From: russe@alyeska.EBay.Sun.COM (Russell Engle)
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
Subject: Re: New Service: SFO<->RNO $35 each way (no advance)
Date: 24 Nov 92 00:15:48 GMT
Reply-To: russe@alyeska.EBay.Sun.COM
Followup-To: rec.gambling
Distribution: ba
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: alyeska.ebay.sun.com

In article 22549@odin.corp.sgi.com, stantz@sierra.corp.sgi.com (Mark Stantz) writes:
>
>	To inaugurate their new service between SFO and RNO, Reno Air is 
>offering $35 no-advance one-way tickets ($45 no-advance 1st class).  This
>price should be available until mid-January, at which time the no-advance
>rate will jump to $60 I think.  
>
>	Check out Reno Air.  Looks like they're going to be pricing along
>the lines of Southwest, but not trying too hard to compete with them in the 
>exact same markets.
>
>	-Mark

My wife, Michelle Chiou, and I just returned from a weekend trip on Reno Air
to the Peppermill Fall Poker Tournament.  We were very pleased with
our flights.  They have 5 MD-80 jet aircraft that are all less than one year
old.  If we knew that first class was only a $20 RT premium, we would have
definitely flown that way (huge comfortable leather seats).  The coach
class seating is 3 seats, aisle, 2 seats.

The only caveat is the slow ticketing process.  They don't have any
computerized ticket printers yet at SFO or Reno, and their ticketing agent
miswrote our return date.  We have flown American, America West and Southwest
in the past to Reno and Las Vegas, but I would recommend Reno Air over them
for price and quality of flights and aircraft.  I believe they have five
flights per day between SFO and Reno's Cannon-International.

As for the tournament, we only got a chance to play in the $300 and $200+$200
re-buy Hold'ems on Sat. and Sunday.  On Sunday, Michelle got down to the last
three tables before she was knocked-out.  On Friday, two local Garden City
players took 1st and 2nd in the No-Limit Hold'em event.  Steve Tang won it,
but I don't remember the other fellow's name.  Steve also won another
tournament earlier in the week!  (Steve works as an Asian games host at GC
and plays in the same $30-$60 and $60-$120 Hold'em games Michelle plays in.)

The side action was excellent!  Much better than at Vegas tournaments, IMHO.
On Saturday afternoon, I won $400 in a $10-20 Hold'em in an hour.
On Sunday afternoon, I won $320 in a $6-12 game in a couple of hours.
Michelle won over a thousand each time in two sessions of $20-40, plus she
won a $420 satellite for Sunday's tournament.  This more than covered our total
tournament entry fees ($1,480 for both of us) and trip expenses ($270).

In case anyone is planning a trip to the Peppermill from now until March, 1993,
I would recommend you call them to obtain a "Return Rate" coupon that
gives you a $34 room rate in the tower.  This week, the coupon is good
for a $24 room rate.  Just tell them you stayed there and they forgot
to give you one.  Otherwise, the casino rate you get through the poker room
is $45 per night.  The poker room also gives a $1 per hour played food
credit after you ask them to "track" your time.

Good luck!
---------

Russ Engle				Phone:	(510) 226-1100
Open Systems Consulting Group		Fax:	(510) 226-9290
PO Box 14860				Email:	osg!russ@Sun.COM
Fremont, CA  94539-1860

(All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone, and I am *not*
 an employee of Sun Microsystems, Inc. [just a contractor])