Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Carson Valley Inn Opens June 4 - What to Expect



We Are Reopening Thursday, June 4!
Here's What to Expect
We have been meticulously preparing and training according to the strict sanitizing and distancing guidelines provided by the CDC and reinforced and required by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. All the procedures are in place to optimize the safety and protection of our employees and our guests. We are deeply thankful for the many, many expressions of support we have received from our customers and friends during the mandated shut down. We look forward to seeing you all again and ask for your patience as we all wade through the ‘adventure’ of the new way of doing things with social distancing, dining limitations, PPE, extra cleaning times (especially with hotel rooms) and a myriad of other new procedures that will certainly bring unexpected surprises.  What follows is a peek at what you can expect when we reopen this Thursday. We ask your understanding as we move forward in a manner that protects you and our staff while keeping us compliant with the Nevada Gaming Control Board requirements. 

In the Casino
The Casino will reopen at 12:01 AM on Thursday and then be open 24/7.  As with every other casino in Nevada, you will notice many changes. Slot availability is cut in half – every other slot chair has been removed.  There’s a limit of three seats (players) at table games. Social distancing will be required throughout the casino. Bars will be open to every other seat and congregating around them is not permitted.  Unfortunately, guests are not allowed to walk up to a bar and be served a drink. Our staff will happily deliver your favorite beverage to you.  The Race & Sports Book will be open. During this first phase of reopening, the craps table and the poker room will remain closed. Cabaret Lounge entertainment will resume as soon as possible but it has been suspended for the month of June.

Casino Promotions
You’ll still enjoy many casino promotions, all reformatted to distribute prizes and foster fun without building a crowd AND while adhering to social distancing. Here’s a summary of the June promotions.  Our staff can answer any questions:
  • Mondays:  Hot Seats every hour from 11 AM to 7 PM with prizes up to $1,000. We’ll draw the winner and deliver your prize as you continue playing!
  • Tuesdays: Point Multiplier Spin for those receiving our June mailer. Present your Mailer at Guest Services and we’ll spin the wheel to determine your point multiplier for all of your play the same day.
  • Wednesdays: Date Night from 5:30 to 8:30 PM with Bingo, Raffles and Hot Seats. We’ll deliver your cash and or FreePlay winnings one at a time!
  • Thursdays: 10X Drawing entries for the weekend Crowdless Drawings. Simply put: Your casino play garners you ten times the usual drawing entries!
  • Fridays: 5X Points for all of your slot play!
  • Fridays and Saturdays - Crowdless Giveaways: All month you are accumulating 1 free drawing entry for every point earned from your casino play (10X on Thursdays.) On Fridays and Saturdays from 6 – 8:15 PM we’ll draw one winner every 15 minutes and deliver your cash or FreePlay prize to you!
  • Sundays: Point Multiplier Spin for those receiving our June mailer. Present your Mailer at Guest Services and we’ll spin the wheel to determine your point multiplier for all of your play the same day. 
Katie’s
Katie’s will reopen at 6 AM on Thursday and the new Katie’s hours will be 6 AM to 10 PM Sunday through Thursday and 6 AM to midnight Friday and Saturday. Seating capacity is 50% of previous so please bear with us as we try to accommodate as many of you as possible. The counter will be open but subject to strict social distancing  At first, many of the daily specials will not be available. However we will try to phase some of them back in as our staff and our guests adjust to the new preparation procedures, between-guest sanitizing and seating capacity. Also, the menu has had some minor adjustments due to product availability and new preparation guidelines. The Katie's Bakery Counter will be open.

CV Steak
CV Steak will reopen at 4:30 PM on Thursday and be open from 4:30 PM seven days a week. To comply with distancing requirements, we can now only serve 50% of previous capacity. To help make this work, and to help us accommodate as many of you as possible, party sizes may be limited. The CV Steak menu has remained basically the same. We ask your understanding as we adjust to the new preparation and between-guest procedures and, most importantly regarding CV Steak: we strongly suggest advance reservations by calling 775-783-6650.

Hotel, Motor Lodge and RV Resort
The Hotel and RV Resort are open. For now, the Motor Lodge is open for Friday and Saturday night stays only. Reservations can be made through our website or by phone at 775-783-6629. RV reservations can only be made by phone at the same number.  We have implemented all of the new cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing procedures required to “turn” or prepare a room for a new guest. Please bear with us as our staff adjusts to these new procedures which are all in place to help protect you.

Amenities
The pool and sundeck will be open with social distancing required. The area with the two large spas and the workout room will remain closed. Limited Bell Service will be available but, very unfortunately; Valet Parking will not be available.  The Business Center will be accessible one person at a time and entry can only be gained by checking at the hotel desk.

Convention Center Functions
The Convention Center is open and we welcome bookings for meetings, banquets, weddings and other functions up to 50 (for now). Please call Carrie at 775-783-6673. We are required to provide social distancing at all functions – whether seated or standing. And, during this phase of the reopening, only plated meals are available. Buffet service is not yet permitted.

Wrapping It All Up
We want you to feel comfortable and safe when you return to the Carson Valley Inn. To that end we are properly prepared and will be adhering to all the requirements. As with all casinos, the Gaming Control Board will be monitoring our adherence.  Our employees will wear masks. we suggest you do also. We will have them available at Guest Services should you want one - same with gloves.  Hand sanitizing stations will be positioned throughout the property and we encourage you to use them. We also encourage you to wash your hands often while you are here. If we all pitch in, we can move forward safely together. Thanks again for your understanding as we move forward. WELCOME BACK!

Friday, May 8, 2020

Slots Flashback, Concert News, Reopening - Carson Valley Inn

How's This for a Flashback in Time!
Slots in the Mid-Late Eighties
Big carousels with people in the middle hawking change (see image below). Large bulky nicked-up cabinets with buckets locked in the bottom. Coin acceptors that tended to jam often. Mechanical handles that sometimes took a little extra elbow grease to pull. Spinning reels that occasionally didn't line up properly. Clanging of coins falling into the trays. Change buckets and dollar-token racks - sometimes stacked and often haphazardly scattered between and behind machines and on the floor. Moist towelettes to remove the silver-gray film on your hands from inserting coins for hours on end.  Torn paper coin wrappers and foil towelette wrappers littered seemingly everywhere. 
Remember those huge carousels staffed by someone hawking change!
And those monster change carts (pictured at top of article) that eventually lightened the load for the change people who previously donned belt-clip coin changers and change aprons with giant pockets full of rolled nickels and quarters. Remember those days? We do, and we're sure glad those are "things" of the past . . . along with the heavy lifting, many staff hours and large rooms of scales and mechanical coin counters and wrappers necessary to deal with those buckets of coin. We like today's set-up so much better and anxiously await our casino reopening and welcoming back all of our friends! 

So When Are We Gonna Open?
We sure wish we could give you an exact date but we won't know until the State of Nevada gives us the go-ahead. Same applies to Sharkey's, Bodines and SlotWorld. Meanwhile, we are taking the health and safety steps sent to us by the Nevada Gaming Control Board to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. We'll be ready!

Concert News

Charlie Daniels Band: We received word last week from the Charlie Daniels Band tour that they have postponed from late June of this year to 2021. All who purchased tickets for the 2020 concert have been information to the email address used during the ticket purchase process. If you purchased tickets, please check your email. The Charlie Daniels Band has rebooked their TJ's Corral concert for June of 2021 and we'll have more details when we get through the 2020 season.

Tanya Tucker: the West Coast stops on the 2020 Tanya Tucker tour have been postponed and we sent information to those who purchased tickets. As they say,  Stay Tuned!”

LOCASH, Clay Walker, Lee Brice, Trace Atkins: at this point, we're planning on these concerts proceeding. If anything changes, we will again send information to those who have purchased tickets and also provide information on this page.

Stay Safe, Be Well!

Monday, April 13, 2020

Lee Brice Returning to TJ's Corral, Remembering the CVI in 1984/85

Lee Brice Returning to TJ's Corral!

Last Wednesday we lead with Something to look forward to. Must have struck a pent-up audience 'cause the engagement to this blog and our various social media posts regarding the LOCASH and Clay Walker concert additions surpassed our expectations, So here's more good news today: Lee Brice is returning this August for his attempt at an entertainment hat-trick of sorts: a third sold-out concert in TJ’s Corral.

When Lee Brice isn't selling out arenas, writing and recording songs, or building new brands like American Born whiskey, you'll find the family man with his wife Sara, two young boys, and daughter. Meanwhile, with more than 1.9 billion on-demand streams, and three billion spins on Pandora, Brice continues to enjoy massive success at country radio, digital streaming services, and on the road. One of the most-played country artists of all time on Pandora, he is a member of the company's "Billionaires Club,” becoming only the second country artist behind Keith Urban to receive the Pandora Billionaire plaque. Lee is also a GRAMMY nominee and has received many other plaudits which you can read about on his concert listing on the Entertainment Page of our website

Tickets for the August Lee Brice concert will go on sale at 10 AM this Friday, April 17. Be sure to check out all the 2020 concerts announced so far on this page.
Clockwise from Upper Left: Lee Brice, LOCASH,
Trace Adkins, Charlie Daniels, Tanya Tucker, Clay Walker
Looking Back to 1984/Early 1985
While the Casino and Restaurants are under a statewide, governor's mandated shutdown thru April 30, we've been posting some fun info on our social media platforms. Here's one on the original Hotel Desk in case you missed it:
Our Original Hotel Desk in 1984
When the Carson Valley Inn opened in 1984, there were 155 slot machines, five table games, Katie’s restaurant (much smaller then) and 99 hotel rooms. Long-time Valley residents may remember the hotel desk was located on the casino floor, right inside the casino entrance. The popularity of the casino quickly dictated the need for more capacity. So, in March of 1985 the hotel desk was moved downstairs to make way for what would quickly became a 25% casino expansion. Now, during the mandated shut down of our Casino and Restaurants, the hotel desk remains operational as we serve essential travelers requiring overnight accommodations. Were you around then? Let us know. Be safe, be strong and we’ll see you all again soon!


Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Two New 2020 Concerts Announced for TJ's Corral


Clay Walker and LOCASH Concerts  Added


Something to look forward to. That’s what many of us want during these unprecedented and trying pandemic times. We’ve been sitting on a few concert announcements waiting for the time to be right but that’s how people miss out on life - waiting for the time to be right. So, we’re making a bold move today and unveiling two more TJ’s Corral concerts for July with the optimistic view and positive belief that “this too shall pass” and we’ll all be able to party again soon.

This brings our lineup to five concerts so far. If all goes as planned (a lot of moving targets these days) we'll announce another concert on Monday. Watch for a special blog and also check our social media pages. Tickets for these two new concerts will go on sale this Friday at 10 AM. Get more details and read about the artists on this page. Stay safe. Be well.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Carson Valley Inn - A Look Back and A Look Ahead

Our original Hotel Registration Desk
was on the casino floor back in 1985
Looking Back to 1985
When the Carson Valley Inn opened in 1984, there were 155 slot machines, five table games, Katie’s restaurant (much smaller then) and 99 hotel rooms. Long-time Valley residents may remember the hotel desk was located on the casino floor, right inside the casino entrance. The popularity of the casino quickly dictated the need for more capacity. So, in March of 1985 the hotel desk was moved downstairs to make way for what would quickly became a 25% casino expansion. Now, during the mandated shut down of our Casino and Restaurants, the hotel desk remains operational as we serve essential travelers requiring overnight accommodations. Were you around then? Let us know. 

Looking Ahead
We're looking forward to being able to open up again soon - the "when" remains an known at this point. Meanwhile we doing deep cleaning, updating software and systems and standing by for the Governor to say "go for it!" Be safe, be strong and we’ll see you all again soon!

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

A Sincere Thank You and an Important Blood Drive

A Very Sincere ThankYou!
We have been genuinely touched with the quantity and sincerity of the many messages of support and encouragement since the 30-day casino shutdown ordered by the governor of Nevada on March 17. Comments on our social media posts, private messages, posts on community forums, texts, phone calls and emails to individual employees have poured in - Wow! Your positive thoughts are so welcome during these trying times for our employees, yourselves and the whole world. Be safe, be strong and we’ll see you all again soon!

An Important Blood Drive Thursday in CVI West Lot
Vitalant will have their Bloodmobiles in the CVI west lot (near the large electronic sign) this Thursday, March 26 for blood donations between 10 AM and 4PM. Vitalant advises that in addition to their usual rigorous safety and disinfection protocols they are also limiting the number of people who can be on each Bloodmobile at one time. To schedule a time to donate this Thursday, click here.  A limited number of "walk-ins" will also be accommodated. When you arrive, register with the Vitalant rep outside and then wait outside or in your vehicle. For background information, here is a link to the Vitalant Public Response Statement.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Carson Valley Inn Casino and Restaurants Closed for 30 Days

Image Courtesy of Jan Vanderdermade, #whyCV, #VisitCV
We Woke Up to a Beautiful Morning
But Then . . . 
Good morning from the Carson Valley Inn. We were fortunate to wake up to this beautiful scene on Tuesday morning. Thankfully, this picturesque view from Jake’s Pond, just a short walk from the Carson Valley Inn, was captured early in the morning by Jan Vandermade, Executive Director of the Carson Valley Visitors Authority.  As is inevitably the case following every spring snow, everything on the Valley floor was melted by 3 PM the same day. And three hours later on the evening of March 17, 2020 the real meltdown occurred when Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak directed all non-essential business in Nevada, including casinos, to close for 30 days. So there you have it. Our casino and all restaurants are now closed for at least 30 days. This is a rapidly developing and changing situation and we will distribute additional information when and as we have it available with blog updates, through our social media (Facebook and Twitter) or on our website.