Happy Thanksgiving, Can Turkey's Fly?

Happy Thanksgiving – Here’s What’s Going On:

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and, if you’ll allow us to be self-indulgent for a sentence or two, we would like to thank our 200+ CVI employees who will be working on Thanksgiving Day so that hundreds (actually over a thousand) of visitors and locals can enjoy part of their day in our restaurants, casino and hotel. It makes us chuckle to read about the big box stores and the controversies and criticisms over opening on Thanksgiving Day and how unfair that is to their employees. We in the hospitality industry have a different take: you expect us to be here 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day, so that’s what we do. We are pleased to be here for you as we serve as the unofficial “holiday living room of the Carson Valley.”  And, you thank us in the best possible way by offering your overwhelming support and business! Now, back to our regular and sometimes blatant promotional stuff:

• If you need yet another pumpkin pie, stop in today (Wednesday); earn 50 points using your player card and take home a free pumpkin pie.
• If you ordered one of our Thanksgiving Turkey Dinners To Go be sure to pick it up tomorrow (that’s Thanksgiving day) between 10 AM and 2 PM just inside the hotel entrance. Any turkeys not picked up by 2 PM will be set free to roam through the valley! Speaking of that thought, be sure to read the short turkey quiz at the end of this week’s blog.
• If you’re joining us for Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow, Katie’s will get you seated as quickly as possible and we’ll be ready for you in CV Steak at the time of your reservation.
• If you plan on joining us in the Poker Room, please do so starting at 4 PM, our special opening time for Thanksgiving Day. 

As the Weekend Continues:

• While you’re here over Thanksgiving Weekend, stop by the 16th Annual Kandy Kane Holiday Craft Fair in our Valley Ballroom Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Lots of holiday decorations, gifts and much more - admission is free!
• This Friday, we flip the figurative switch to Candy Cane Lane, our custom outdoor drive-thru Christmas light display, which will then be lit-up nightly through December 31. Kids of all ages are invited to soak in the visual panorama of thousands of Christmas lights and a variety of scenes depicting traditional characters and images getting ready for and enjoying Christmas. Accompanying music can be heard by tuning your car radio to 89.9 FM. 

And to Wrap up the Month:

If you read through our blog fairly regularly, you know we don’t usually use this as a platform to push our day-to-day casino promotions. We are making a few exceptions this week so that we can show the boss that we don’t forget one of the major portions of our business! With that awkward introduction, here’s how we are winding down the holiday weekend and the month of November:

• All day Sunday INN Club members earn 5X Points on our video reel slots and 3X Points on our video poker slots.
• Sunday night brings the grand prize giveaways in our November giveaway promotion with drawings at 6 PM and 8 PM. 
• Monday is the last day to get a free CVI sweatshirt. Earn just 100 points, print out your sweatshirt voucher at the kiosk, bring it over to Guest Services, and your sweatshirt is on us!

L-R: Ryan, Angela, Arianna

KTVN Food Drive Trio: Arianna Bennett returns, Angela Schilling and Ryan Canaday are first timers for the Carson Valley location of the KTVN 22nd Annual Share Your Christmas Drive-By Food Drive on Friday, December 11 from 6 AM to 6 PM. Just two weeks away, our community counts on the money and food collected at this event to stock the Carson Valley Community Food Closet. As a reminder, United Blood Services conducts a Blood Drive from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during the food drive. Sign up on-line or call them at 800-696-4484.

CV Steak Menu Additions: when seasons change, we occasionally make some tweaks to the CV Steak menu (no, we didn’t change prices!). Earlier this week we added a new appetizer, Smoked Salmon and Herb Cream Cheese served with capers, cucumbers, red onion and toast points. For our East Coast readers and transplants: this is smoked salmon, not lox. There are also two new entrees: Pan-Seared Sea Bass and Braised Lamb Shank over Barley Risotto. CV Steak remains one of the very best combinations of value, quality, and service in all of northern Nevada.  Hungry? Check out the full CV Steak menu. And remember, the CV Steak Friday Special is game-oriented, Saturday night its Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32.

Race and Sports Book:

• This week you can watch and bet NFL and College Football, Horseracing, NBA and College Basketball, and NHL Hockey. NASCAR returns in February at about the same time as Major League Baseball players start reporting for Spring Training.
• The PRO PK’EM jackpot is $4,198 on this week’s progressive parlay card.
• On Thanksgiving Day we’ll have just about nonstop NFL football on the TVs in our casino and cabaret lounge area with games starting at 9:30 a.m. (Eagles – Lions), 1:30 p.m. (Panthers – Cowboys) and 5:30 p.m. (Bears – Packers).
• We asked our sports book crew which college football games they were following with “special interest” this weekend and they pretty much laughed at us. Between rivalry week and so many games featuring two top-25 teams, this will be one of the most interesting and playoff-pertinent weekends of the NCAA Football season.   

Cabaret Lounge Entertainment – No Cover, No Minimum – Free! Jonathon “JB” Barton performs tonight; The Vegas Road Show entertains Thursday thru and Saturday nights, NFL Football is on Sunday and Monday Nights and John Palmore returns next Tuesday and Wednesday. The Vegas Road Show delivers music, comedy and crowd participation as they perform a variety of entertainment styles including classic rock, 50's, 60’s, 70’s, country, smooth jazz and pop.  Cody Stevens (vocals, guitar and quick wit) and his wife Barbara Christy-Stevens (vocals, keyboards, bass and trumpet) are both veterans in the music industry having engaged audiences in casinos from Atlantic City to Las Vegas. John Palmore is an accomplished singer and keyboardist who has worked with Jackie Wilson, Mary Wells, ZZ Hill, Wilson Pickett, Joe Simon, Percy Sledge, The Platters and other "name" artists.

Small Business Saturday: Main Street Gardnerville (MSG), the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce (CVCC) and Main Street Minden (MSM) are working together to make it fun and rewarding for consumers to shop our local retailers this Saturday, November 28^th.  We’re pleased to be members of all three organizations and hope you will support their efforts this Saturday by seeking out the specialized service and product knowledge that you get from the participating local small businesses and to keep holiday shopping dollars in Carson Valley!  Make your plans now to Shop Small on Small Business Saturday!

As Always, Interesting, Helpful and Even Useful Tidbits and News

• Tonight is Ladies’ Nights and the first 150 ladies to sign up receive a Free Chocolate Covered Pretzel–Turkey Thingie (Don’t like the name? Take a look at the picture and let us know what you would name it!) and ladies-only drink specials. There are also Hot Seat Gifts from The Chocolate Shop - one of the many local businesses we hope you will support on Small Business Saturday (you did read that article above, didn’t you?).       
• Because we feel like mentioning it:
• In addition to being Thanksgiving, tomorrow is also Cake Day. As the famous French Princess said, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche!”
• Since we're speaking french,Saturday is French Toast Day   The basic approach is simple: soak bread in an egg mix and then fry it. Turns out, that we take a slightly different approach at each of our three property restaurants: in Katie’s here at the CVI, we bake our own bread for the French Toast. At the Bodine’s Restaurant, we use conventional bread (leaves a lot open to interpretation!). And at the Jackpot Café in Sharkey’s Casino we use brioche bread. 

A Closing Turkey Quiz: Over 37 years ago on Oct. 30, 1978, the TV character Arthur Carlson made the infamous misconception statement shown above. Who was his employer?

Comments? Have questions or comments about the CVI? Use the comments section below, shoot us an email or just pick up the phone and call us @ 775-782-9711. Hit “0” when the automated voice comes on and you'll go right to the hotel operator who can get you to the correct person or department.  We have a lot more coming up at the Carson Valley Inn so check our Blog posting every Wednesday morning!

Food, Wine, Entertainment, Sports & More

Last Minute Thanksgiving Dinner Planning:

Just a week to go until Thanksgiving so, if you’re still up in the air regarding your dinner plans, here are the possibilities we can offer:

• The deadline is noon Tuesday, November 24 to place your order for our Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner To Go for up to 10 people. We cook, you serve and eat!
• We are offering Thanksgiving Day Dinner Specials in Katie’s and CV Steak and here’s the straight scoop:
• Katie’s: stop in whenever you’re ready and we’ll get you seated as quickly as possible.
• CV Steak: most popular times are already booked but we do have a few openings. Reservations are a must at 775-783-6650.
• Just need a pumpkin pie? Swing by next Wednesday, November 25, earn 50 points using your player card, and take home a free pumpkin pie . . . plus the 50 points stay on your account for other use! 

Food Drive – Want to Help? We’ve had an unusual number of calls from people wanting to volunteer at the KTVN 22nd Annual Share Your Christmas Drive-By Food Drive on Friday, December 11 from 6 AM to 6 PM. If you’re interested, and volunteers are always welcome, please contact Kate at the Carson Valley Community Food Closet at 782-3711. She is doing the coordinating and would welcome your smiling face and eagerness to help as they plan the logistics for receiving, weighing, sorting and stacking food, loading the truck at the food drive site and unloading at the warehouse! The Gardnerville Raley’s has kicked their Food Drive "push" into gear – those $10 bags at checkout add up to a walloping total every year.

Call me a Cab (Uber or Lyft will not do):  We recently added three new Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon choices to the wine list in CV Steak:  Hess Allomi, Conn Creek and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Artemis. This got us thinking (sometimes not always productive) that we haven't mentioned the wines in CV Steak for quite a while - or perhaps ever - in this blog. A check of our wine list shows a generous selection of popular varietals and we are always willing (actually eager) to help with suggestions that match wine(s) to the entrees, appetizers and even desserts you order . . . just ask your server!!            

Thanksgiving Weekend Craft Fair: The 16th Annual Kandy Kane Holiday Craft Fair is in our Valley Ballroom Friday and Saturday, November 27 & 28 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, November 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Lots of holiday decorations, gifts and much more. Admission is free and you can Click Here for more on the variety of items you can expect. Questions? Please call Kandy at 775-721-7154.

Decades - In Our Cabaret this Weekend

Mike Tice Attempting to Sing Harmony
with Decades Last Summer in TJ's Corral

Cabaret Lounge Entertainment – No Cover, No Minimum – Free! Jonathon “JB” Barton performs tonight; Decades entertains Thursday thru and Saturday nights, NFL Football is on Sunday and Monday Nights and “JB” returns again next Tuesday and Wednesday. Decades was last at the CVI in June when they performed in TJ’s Corral for the Mike Tice Charity Golf Tournament fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada, Carson Valley Branch. The electrifying group presents a vibrant and diverse act from Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars Uptown Funk. Decades’ 4-part harmonies and energized rhythm section truly shine when playing hits from the 1950's to today.  The group includes Samantha Francis (keyboard, harmonica, guitar, flute and vocals), Ben Ruttenberg (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Billy DiBono (drums, vocals), Will Watje (guitar, sax, vocals), and Tobias Brooks (bass, guitar, vocals).

Race and Sports Book:

• Mike’s Horses:  Toews On Ice won the Bob Hope Stakes for two-year-olds at Del Mar last Saturday. Then two out-of-the-money finishes last Sunday. More of Mike's horses are scheduled to run this weekend at Del Mar.
• Congratulations to the Nevada Men’s Basketball Team for their 2-1 start to the 2015/16 Season. Next game is against the Pacific Tigers in Stockton this Saturday with a 7 p.m. tip.  And congrats also to the now-bowl-eligible Nevada Football Team who visit the Utah State Aggies in Logan, Utah Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff.
• This week you can watch and bet NFL and College Football, NBA and College Basketball, NHL Hockey.  Also in the mix: NASCAR crowns its 2015 Champion this Sunday at the Ford Ecoboost 400 at the Phoenix International Raceway.
• The PRO PK’EM jackpot is at $4,044 on this week’s progressive parlay card.
• Games our sports book crew is following with interest this weekend include Michigan State vs. Ohio State (favored by 13 ½ - really?) and Oklahoma State vs. Baylor (pick-em) games on Saturday and the Bengals vs. Cardinals game on Sunday night.
• Where’s It Going for Carolina and New England? Since the first Super Bowl almost 50 years ago, 19 teams have started a season 9-0. All of them made the playoffs, 11 advanced to the Super Bowl and seven of those 9-0 start teams won the Super Bowl. 

As Always, Interesting, Helpful and Even Useful Tidbits and News

• Tonight is Ladies’ Nights and the first 150 ladies to sign up receive a Free Small Stuffed Animal – a Turkey and ladies-only drink specials. There are also Hot Seat Gifts from The Blue Cow.
• Chef’s Choice Friday, Prime Rib Saturday, King Crab Sunday in CV Steak:  Our Friday Special this week is Chef’ Choice . . . guess the chef saw that the oddsmakers could call “Pick Em” when they couldn’t decide on a favorite in a football game so he could call “Chef’s Choice” when he wasn’t quite sure on Tuesday what he’d be featuring Friday! Saturday night its Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32. All these specials are served with fresh vegetable, choice of rice or potato (au gratin, baked, or a one-pound, twice-baked), tableside tossed salad and warm demi-loaf of bread.
• We All Got Our Start Somewhere, Sometime: 32 Years Ago This Weekend, groundbreaking ceremonies were held and construction began on the original Carson Valley Inn! 
• But Where Did Matt Start? That's Matt Carter, our Director of Hotel Operations who serves on the Board of the Nevada Hotel & Lodging Association and they just happened to publish this profile of Matt yesterday! A word to the wise - don't ask him to tell you the snakebite story unless you have time . . . lots of time!
• Because we feel like mentioning it:
• Thursday is the Great American Smokeout. No message intended, just giving you a link to click if you want to know more.
• Sunday is Go For A Ride Day – so, wherever you are, get in your car and take a ride to the Carson Valley Inn!!

Comments? Have questions or comments about the CVI? Use the comments section below, shoot us an email or just pick up the phone and call us @ 775-782-9711. Hit “0” when the automated voice comes on and you'll go right to the hotel operator who can get you to the correct person or department.  We have a lot more coming up at the Carson Valley Inn so check our Blog posting every Wednesday morning!

Free Veteran's Day Lunch, Thanksgiving Dinner Plans Yet?

Thanksgiving Is Two Weeks Away – Are Your Dinner Plans Set?  If so, you probably should skip to the next article. If not, let’s cut quickly to the chase and give you two options:

• If you and your family would like to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal at home, our Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner To Go for up to 10 people will eliminate a lot of the preparation, fill your house with soothing holiday aromas, and leave you all pretty darn full  . . . with leftovers for next day – all for just $89.
• If you want to skip all the fuss at home, we also have Thanksgiving Day Dinner Specials in Katie’s and CV Steak – plus our regular menus on Thanksgiving Day.  For Katie’s, stop in whenever you’re ready and we’ll get you seated as quickly as possible. For CV Steak, reservations are a must at 775-783-6650. CV Steak is a very popular spot on Thanksgiving and, while we open at 2 p.m., many times are full, especially for larger (over 4) parties.

Thanksgiving Weekend Craft Fair: We’ve been getting a lot of questions and the answer is YES, the 16th Annual Kandy Kane Holiday Craft Fair is happening in our Valley Ballroom on Friday thru Sunday, November 27 – 29. We’ll have the hours and more information in our blog next Wednesday.

Reminder Department:

• Free Lunch Today: Our 5^th Annual Free Spaghetti Lunch for all Veterans and Active Military is today 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in our Valley Ballroom.  Simply present your military ID for entrance, and lunch for you and one guest is on the Carson Valley Inn! Don't have your ID? Briefly tell us about your service to our country and we'll welcome you anyway! How much do you know about Veterans Day? Click here for all the information on how and when it started . . . . and the significance of 11 a.m. on the 11^th day of the 11^th month.

  

  Over 500 Attended our 2014 Free Veteran's Day Spaghetti Feed

• Chamber 70^th: The Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce 70th Gala Celebration in the
  
  CVI Valley Ballroom is this Saturday . . . Still a day or two left to get tickets, contact the Chamber at 775-782-8144. Dinner, live entertainment, a 7-decade trip down memory lane and more are all on tap! Seems there will also be a "drink of the decade" for each of the Chamber's 10 years of history. If you plan to try 3 or more, please get a room here on Saturday night! 
• Get to Work! And we mean here at the CVI or at Sharkey’s Casino, We like working here - you will, too! Our openings list was updated this morning, check it out!
• Food Drive: The annual KTVN 22nd Annual Share Your Christmas Drive-By Food Drive  is way too important for our Community Food Closet to have anyone forget. So, expect a reminder with a twist here each week until it happens on Friday, December 11^th from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m! 

Race and Sports Book:

• The NCAA college basketball season kicks off this Friday and we’re looking forward to Nevada showing new energy, faster pace of play, and a winning record under new coach Eric Mussleman.  Nevada plays this Friday, Sunday and Tuesday in the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic in Hawaii. Let’s root them on this weekend and all thru their 2015-16 Schedule.
• This week you can watch and bet NFL and College Football, Horseracing, NBA and College Basketball, NHL Hockey and Sunday’s NASCAR Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway.
• The PRO PK’EM jackpot is up to $3,943 on this week’s progressive parlay card.
• The big college football game our sports book crew is following with interest this weekend is the Oklahoma (8-1) at Baylor (8-0) game on Saturday due to its potential implications on who makes it to the top-four for the College Football Playoff National Championship.
• On the NFL front, so much for the Patriots-Broncos game on November 29 being a clash of the undefeateds! But, we now have a unique possibility: If the Patriots, Bengals and Panthers (all now 8-0) all win the rest of their games, all three would go into the playoffs undefeated.  Care to calculate those odds and share them with us? Here’s one constantly changing take on the subject. 

Cabaret Lounge Entertainment – No Cover, No Minimum – Free! George Pickard performs tonight; Melissa Dru entertains Thursday thru and Saturday nights, NFL Football is on Sunday and Monday Nights and Jonathon “JB” Barton returns next Tuesday and Wednesday. Melissa Dru's original song “The Islands” received an honorable mention after placing in the top 100 of the Billboard Song writing contest out of thousands of song entries. She has performed on the Nevada cabaret circuit for the last ten years with her band, The Melissa Dru band. Melissa will delight you with her song delivery . . . and bring you to laughter with her original and fun sense of humor. Musician, singer, songwriter and entertainer, she is a genuinely gifted artist.

As Always, Interesting, Helpful and Even Useful Tidbits and News

• Tonight is Ladies’ Nights and the first 150 ladies to sign up receive a Free Fan (the kind that fold like an accordion) and ladies-only drink specials. There are also Hot Seat Gifts from Heart Strings of Gardnerville.
• Boar Friday, Prime Rib Saturday, King Crab Sunday in CV Steak:  Our Friday Special this week is Wild Boar with bourbon jus and spiced grapes for $28.00. Saturday night its Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32. All these specials are served with fresh vegetable, choice of rice or potato (au gratin, baked, or a one-pound, twice-baked), tableside tossed salad and warm demi-loaf of bread.
• Because we feel like mentioning it:
• Thursday is Pizza With The Works Except Anchovies Day.  Seriously? Who thinks

  

  Bodines Pizza Oven
  Churns 'Em Out Hot and Fresh!

  these things up! I guess it doesn’t really matter because we’re all ready for the celebration at Bodines Casino where we make every pizza to order in our special pizza oven. And we’ll make it with whatever you want on it except anchovies! Actually, we asked the staff at Bodines how often they get a request for anchovies on pizza and they answered with two words, “Blue Moon.” So, we looked it up and found that a Blue Moon happens on average about once every 2.7 years. At that rate, hardly worth keeping anchovies on hand! Speaking of a Blue Moon, we do have Blue Moon Beer on tap at the Silver Dollar Bar in Sharkey’s Casino!
• Saturday is Pickle Day. No, we really don’t have anything in any of our properties that relates to celebrating Pickle Day. However, we did think some of the information at the link was quite fascinating.

Comments? Have questions or comments about the CVI? Use the comments section below, shoot us an email or just pick up the phone and call us @ 775-782-9711. Hit “0” when the automated voice comes on and you'll go right to the hotel operator who can get you to the correct person or department.  We have a lot more coming up at the Carson Valley Inn so check our Blog posting every Wednesday morning!

Free Veteran's Day Lunch, Seasonal Dessert, Men Make Dinner Day Ideas, More

Are You Cool and Collected or a Screamer? By now, you've probably seen our outside sign or read the post on Facebook: Theresa won a $15,196 slot jackpot last week. Her luck wasn't running very well that day so she and her husband decided to have something to eat. When they walked out of Katie's she had $20 in her pocket and decided to give her favorite machine one more whirl. On the third spin, all the Quick Hit Platinum symbols lined up on one of the Quick Hit Platinum machines just outside the Cabaret Lounge and she did just what she told everybody she would never do when she finally won her big jackpot – she let out a scream! What will be your reaction when you hit a big jackpot? Will you be "cool" and maintain that "I meant to do that" attitude? Or, will you whoop it up so the whole casino knows? Our preference? Let it all out!

There IS Such A Thing As A Free Lunch! Our 5^th Annual Free Spaghetti Lunch for all Veterans and Active Military is coming up on Veteran's Day, Wednesday, November 11. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in our Valley Ballroom and the entry process is simple: Veterans and active military personnel simply present your military ID for entrance, and lunch for you and your guest is on the Carson Valley Inn!  Don't have your ID? Tell us a little about your service to our country and we'll welcome you anyway! We honor your service to our country with a brief ceremony starting at 11 a.m. There will be a Veteran's Day colors presentation by the Color Guard from the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, the National Anthem will be sung by Melissa Dru and an invocation will be given by Fr. Doroteo Rojas-Serrano of St. Gall’s Church in Gardnerville.  The free spaghetti lunch includes fresh tossed salad with choice of ranch, Italian or thousand island dressings; spaghetti with choice of marinara sauce or Bolognese (meat sauce); garlic bread and assorted cookies.

We're Spicing Things Up! No, not that kind of spicy . . . We're talking about a Spiced Pumpkin Mousse Trifle, a special seasonal dessert available nightly in CV Steak through December 26. We stopped by the bakery earlier this week and watched Tracy put that day's supply together. She starts with a small made-in-house ginger spice cake that conveniently snuggles into the bottom of the serving glass. That's topped with a specially prepared pumpkin mousse. Another ginger spice cake is then added, this one's shaped more like a cookie, and then another layer of pumpkin mousse. A swirl of whipped cream topped by pumpkin spice finishes off this yummy seasonal specialty.  Be sure to leave room for it!

Were You Alive Then? Franklin D. Roosevelt was president until he was succeeded by Harry S. Truman in April after Roosevelt succumbed to a lingering illness. World War II was at its height. The Detroit Tigers won the World Series against the Chicago Cubs, who haven't made it to the World Series since. And, the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce was formed. It all happened in 1945 setting the stage for the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce 70th Gala Celebration in our Valley Ballroom next Saturday, November 14. What’s on tap for this special event? Why not find out firsthand by contacting the Chamber (775-782-8144), buying a ticket and joining in on what will certainly be a most informative, interesting and nostalgic evening!

Saturday, Employee Costume Contest Was Fun! If you were around and wondering who won prizes in our employee costume contest last Saturday, here’s how it came down:  The winner for day shift was Teresa Most (Fancy Pumpkin) in Job's Perk. Second place went to Gina Cranmer, Samantha Loewe and Jennifer Cano (Cat in the Hat and the Butterfly Girls) from Katie’s. On swing shift, Bonnie Cosgrove (Evil Queen pictured at left) from Slots won first place.  In second place were Logan Ambrose, Allyson Herkenrath and Alexandra Parker (Cat In The Hat and Thing 1 and 2) from Katie’s. Thanks to all of our employees who participated!

Race and Sports Book:

• This week you can watch and bet NFL and College Football, Horseracing, NBA Basketball, NHL Hockey and Sunday’s NASCAR AAA Texas 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway.
• The PRO PK’EM jackpot is up to $3,806 on this week’s progressive parlay card. These crazy upsets (did you really pick the Raiders to destroy the Jets?) make it seemly tough to pick all the games straight up. But, if you do, you can multiply a $5 bet over 700 times!
• Games our sports book crew is following with interest this weekend include LSU/Alabama and Clemson/Florida State on Saturday and Raiders/Steelers on Sunday.
• Yesterday at our Sports Book LSU was 7-1 to win the NCAA Championship and Alabama was 4-1. Might consider one of those futures bets at the same time you are placing a wager on the game itself.
• Here’s something to ponder: The Broncos play the Patriots on Sunday, November 29. The possibility exists that both teams could be 10 – 0 that day. Sure would make for one of those “biggest game of the year” claims! And at least one person has calculated the odds of this happening - read about it here.

Chad Bushnell

Cabaret Lounge Entertainment – No Cover, No Minimum – Free! George Pickard performs tonight; Chad Bushnell entertains Thursday thru and Saturday nights, NFL Football is on Sunday and Monday Nights and George Pickard returns next Tuesday and Wednesday. Born and raised in Red Bluff, California, Chad Bushnell has opened for big names in the industry including Scotty McCreery, Lee Brice, Tracy Lawrence, Neil McCoy, Billy Currington, Mark Wills, Josh Gracin, Mark Chesnutt, Jerrod Neimann and Tyler Farr. Chad has an album out titled “You Can Drive My Truck” that was produced by his lead guitar player Casey Doss. He was a Top 10 finalist in the American Country Star contest in Nashville and won the Horizon Award. He recently released his latest single “My Little Redneck Girl” and is working on a new album with Johnathan Frizzell from CMG Records in Nashville. He also won the Best of the North State Band award in Northern California for 2015.

As Always, Interesting, Helpful and Even Useful Tidbits and News

• Pssst – Want a Job? Our HR folks posted a couple of new openings on our website in the last few days. Why not check it out – we always have room for good people!
• Mike’s Horses: Hoppertunity finished second in the Hagyard Fayette Stakes at Keenland last Friday. We congratulate Bob Baffert, trainer of all of Mike's horses, who also trained American Pharoah, winner of last Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic
• Tonight is Ladies’ Nights and the first 150 ladies to sign up receive a Free Trinket Box and ladies-only drink specials. There are also Bath & Body Works Gift Baskets for hot seat prizes
• Venison Friday, Prime Rib Saturday, King Crab Sunday in CV Steak:  Our Friday Special this week is Roasted Rack of Venison with cherry brandy demi for $32.00. Saturday night its Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32. All these specials are served with fresh vegetable, choice of rice or potato (au gratin, baked, or a one-pound, twice-baked), tableside tossed salad and warm demi-loaf of bread.
• Blackjack Tournament Tuesday: November 10 is the second Tuesday of the month and that means it’s the night for our Monthly Blackjack Tournament. Just a $25 buy-in gets you into the action and all the buy-in money and any rebuys go to a pool that is dispersed among the top three finishers. It’s a great entertainment value and the banter between players is often amusing in itself! Check at the “pit” for details and join us next Tuesday night!
• Because we feel like mentioning it:
• Thursday is Men Make Dinner Day.  We have three properties and four restaurants so we're really not advocating that you stay home on Thursday and that the men make dinner for their wives. We read through the supposed rules for this day (hey, if it's on the Internet it has to be true!) and we technically don't see anything that says men can't take women out for dinner on this special day. So, here are a few suggestions for Thursday night: the $19.00 Sunset Dinner Special in CV Steak (arrive between 4:30 and 5:30 PM), the Thursday night $6.99 Corned Beef and Cabbage special in Katie's, Pasta Night at Bodines Casino or the $7.99 Beef Stroganoff special in the Jackpot Cafe at Sharkey's Casino.
• Friday is Nachos Day and we offer a couple of different choices to help you celebrate:
• Bodines Bodacious Nachos - tortilla chips smothered with homemade chili, cheese, pico de gallo and sour cream.
• Katie's Macho Nachos with refried beans, cheese sauce, sliced jalapeños, diced tomatoes, green onions and black olives. Add chicken breast or beef for a small extra charge.

Comments? Have questions or comments about the CVI? Use the comments section below, shoot us an email or just pick up the phone and call us @ 775-782-9711. Hit “0” when the automated voice comes on and you'll go right to the hotel operator who can get you to the correct person or department.  We have a lot more coming up at the Carson Valley Inn so check our Blog posting every Wednesday morning!