The Biggest LIttle City

Reno: a retro mini-Las Vegas...or a rubby Las Vegas as Corey called it, ha ha :) Reno itself isn't all that impressive. Once you've been inside one casino, you've pretty much seen them all, in my opinion, anyway. No matter how much they try to glam it up, it's the same stuff: slots, blackjack, craps, etc. There are those who think certain slots pay out more than others (you know who you are :) but in reality the machines are all rigged the same way (in the casino's favor of course) but with different facades. So when we gamble, we know it's purely for entertainment and not for profit. We thus spent $100 on craps (got a couple of "free" beers that way :) and about $1 on slots—yes, they have penny slots at Reno! At one point we had actually doubled our money (to $2!) but then promptly lost those winnings. It was somewhat disappointing to find that the slots no longer drop coins out into the tray beneath the spinning tumblers. Now it's just a cheap soundtrack and all you get is a paper ticket with a bar code. Lame.

To be fair, however, Reno has more to offer than just casinos. It has its more outdoorsy attractions as well. When out walking about town, we came across the Truckee River. I don't know when this river really fills up, but it looks like it has potential for some kayaking/tubing. And in fact we saw a group of kayakers practicing their dunking skills, for lack of the proper term to describe the maneuver they were performing. Previously unbeknownst to me, Reno is also close to Lake Tahoe, which is surrounded by several fairly well known ski hills. More on that later...

Besides sports and gambling, we also found a decent western wear store that we cabbed it to one day. I wanted to replace my old Luccchese cowboy boots and I found a store that carried them. My old Lucchese boots (Classics model 3630) from Cavender's in College Station, now about 10 years old, fit like a glove, but I've since worn them out. I had another pair of Tony Lamas and Justins (if I remember correctly) that I bought locally. None of them seem to fit me as well as Lucchese. The store in Reno had a good selection and the (Lucchese 2000 model T3302) black cherry boots I wanted (and am now wearing, as in the pic) were on sale (priced down to about $119 from $269!). Corey found a pair of cool-looking Lucchese Charlie 1 Horse slip-on shoe boots for herself and I also picked up a pair of Durangos as a new pair of Harley riding boots. Armed with a 20% coupon from our hotel, the Silver Legacy, we ended up saving $100—about the same amount we dropped on craps, so I kinda figure we broke even!