Reno Reno Reno!!!!

My friend Marie is one of the most generous people I know. And I love it when she invites me to go to Reno with her!

It's been over a year since she and I have been there together; she's been up there on a few occasions with other friends and family, and I've been up there twice in the last year for scrapbooking retreats. But, this past weekend, we had a girls trip - just the two of us!

I picked her up Saturday at 6:15 a.m. to start our 4-hour long road trip. Why so early? We can't wait to get there! And, we miss any traffic that may build up later in the morning/day. Of course, there were the usual "pit" stops: Starbuck's in Vallejo (about an hour from our start), Safeway in Dixon (gas is way cheap there and we got a 30 cent-per-gallon discount on the Safeway gas reward I earned) and then one last time at Donner Summit for a potty break. We managed to pull up and hand the car keys to the valet at 10:30 - not bad timing!


When we checked in, Marie's casino host upgraded us from a regular hotel room to a "spa suite" on one of the upper floors - a birthday gift to her (she celebrated on 6/18). Wow - what a great room!!!!! It was bigger than my whole house! Had a big ol' jacuzzi, a walk-in shower, HD TV, a couch/seating area and killer views of the valley. The only drawbacks we could find: 1 king sized bed for us to share, and the jacuzzi was in the middle of the room! We decided that we've known each other long enough that sleeping in the same bed wasn't a problem, and that we'd just make appointments with each other to use the jacuzzi.

I normally don't gamble much when I go, not because I don't like to, but because I need to control myself or I'll happily hand over my rent money to the Lucky Lemmings video slot. This trip, I was really really on a tight budget - those unemployment checks don't even come close to covering what I'd like to gamble. So, I cautiously budgeted my money so I could spend time in the casino throughout the weekend. And I brought 2 books, 2 videos, my computer and my workout clothes to go the gym to cover the time I wasn't in the casino.


Surprisingly, I met Lady Luck Saturday night after a yummy stroll through the buffet (can I just say that the Silver Legacy has one of the best buffets in Reno!). I was playing a triple poker machine for nickels, sitting next to Marie, when it dealt me 3 aces on the first hand. I held them all, and turned to Marie with my hands over my eyes saying "I just can't look 'cause I know it won't deal me another ace." I hit the deal button and much to my surprise, on the third hand, it dealt me the 4th ace AND the 3 wildcard - I actually hit a little jackpot! Woo-hoo - 100 smackeroos on a 75 cent bet! It was the biggest hand I had ever hit. Suddenly, I was on the winning side of the street. I squealed with delight as I cashed out that bad boy and told Marie "let's go play somewhere else!"


We moved to another part of the casino where Marie introduced me to another triple hand poker machine, but this one had a twist: it was called "Times X" poker, and would randomly deal a wild card in the first hand that would grant you a winning multiplier from 2 - 12 times your bet. So, if you got the 5X multiplier and hit 2 pair, instead of just 5 (nickels, dimes or quarters), you'd get 25 on each line that you win. Well, after playing on my $20 for a short time, I was down to about $1.50 in credit left to play. It dealt me a pair of aces and as I held them I jokingly said to Marie "hah! You think I could hit the 4 aces with the 3 kicker again?" We both laughed as I hit the deal button and I watched the cards come up on the 3 lines. I about passed out when the third hand hit 2 more aces AND THE 3 KICKER for another $100!!!!! I was screaming so much you would have sworn I hit a million dollars!! I danced around a little bit, acting like a crazed, drunk gambler, and then cashed out that little ticket. At that point, I told Marie I was taking my $200 winnings and going to the nice room on the 31st floor for the night. I was quitting while I was ahead - my mama didn't raise no dummy.


Sunday wasn't as profitable, and I took a field trip to the local scrapbook store (which was closed for Father's day!) and then to the craft store just to kill some time. We enjoyed a very nice meal at the steakhouse at the Silver Legacy (one of Marie's 'gifts' for her birthday from the Legacy) and gambled some more for the evening.


I did give some of my winnings back, but, for the first time in all these years I've been going to Reno, I didn't go to the atm to get more funds and I came home with more money in my wallet than I went up there with. Woo-hoo.


And my friend Marie? Well, my Granny always said that if you were generous, you'd be rewarded two-fold. Marie proved that was true this weekend. She hit several 'large' jackpots on her video poker machines, and her name was pulled in a casino drawing on Sunday afternoon and she won $250! I think Granny must have been looking down on her from Heaven and giving her a helping hand for being so generous with me over the weekend.


It was a great break for me to be away from the house and both of us had a blast!


Until Next Time,


Kel