Celebrating 45th birthday,so a walk or something would probably be in order given my exponentially growing paunch...

Correct; only straddle is UTG and they allow anywhere from $6 to $300, which I've actually seen done. Bummer I woke up with 83o though.

If you're really looking for 1/2nl, that's offered at the Peppermill instead of 2/3nl.
-Harveys: 2/3nl, 3/5nl, and the occasional 6/12 Omaha.
-Peppermill: 1/2nl, 3/5nl, 5/10nl, and a variety of limit games.

Given the breathtaking surroundings and outdoor options, I'd stay in Tahoe and if you want to check out the Peppermill for a day, it's only a 50 min drive.

GL

Graton generally has three 2/5 tables running at peak on week nights. Up to five with a waiting list Fri-Sun.

I'm considering coming to Reno for a week but wanted to know if it's worth it. I plan on playing poker at several different casinos.

Is there enough 24 hour action? PokerAtlas shows roughly 17 active poker rooms between Reno/Carson City/Lake Tahoe, but do all of them have weekday games?

How many rooms are in the Sacramento area?

Any cheap car rental/hotel recommendations?

Thanks for all the help

The Sierra is cheap and the poker room had some of the worst players I had ever seen.

Stick to the Reno games, Sacramento is a 2+hr drive.
Downtown, play is only going at Eldorado. Call the room for a poker rate, otherwise it may be the best bang for your lodging dollar. There will likely be an overnight 1/2 NL game.
Peppermill is the best, biggest and most active room. Down the road 1/2 mile, Atlantis has a beautiful room, but a lot less active. I would also check with either poker room about a players rate. There will be 24hr action almost always at Peppermill.
I do not go to Grand Sierra much. Its isolated and my past exp there keeps me away. You may find it to your liking. I hear its been cleaned up a lot.

Lake Tahoe: Harvey...only Harveys. 2/3 NL or some 3-6. Game can get pretty big on wk/ends. Occasional MTT across the street at MontBleu, but not much else.

I have never played in CCity, and don't hear much about it.

Thanks for all that info, ill call for a poker rate right now. Are there not many rooms in Sacramento? Why do you think its not worth it?

Atlantis will def. offer a players rate and you only need to log in 5 hours to receive it. Peppermill is notorious for not giving a crap about its players. They try to secure large conferences, conventions, etc., and don't discount rooms unless you play 30+ hours/month.

I have heard the opposite about Peppermill. I know they offer comped rooms for people playing 20/40 limit or 5/10 NL, and I have heard you may be able to get them for smaller games too.

Yes, Peppermill will comp rooms if you're playing the highest stakes: 20/40, 5/10nl. Those games only run on the weekend though. On the flipside, the Room Manager himself told me that the hotel doesn't comp. for players at any other stakes. He's actually advised me multiple times to head over to Atlantis

Misread my post.....Sacramento is a 2+ hour drive- OK, if you want to come and stay and play, thats one thing. But driving four hours to sac + back isn't worth it from Reno.
ThunderValley obvious biggest and most tables going on weekend.
Capitol Casino intown has 10 cash game tables, gets close to selling out most afternoons.
Smaller places around- Lucky Derby, Royale, Limelight, wil;l usually have a game, but you will have no table selection.

I've got nearly everything booked up, but have one more question. I now plan on staying in Reno area for a few days before driving to Vegas - Having a different pick up/drop off locations for the car rental is adding a pretty big charge - Are there any buses that are pretty cheap going from Reno to Vegas or am I better flying?

fly SW for about 140.00 one-way. American and Delta come up cheaper, but before bag fees- like 120.00ish

Wanted to bump this up, planning a biz trip there in mid July. Plan is to stay downtown to keep the hotel price down (Can't believe Peppermill charges over 100 per night during the week).
Besides driving to pepermill, do any of the downtown rooms rock during the week? Seems only pepermill is on bravo poker so I can't get a read (haha) on the other action.
thanks,

You may be able to get a poker rate or even a comped room if playing poker at Peppermill; I would suggest reading the Peppermill thread here and then calling them.

ElDorado. Smallish, but busy room with no electronics, no card shufflers- real old school with paper lists, a front desk that will greet you and get you on that list. 1-5 Stud during daylight hours, a 10am MTT with a 930am signup, 3-6 game pretty regular and 1-2 NL that will start to get really going mid-afternoon. Good games at NL most evenings. Xlent food choices throughout property, best buffet downtown, great place to eat called Roxy. Family-run, the GM here is a big food guy, classically tried chef. Attached to Silver Legacy on second floor, which has a VG 24hr place and a great steakhouse.

Everybody else in downtown Reno has basically punted on their poker rooms.
Harrahs- closed. Circus- closed. SandsRegency- ugh, allows smoking and has limit only. CalNeva- wipe your feet on the way out. My wife literally stuck to her chair one day playing slots here, and that was enough for me to be cured of the place for a lifetime.

You will like the Peppermill Poker room- IMO the best in No.Nevada. My bestofbothworlds reco is to sleep and dine @Eldo and play both ElDo and Pepp.

I am going to be in South Tahoe on July 4th week and I am staying about 10 minutes from Harvey's. I've read the thread, but was wondering what kind of action there might be at Harvey's during the week of july 4th. Any chance there is 5/10? Thanks for the info in advance.

I have only been to Harvey's a couple times outside of the WSOPC event, but I love Tahoe and check the Bravo app to see what games are running almost every day.

I have never seen 5/10 there EVER outside of the WSOPC.

Great info Dave C., thanks. By the way saw that Cal neva is actually shut down for renovation now. Now thinking about staying at Nugget for the low rate and cabbing to poker on nights of drinky drinky. El Dorado on the radar now

Can anyone provide any advice on moving/living to the Reno/Tahoe area? I am looking for some info on the what the professional job market is like and suggestions on ideal places to live. Nearby casinos are great but the beautiful outdoors and proximity to skiing is what interests me the most. Thanks!

WSOPC and the Celebrity Golf Tournament are the only 2 weeks a year that would see 5/10. Needless to say, the CGT has insane implied odds!

I looked into this as well, and am still considering it. The answer is: it depends on your profession. For Tahoe, if you are doing basically anything outside of the ski/service/casino industry, you are out of luck. There are no 'professions' there in the normal sense, such as IT or manufacturing, etc. In Reno, there are a couple companies, but you'd have to check one of the online job search engines to see what's going on.

The only reason I am even considering it is that I am in IT and am getting to the point where I can do my job from anywhere with an internet connection.

Also, I totally understand why Reno gets lumped together with Tahoe in a geographical sense, but they are two wildly different scenes. Reno != 'beautiful outdoors'.

I doubt this helped, but I hope it helped

won a free trip to lake Tahoe in September, anyone know if I can play on one of the online sites there? ( UP, wsop )

Thanks!

You'd have to be in NV. Most of what people consider "Tahoe" is in California. If you're staying at one of the casino hotels, obviously it's in NV.

Thanks, it does help. It confirms what a few people had already told me. I am still thinking I am going to move there (Tahoe) for at least the winter and see how it goes.