.com) is
held in mid August. The National Championship Air Races are held after the Labor Day
weekend. Lastly the
National Senior Pro Rodeo Finals are held in November.
