Weekend at Harrah's Lake Tahoe

Weekend at Tahoe

Last weekend my wife and I flew from Silicon Valley to Reno Friday night then caught the casino limo to Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. We were put in a non-suite, but we were fine with that since it was only the two of us. After check-in we ate seafood at the Friday’s Station restaurant in the top floor of Harrah’s.

I don’t want to give a blow by blow description but the reason I took this trip now was to cash in free play totaling $2,300 for my wife and I. $1,000 of that was from the 120,000 in Rewards Credits I was issued for paying my own way to Vegas a few weeks ago on a solo Seven Stars annual retreat trip – which I only received after that trip. We largely converted the free play into the equivalent $.

I had several occasions to drawing four to a royal. One time I was playing $5 JOB 9/6 and you can see the result. I also had a triple play four to royal with the associated frustrating results below. I still never have never hit a royal for more than $1 denominations in my whole life.

That said, I did have couple of good draws. I had an inside straight flush draw and caught the Seven of clubs. I also had three fours on an 8/5 Bonus poker game and converted TWO into premium quads while playing at $2.

On Saturday afternoon, I had a 50 minute massage at the Harrah’s spa. I had a 20% off with my Seven Stars card. Later that evening, we attended the “Cooking with (Santa) Klaus Holiday Dinner” at the second floor of Harrah’s. There was about 400 people, open bar and four course meal featuring both filet mignon and salmon. The head cook from Austria – Klaus – who sounded a LOT like Arnold Schwarzenegger, gave a cooking demonstration on each course. There was also some drawings of five $500 Southwest gift cards, five $500 in free play, five $1000 in SW gift cards, $1000 in free play with ONE gift of a cruise or $5000 in free play. But no dice for us. 21 prizes spread over hundreds of guests were not great odds. Dinner and the people at our table, however, were enjoyable.


At Harrah’s and Harvey’s there are a bunch of steakhouse options but somewhat limited choices for regular restaurants which take Reward Credits or can be charged to the room. My choice is usually either the coffee show at the basement of Harrah’s or Straw Hat Pizza in Harvey’s. Straw Hat has good breakfast options and serves a choice of sandwiches along with pizza. I found this sign which confirms that:

Of some note is that NONE of the craps tables at both Harrah’s and Harvey’s have Fire Bets anymore. I was told that the change to the All, Tall and Small occurred only two weeks ago. It has the diluted 1-30, 1-150 and 1-30 payouts and not the traditional, beefier payouts I had seen at Harrah’s Reno. Oddly, when one (or all) the bonus bets are hit, your initial bet can automatically keep riding for another sequence. You are offered an opportunity to take the bet down, but the casino does not take the initial bet until a seven is rolled. Moreover, should either the “small” or “tall” numbers all be hit (on the way to the All), the dealers ask if you would like to continue, take down, or augment that bet and a red lammer is placed in that box stating “All Small/Tall previously hit.” I liked betting $5 in each of the bonus bet boxes.

On one table at Harvey’s there was hot shooter who wacked all the “small” numbers and an impressive series of point numbers. This converted my initial $500 buy-in into $1000. After the shooter rolled a “seven out,” most players cashed out. I stayed to see if the table was still warm and I am glad I did. For the next four shooters I made modest net wins each time and finally cashed out when a modest loss allowed me to walk with a total of $1,500 plus. Here is a photo of my chips after that session. By the way, I asked the cashier at Harvey's if they were giving away used decks of cards and she gave me two decks -- also in the photo.

The following day, I bought in only $200 at Harrah’s and put out my customary $5 in each of the bonus craps boxes. Luckily for me there was a hot shooter who knocked down the Tall with a “10” then proceeded to only have the “2” left to win the All. The shooter had $25 in the three bonus bet boxes. About 5 other players, including myself, were in the bonus bets as well. After a while all of us were chanting “Aces”, “Aces”, “Aces” …

It is funny how a rolling a single missing number overcomes one’s interest in even winning a passline bet! Eventually, Ace-Ace popped out and a cheer rang out from our table. After we got paid, the dealer joked: “Well that was fun – but I guess we need to get back to our craps game – and hope for a fever to win the passline.” He was right, for a time I was fairly indifferent to any outcome in hoping for snake eyes.

After losing a little, I cashed out about $1,100 (original buy-in of $200) and took this photo on the way to the casino cage. As you can see, without the All, Tall, Small hit, there would not have been a profit.

There were some service challenges that weekend. On Saturday night I was walking to Harvey’s through the underground tunnel between Harrah’s and Harvey’s when the lights went off. There was a power outage which I was later told was caused by wind knocking trees into power lines. It cause about 2/3 of all slot/video poker machines being knocked out at Harvey’s and about 1/3 of those machines going off line at Harrah’s. It also caused some dimming of lights in both casinos. Some people stayed at their machines waiting/hoping power will be restored. I don’t know what was done when machines had money in them when they went down and did not soon revive.

There was power in our room that night but early on Sunday morning, there was neither power in our room nor was there running water. The elevators were working so I walked to Harvey’s exercise area and took a shower/shave/tooth brushing at the locker there. When I got back to the room at 9:30 AM, power was restored to the room so my wife had no logistical problems.

We picked up food and drinks at the Starbucks, made sure all the room charges were comped, then headed back to Reno airport in the limo. It was an enjoyable trip.

Always enjoy your trip reports, FAB.

Glad to see it seems like you did fairly well despite missing those $5 royals. I also have never hit a royal that high... in fact my six lifetime royals (all on one trip) were at 50c machines, though they were Double Super Times Pay, and I did have a 2x multiplier on one, so I got $4000 (equivalent to a $1 royal) one time. But that was my best lifetime VP payout. Won $11k that trip overall so I can't complain, even though I missed a 1-in-9.6-million hit for $200k by a single queen of a different suit.

But back to your trip, I have a few comments...

First off, it seems that Harrah's Lake Tahoe might be dogged by power failures.

There was one when I had my 10-night stay in January, due to the heavy snow that night. The power failure lasted well over 12 hours. It was inconsistent. Sometimes the lights would be on and everything would work great. Other times they would be off, and EVERYTHING would be dead -- the lights, the water, the heater, etc.

I remember getting cold in the room (it was under 10 degrees outside), and was a hair away from going down and demanding a room change, despite being in bed and not feeling like getting up. Then the power came back on and it warmed up again... only to have it fail again several times as I was sleeping, and it was dead when I awakened.

BTW, I noticed that the power failure only affected part of the building. A walk down the hallway showed where the power worked just fine -- part of the hallway was dark, and part was light!

I also missed getting stuck in the elevator by about one minute, as apparently that was also affected. I took the stairs.

The power failure did do me one favor. You might remember my saga of how they would only give me 8 nights of comp rooms, when I needed 10. I was stuck in town and could not leave, and was very angry about this. Anyway, I won't get into details out here, but the power failure indirectly led to me getting those 2 comp nights I needed. Silver lining, I guess.

Interesting sign in front of Straw Hat regarding the 1:1 RCs and the information that they accept them. That sign did NOT exist when I was there in January. Did you see the sign at all restaurants accepting RCs? I ask this because of my dreadful story about Cabo Wabo and the manager who created a huge confrontation over the RC question. After I reported this, the Food and Beverage manager was furious that this all occurred (furious at the manager, not me). The F&B manager knew that I was 100% telling the truth because he investigated the situation and everyone basically admitted that my accounts were correct. He told me that "changes" were coming to where this would never occur again. I wonder if these signs were part of these changes! (I believe that assistant manager was also demoted over this, but that was just my feeling from talking to him -- he didn't tell me that outright.)

I never knew they gave out the free used playing cards. Do all CET properties do that?

I think there's a good chance those drawings were rigged. I've heard that casinos "legally" rig them by just giving a disproportionate number of entries to preferred players. So certain whales might get a million entries, and you'll just get one. Not surprised that you drew a blank.

I like the basement coffee shop. Food is reasonably good, it's cheap, and the employees/management tend to be nice for the most part. I just wish it had longer hours.

Would you have considered skiing if the snow was better?

Dan it's true that bigger players get more free entries to various drawings. Those free entries come with the event invitations.

I don't think that's unfair. The bigger players deserve more for their previous play.

During a visit on July 4, 2016, there was a power failure at Harvey's. There was only electricity at Harrah's. Boy was that casino wing crowded. So I do guess there is a history of power issues there.

The Straw Hat sign caught my eye since I have never seen one before. I did not look near Cabo Wabo as I was disappointed by the faux Mexican food I ate there and vowed to never return. When I did eat there a couple of years ago, I charged it to the room without any issues.

This trip I "washed" some free play in "play till you lose" chips at the blackjack tables in Harvey's. When I was there, the pit supervisor swapped out the cards. My wife asked if she could have the old cards and we were told all we had to do was go to the Harvey's cashier and we could get a couple of decks. We did so at the Seven Stars service part of the Harvey's cashier and got the decks there. I do not know if every cashier will hand them out to everyone. Like a lot of things, Seven Stars sometimes get special treatment.

While I have seen bigger players get more tickets (even virtual tickets) where there are drawings, I do not believe this was the case during the Holiday dinner. I checked in with my wife (even after some significant play) and we each got ONE white ticket with our name on it and was put in the actual clear plastic drum. the drum did look like in had about 300-400 tickets so pretty close to the same amount of participants. BTW, there was only ONE player whose name was called but was not present so she did not win her prize and an alternate name was picked. The only oddity to me was that three of the 21 names were at one of the 30 tables -- including one winner who appeared to be a close friend of the VIP Ceasars regional President who had a loooong visit with her after she won. Do I think it was rigged? Probably not, but the optics weren't great. Not one of the people in my table won any prizes.

Hi Alan:

I was thinking of you at the craps table. They got rid of the Fire Bets and I won the ALL. Without that hit, I would not have won that session. I have a habit of pressing when I start winning and so leave too much money on the table when it Sevens Out. But if the bonus bets come thorough, a profit is guaranteed for that session

FAB

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Originally Posted by FABismonte

Hi Alan:

I was thinking of you at the craps table. They got rid of the Fire Bets and I won the ALL. Without that hit, I would not have won that session. I have a habit of pressing when I start winning and so leave too much money on the table when it Sevens Out. But if the bonus bets come thorough, a profit is guaranteed for that session

FAB

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The Bonus bet is the only way you have a chance to win at craps.

FAB, I realize you were just washing freeplay, but still... why were you making those terrible bonus bets? I presume for fun?

Here is my analysis from July, showing that they have an 18-20%+ house edge, which I'm pretty sure you already know (since you tend to be a sharp guy and know these things): https://vegascasinotalk.com/forum/sh...ll=1#post49216

Alan, please don't tell me you are still placing these bets after the degradation.

Dan, absolutely I still play the Bonus bets. In fact, sometimes I play only the passline with the Bonus Bets.

For example: $15 pass, $5 on each of the Small, Tall, All, plus a $3 any craps on the come-out roll.

This keeps me in the game and allows me to score the big win. I do $15 on the passline to cover the ATS bets in case a 7 is rolled on the comeout, and the $3 craps protects my passline if a 2, 3, 12 are rolled on the come out.

Total expense is $33 and the potential win is about $1,000.

Hi Dan:

Thanks for the caution about the bonus bets (particularly the recent diluted payouts). I was aware of that, but frankly I gamble for recreation and as a break from the sometimes pressure cooker stress at my day job. Additionally, I only toss in a relatively small percentage of my craps action on the bonus bets, and unlike many bets (e.g. the Field, or pass line) there is not often a resolution on these bonus bets that would compound the casino vig. The plus side is that when the Bonus bets pay off, they pay off handsomely and trigger in me a desire to leave the table a winner. Oddly enough while I may be tilting against the odds, I believe I am substantially ahead at the Bonus bets for my lifetime. I cannot say the same as to Video Poker.

Merry Christmas to you and all on the Board!

FAB

That's fine, FAB. I don't begrudge the recreational gambler who understands that he is making big -EV bets, but enjoys it anyway.

When you say "compound the casino vig", are you referring to the fact that you keep betting the pass line over and over, whereas the bonus bets either win big or lose outright? Interesting way of looking at it. I've never really thought of it that way.

Obviously the variance on bonus bets is much higher, so if you get lucky, you can be ahead for awhile before the variance catches up.

Glad you enjoyed the trip!

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

When you say "compound the casino vig", are you referring to the fact that you keep betting the pass line over and over, whereas the bonus bets either win big or lose outright? Interesting way of looking at it. I've never really thought of it that way.

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Hi Dan:

You've got it. The casino vig will erode your bankroll in a negative expectation game as each decision occurs. If one can reduce the frequency of decisions your bankroll will last longer in time even if the percentage return is worse. By way of example, compare bankroll effects of video slots (negative vig with frequent decisions) vs regular keno (worse vig with a decision every 15 minutes or so).

FAB

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

Alan, please don't tell me you are still placing these bets after the degradation.

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"Some guy is playing blackjack and just busted out, lost the last bit of his buy in. He tells the dealer he can't believe how rigged the game is and how the dealer tries to beat the player. In disgust, he gets up from the table and says, 'I'm going to go play a better game where I actually have a chance to win: Roulette!'"

The moral to the story is people are stupid and will rationalize an awful bet as being good for no reason other than faulty logic and poor understanding.

Nice review! I'm actually going to Tahoe next Fri the 5th for a ski trip. I know the snow isn't supposed to be that great, but the timing worked out for our group. Going with 3-4, booked at Harrah's. Wanted 2 queens non smoking and vip host said rooms are decided day of check in not necessarily based on status. Current reservation shows value room although she said most like I will end up in a suite. Although I have Founder's card, I earn diamond every year through tier credits gambling, go to Vegas every month or two. Thinking about checking out the spa since I'll be skiing 4 days. Any other tips you might have? I've never been to Tahoe before.

Hi Brad

Welcome to the Board. When you checkin have your Diamond card coded so you can enter the Harrahs Diamond lounge during open hours. There is a very nice coffee/hot chocolate dispensing machine there too. Unfortunately no view. In the afternoon go to the Harvey side (take tunnel from Harrahs) and from the casino level, use the Gold elevator to the Harvey Diamond lounge. Wonderful view there. You will have to pick up Phone to call the elevator operator.

Best view from any buffet Anywhere is the 18th floor of Harrahs

Tahoe is a slice of heaven.

FAB

Thanks. Name is actually Ryan. Was born in Hawaii so "braddah" is kind of a local name to call somebody. I'm assuming Diamond lounges require the 10k reward credits if you're under 25k tier at Tahoe as they will be for Vegas? Or is that not confirmed yet for non Vegas CET properties? I guess I'll find out next week. Do they limit guests as well? Not always sure with these smaller casinos.

Hi Ryan

I had worked in Hawaii but did not associate your handle with the “Brahs” there. Not sure how 2018 procedures will work, but the Harrahs Diamond lounge has no attendants at the door. Hence your coded Diamond card. So I don’t see a mechanism to limit guests there (within reason). Harvey does have a elevator operator to get to that lounge so that may be different.

BTW, great late night breakfast $5 at Highland bar near Harrahs buffet. But closes at 6:00am maybe a little sooner than that.

Finally all Harrahs Tahoe rooms have 2 full bathrooms (go figure). Something to consider if they offer to switch you to the Harvey’s side.

Yeah I had a Harvey's res then swapped to Harrah's for the bathroom reason. Our group is generally a pretty active late night, but usually we're down by midnight if we're on a ski trip. We definitely can eat though! Did you have a pref on lounges?

Howzit Ryan!

The late night food at the Highland bar starts at 11:00 pm.

Harvey’s bar is by far the better Diamond lounge. View of Lake Tahoe is spectacular there. Hours are limited. No view at Harrahs, Lots of TVs though if watching football is important to you

FAB

Ever go jump in the lake?

We did, while staying at the Hyatt at Incline Village on the northern end of the lake.

People said it would be ice cold but it wasn't bad at all.

Sounds like fun. I'm sure there's a spot by us. We're on the south side of the lake.

Ha, I was there the same weekend. Was eating dinner at Friday's Station when the power went out. Took forever to get our food, and the steak was overcooked, manager offered nothing. Not my first underwhelming experience there; I think we'll stick to Sage Room from now on.

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Originally Posted by braddahman86

Sounds like fun. I'm sure there's a spot by us. We're on the south side of the lake.

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Well there is Lakeside beach which is walking distance from Harrah's and Harveys on the South Shore. I visited there with the kids during warm weather.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...alifornia.html

But if I were you, I would stick to the heated outdoor Jacuzzis and pools on the Harvey's side facing Lake Tahoe.

Please report how your trip went!

FAB

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Originally Posted by Guy Incognito

Ha, I was there the same weekend. Was eating dinner at Friday's Station when the power went out. Took forever to get our food, and the steak was overcooked, manager offered nothing. Not my first underwhelming experience there; I think we'll stick to Sage Room from now on.

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Hi Guy:

I am with you on the Sage Room. It is my favorite steakhouse and I love the flambe at tableside. My wife, however, prefers the view at Friday's Station so you know where we usually wind up dining!

FAB

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Originally Posted by braddahman86

Nice review! I'm actually going to Tahoe next Fri the 5th for a ski trip. I know the snow isn't supposed to be that great, but the timing worked out for our group. Going with 3-4, booked at Harrah's. Wanted 2 queens non smoking and vip host said rooms are decided day of check in not necessarily based on status. Current reservation shows value room although she said most like I will end up in a suite. Although I have Founder's card, I earn diamond every year through tier credits gambling, go to Vegas every month or two. Thinking about checking out the spa since I'll be skiing 4 days. Any other tips you might have? I've never been to Tahoe before.

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Hopefully you'll read this before you get there, because I see your reservation is later today.

I also had a "assigned at check-in time" situation with my room in summer 2016, and when I called the front desk while driving there (about 2 hours away), they told me there was no chance I would get a suite.

As a last shot, when I checked in on-property, I pretended I had never called, and calmly stated, "I'm a Seven Stars member, and I was wondering if you could do a suite upgrade for me."

The nice woman at the desk went to the back, came out a few minutes later, and said, "Yes, we were able to get a suite for you."

So I suggest you just ask when you show up if they can upgrade you to a suite (unless they already have you in one), and mention that you're a Diamond.

Sadly, the snow has been very bad in the Sierras this year, and Tahoe is reporting a very poor 19-inch base. They just recently opened the California side, which does make it easier for you, as you can use the Gondola which is walking distance from Harrah's.

I don't know... you may not want to bother. 19 inches is really crappy, and you'll probably be running into all kinds of rocks, sticks, and other obstacles.

Last year I went in mid-late January, and I had the opposite problem -- too much snow! It had just snowed heavily before I got there, and then there was like a 2-day break, one of which I used to drive there. I skied the next day and it was beautiful.

Then a cold, blizzard-like storm came in, and just dumped mounds of snow every day. The mountain was open in limited fashion on some days, but I didn't bother.

I was literally trapped in Tahoe for 10 days. The roads in and out were closed, and then only opened if you had both chains and snow tires (which I didn't). My car sat in the garage for over a week without budging. I ate most days within Harrah's, but sometimes walked to other places nearby for a change.

Finally it cleared up on my second-to-last day there, and I skied. It was not snowing and not windy, but it was COLD. Like 15 degrees the whole day. I was bundled up, but by the end of the day, I was shivering, and it took me awhile to warm up once back in the room. Never been that cold while skiing on a non-snowy, non-windy day.

I drove home the next day, but couldn't go down 395 because much of it was closed, so I had to go the long way through Sacramento. Then I forgot my skis, which I noticed when 30 miles away, so that added another 60 round trip. By the time I got home, I had driven 560 miles that day, a personal single-day record.

Highlander Bar does have a fairly good, CHEAP breakfast (and other late night food) after 11pm. Bartender is named Mike (I think) and is a very nice guy. The cook used to cut out 30 minutes early to get to another job, but I think that stopped after I complained about it, so it's probably really open til 6 now. You can play video poker up there, but keep in mind that you'll be bothered by lots of obnoxious drunks, especially on weeknights.

The restaurant in the basement (American Cafe) is surprisingly good and cheap. I believe they also have a Seven Stars discount. They do have crappy hours, and are closed after like 2pm on weekdays.

Thanks for the tips! I'll definitely see what I can do. My birthday was 2 days ago, so I'll prob be pulling that card at the desk too.

Hi Ryan:

Were you at Lake Tahoe when the snow arrived?