Clay Shoot Weekend, New Visitors Guide, Lots More

2015 Clay Shoot Details Set: We've lined up all the details and have the registration form ready for our 2015 Clay Shooting Weekend on February 19 – 21 and we hope you'll check it out. There's a Thursday reception, Friday sporting clays at Walker River Resort, Saturday sporting clays at Carson Valley Clays, a Saturday Awards Dinner and some new twists this year.Not a clay shooter? Please pass this along to a friend or relative who enjoys this sport!

Deadlines are Imminent for:

• Golf Joke Contest Deadline is Noon Today to Win 3 nights at CVI & 3 Rounds of Golf: Quick -  go to this link for the details and send your best golf joke by noon today! We guarantee the winner will have an experience you won't soon forget – for more on the "fun" part, scroll down and read last Wednesday's Blog.
• The Annual Bunko for Breast Cancer Party is just over 3 weeks away and the deadline for getting your official t-shirt is coming up even sooner – this Friday, September 19! All t-shirt funds raised will be go directly to Carson Tahoe Resource Center for Bunko for Breast Cancer.

The Northern California PGA Chapter held their Northern California Senior Open Championship at nearby Clear Creek Tahoe earlier this week and congratulations to Shawn McEntee, a PGA instructor at Chardonnay Golf Club who won by one stroke over Stuart Smith, Director of Golf at Somersett Golf and Country Club in Reno. What does this have to do with the Carson Valley Inn? For starters, many of the participants including the winner stayed here at the CVI on Sunday and Monday – another of the 100ish golf groups who headquarter at the CVI each year. Also, this is a good reason to remind all of our golfing guests there is still time to enjoy golf at Clear Creek Tahoe this year if you are staying at the CVI. Call Greg at 775-783-6615 for more on golf group packages or access to Clear Creek!

A CV Steak Did Ya Know? CV Steak at the Carson Valley Inn is the only restaurant in our area that offers tableside tossed salad – and it's included with every entrée!! Choose our house-made special dressing (sure, we'll let you taste it first) or a dressing of your choice – it's the last thing to go on before the tossing begins. Our tip for a relatively unusual and exceptionally special CV Steak appetizer? The Salmon Tartare – try it!  While not mandatory, reservations are always suggested and sometimes necessary for CV Steak – call today at 775-783-6650.

Four Ways to Check Out the new Carson Valley Visitors Guide! This very new (came from the printer Monday) 42-page Guide  is full of information about all there is to do, experience, see and enjoy in the beautiful Carson Valley. Check it out in one of these ways:

• To read the guide online, Click Here. thesr is also an option to download a PDF file,
• To request one by mail, Click Here.
• Stop by the Carson Valley Inn Bell Desk or the Carson Valley Visitors Authority and pick one up in person!

Don't Just Talk the Talk . . . Walk the Walk!

• Walk for Wine: The season's last Thirsty Third Thursday Wine Walk is tomorrow from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and the theme is "Happy Birthday Nevada!" Register at the Town of Gardnerville Offices or Stratton Center North near Big Daddy’s Bike Shop and enjoy the wine stops at many of our local merchants.
• Walk for Health:  Enjoy the great trails system in the Carson Valley Hike for Health Trail Adventure Day this Saturday, September 20.

Poker Fun to Help Basketball Programs: Stop by our Valley Ballroom this Saturday night and jump in on the special poker tournament to benefit the Douglas High School basketball program. Just $40 gets you in and prizes are $500 for first place and $250 for second place. For more information, call Steve Walsh at 267-4321. 

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

• Progressive Pro PK'em Jackpot Climbs: As you might expect from the upsets the first two weeks, our Progressive Pro PK'em Jackpot hasn't hit yet. $2,825 is now up for grabs – simply pick the winners straight up of the 15 NFL Games on the card and the jackpot is yours . . . just $5 and a shot, enter as often as you want!
• Free Entertainment in the Cabaret: Steve Lord appears tonight, Lisa-Marie Johnston entertains Thursday – Saturday, NFL Football fills the Cabaret Sunday and Monday nights and  George Pickard takes the stage Tuesday and Wednesday. Lisa Marie Johnston ("LMJ") is a singer & songwriter from Oakland who blends country, Americana and blues into a unique style she calls "Stomp and Groove."   A regular in the Fillmore Poster Room at the historic Fillmore West in San Francisco, she has also played venues in New York City and New Orleans. Joining Lisa this weekend are Arion Salazar (Third Eye Blind) on bass, Isaac Bolivar (Taking Back Sunday) on guitar and John Morales (Ten Mile Tide) on drums.
• Don't Duck this Punch Next Time: If you passed on last Saturday's boxing in TJ's Corral because you saw the words "collegiate" or "exhibition" or "amateur," . . . consider that your "oops" for the month. All the bouts were quite exciting with two being won by TKO and one by knockout. Our thanks goes out to all the boxers, trainers, coaches, judges, referees, announcer and ringside doctors who conducted the day just like any professional card. When this event pops up next year, mark it on your calendar and don't miss it!
• Reminder: Coach Brian Polian's Wolf Pack Blitz lunch at the Carson Valley Inn originally scheduled for this coming Monday, September 22 will now be on Monday, November 3.
• Ladies' Night –Tonight! Each of tonight's Hot Seat winners will receive a surprise gift basket (Julie was still assembling them when we wrote this last night) and the first 150 ladies to check in tonight will receive an acrylic cup with lid & straw. Local merchants interested in getting involved in our Ladies' Night promotion; please contact Stephanie at 775-783-7711. We gather six hot seat prizes and 150 of something every week! 
• Next time you see our dealer D.J. in the Poker Room, ask him about his golf game!

A Look Ahead:

• The Carson Valley Inn won a whole bunch of Best of Carson Valley awards in The Record Courier's recent poll and we are sworn to secrecy until the official announcement . . . but we will leak some of the info next Wednesday.
• The Carson Valley Visitors Authority's new online Interactive Map is almost ready – we'll let you know more as soon as some of the final details are tweaked.

We'd Like to Hear from You! Use the comments section below and let us know your comments, suggestions or questions. You can also 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!

Michael Martin Murphey Tickets Now on Sale, St. Patrick's Day, More

In this week's blog: Michael Martin Murphey concert tickets now on sale,  March Madness begins, Monthly 21 Tournament winners, St. Patrick's Day at the CVI, Mike's horses last weekend and more!

Michael Martin Murphy Concert Tickets on Sale: Tickets are on now on sale through our web site for the Michael Martin Murphy Concert on May 1 (thanks for your patience)!  We've had so many requests to buy our concert tickets online that we finally made the move. Also, with more concerts this year and with the seating capacity of the Valley Sky Theatre being three times that of the Valley Ballroom, we couldn't keep operating out of the proverbial "cigar boxes" at the hotel desk.  A tip when you order tickets: make sure that the zip code on your address matches the billing zip code for your credit card!  Here's a link to our full schedule of concerts where you can watch for tickets going on sale for the remaining concerts and more concerts news coming soon!

NCAA Basketball March Madness: The ample seating and many flat screen HDTVs in our Cabaret Lounge and Bar Area – plus its convenient location just inside the casino entrance and adjacent to our Sports and Race Book – make it the  perfect place to catch all the March Madness action. The Conference Tournaments continue through this weekend, "Selection Sunday" is Sunday afternoon and the NCAA Tournament 1^st Round starts on Tuesday.

Monthly Blackjack Tournament Winners: Last night's monthly Blackjack Tournament paid a total of $1,525.00 and, as we do every month, all the entry fees and rebuys went into the prize pool. The top three finishers were Butch M.1^st for $765.00, Richard L. 2^nd for $460 and Paulina G 3^rd for $300. Our next Monthly Blackjack Tournament is Tuesday, April 8.

St. Patrick's Day at the Inn on Monday, March 17:

·         In the Casino:

o   INN Club members earn 5X Points from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.

o   Cash and Free Play Giveaways at noon, 2, 4 and 6 p.m.

o   $2 Green Bud Light draft at the Cabaret Bar.

o   Traditional Bagpipe Salute at 3 and 7 p.m.

·         In Katie's from 11:00 am until 9:00 pm:

o   Corned Beef and Cabbage plate with Irish red skinned potatoes, carrots and horseradish cream sauce for $5.99.

o   Green Split Pea Soup with smoked ham: $1.99 for a cup, $2.49 for a bowl.

4-Wheeler Giveaway in April: Word is out that we'll be giving away some 4-Wheeler ATVs in April . . . watch our weekly Wednesday blog postings for more information soon.  And don't miss out on the 5 Million Point Giveaway going on during March!

This Friday's Game Dinner Special: Our Game-On Fridays special in CV Steak this Friday is Braised Antelope with Cranberry Port Glaze and Smoked Potato Croquettes for $26.00. As with all CV Steak entrees, the Game-On Friday special also includes tableside-tossed salad, vegetable and your choice of potato - au gratin, baked, or a one-pound, twice-baked potato.

Clear Creek Tahoe through the Eyes of our PGA Pro: Check out the blog posting about Clear Creek Tahoe by Greg Enholm, PGA Golf Professional and proud member of the Carson Valley Inn Sales and Special Events Team! Be sure to read what happens to those who try to pocket the Titleist Pro V1 practice balls!

Happening in our Valley Ballroom:

·         Carson Valley Arts Council Murder Mystery: "The Wedding From Hell" is this Friday. Call 775-782-8207 for tickets and more information.  Oh, and speaking of the Arts Council, be sure to check out our Weekend Package for their Presidio Brass Concert on April 11.

·         New Bar Just About Finished:  Wow! The new bar area came out great and our staff was working on the finishing touches yesterday – watch for pictures in next week's blog posting.

Ladies Night Tonight! The gift baskets from TastefullySimple were a big hit a few weeks ago so tonight the Hot Seat winners will again receive one of these popular prizes! Deanna and Julie will be handing out a variety of mini flashlights to the first 150 ladies who show up tonight and 20 of these will also have a Free Play!  Ladies Night Bingo games are at 6:45, 7:30 & 8:15 p.m. with the first 2 games "paying" $50 in Free Play and the last game paying $100 Cash.

Mike's Horses:  Midnight Hawk, Shakin It Up and secretsatmidnight all ran last weekend and only Midnight Hawk was in the money with a runner up finish in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Lots More Coming Up: We have a lot more coming up at the Carson Valley Inn so check our Blog posting every Wednesday!

Have questions or comments? Post a comment below, shoot us an email using info@carsonvalleyinn dot com 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. He or she will get you to the correct person or department!

Clear Creek Tahoe Golf Course Now Accessible for CVI Hotel Guests

Hi, I'm Greg Enholm and I am a PGA Golf Professional and proud member of the Carson Valley Inn Sales and Special Events Team! I'll be posting to the CVI blog this season with news and insights about the many area golf courses used by the 100+ golf groups that headquarter at the Carson Valley Inn each year. Today, I'm starting with the newest course added to our line-up of offerings for this year, Clear Creek Tahoe.

Clear Creek Tahoe, one of the best and most exclusive golf courses in the world, is located within minutes of the Carson Valley Inn! And, for 2014, we have access to this course for a limited number of Carson Valley Inn overnight guests! 

Clear Creak Tahoe was designed by arguable the best modern design team of our time – Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore.  The Crenshaw-Coore design uses the natural lay of the land as the canvas to produce unique, challenging and breathtaking layouts – I realize this description sounds like it's out of a hi-gloss brochure, but, in this case, it happens to be quite true!Speaking of that, the pictures in this post are not out of a hi-gloss brochure - I took tham last year. If you have any doubts - you'll know by the last picture!

Clear Creek Tahoe is the ultimate golf experience in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  If lucky enough to play Clear Creek, do not expect a grandiose clubhouse and other facilities.  Simplicity can be found everywhere on the property.  The golf shop and restaurant are small, classy and well appointed. The driving range has perfect target greens . . .  and the short game area and putting greens have the appropriate slope to get you ready for what you will find on the golf course.

The golf course rolls with the natural terrain of the eastern slope of the Sierra.  The designers did not move much besides hundreds of pine trees to carve out the par-70 layout.  The course can be lengthened to 6900 yards but the four sets of tees allows for an enjoyable game for all abilities.  The major defenses of the course are the undulating fast greens.  If your ball comes to rest on the wrong section of the green be prepared to play some major break.

There are many reasons to play Clear Creek Tahoe.  My favorite characteristic of the course is the lack of rough.  From tree line to tree line the grass is fairway high allowing a better chance to negotiate a shot into the green.  Another high-end touch is the Pro-V1 practice balls on the practice tee.  Don’t even think about taking the range balls to the first tee. Rumor has it Clear Creek employs a Sasquatch which looms in the forest watching your every move. If ‘Satch’ catches you taking range balls – enjoy your time with the Donner’s as you won’t be making it to the first tee.  

The Carson Valley Inn has a membership to Clear Creek Tahoe for the 2014 golf season, allowing us access for up to eight people in any day.  So, if you are traveling to the CVI with a golf group, come a day early or extend your trip by a day to play Clear Creek.   

With the  addition of Clear Creek Tahoe to the other area courses the time is now to see why over 100 golf groups stay with the CVI annually.  Access to Clear Creek is not guaranteed in 2015 so call me today at 775-783-6615 or post a comment below . . . quick, before 'Satch' gets me!

Weekend Winner, Space Shuttle, Exclusive Golf and More

In this week's blog: T.G. Sheppard Concert Weekend Package Winner, T Shirt Giveaway, Monthly 21 Tournament, Golf at Clear Creek Tahoe and more!

T.G. Sheppard Concert Weekend Package Winner: Congratulations to Brenda Huckabee Burt on winning our Facebook contest for a free T.G. Sheppard Concert Weekend Package. Watch for more contests on our Facebook page.

Free Shamrock Tee Shirt Tomorrow: It's True! INN Club members earning 125 points tomorrow (Thursday, March 6) receive a free shamrock tee shirt (St. Patrick's Day is coming soon) plus you keep the 125 points to use for something else! This is just one of many March Promotions at the CVI!

Our Monthly Blackjack Tournament is this coming Tuesday, March 11.  Just $25 gets you in, you're playing with tournament chips, all the entry fees are paid back in prize money and the top three finishers are usually sharing around $1,500! First place gets half the pot, 2^nd receives 30% and the 3^rd place finisher takes the remaining 20%. To enter, just stop by the pit on Tuesday, March 11 when we take sign ups between 5 and 6 p.m.

This Friday's Game Dinner Special: Our Game-On Fridays special in CV Steak this Friday is a Game Mix Grill with rabbit sausage, medallions of marinated buffalo and elk, finished with a brandy cherry demi-glace. As with all CV Steak entrees, the Game-On Friday special also includes tableside-tossed salad, vegetable and your choice of potato - au gratin, baked, or a one-pound, twice-baked potato – all for $29.00.

Clear Creek Tahoe Available to CVI Guests:  Clear Creek Tahoe is one of the most exclusive golf courses in northern Nevada and we now have access for a limited number of CVI hotel guests during the upcoming 2014 season. We'll tell you more about the course and how we can get you on in a special blog posting by our resident PGA Professional and Sales Team member Greg Enholm. Watch for it in the next few days. 

Happenings in our Valley Ballroom

• The Douglas High School ROTC Ball is Friday night.
• The Douglas County Republican Central Committee County Convention is during the day this Saturday.
• Dream Chaser Shuttle Developers at CVI: The Sports Aviation Foundation Annual  Membership Dinner this Saturday, March 8 features Greg Stanley from the Sierra Nevada Corporation, a privately owned aerospace company in Sparks. They are developing the "Dream Chaser" the next generation shuttle to the space station. For tickets, call 775-782-9871.
• Carson Valley Arts Council Murder Mystery: "The Wedding From Hell" (hey, we don't make up these names!) is the theme for this year's murder mystery in the Valley Ballroom on Friday, March 14.  The evening includes a buffet dinner, dessert, silent auction, 50/50 raffle and . . .  well, it's a murder mystery so that's all we can tell you! Call 775-782-8207 for tickets and more information. 
• What About You? To find out about holding an event for your group, business or association at the Carson Valley Inn, contact Carrie at 775-783-6673.
• New Bar in the Convention Center:  Progressing rapidly and we hope to be completed by the end of next week. 

Ladies Night Tonight! The hot seat winners at tonight's Ladies' Night festivities from 6 to 9 p.m. will receive a Free Bath & Body Works Gift Basket. Deanna and Julie will be handing out a Free Shamrock "Lucky" Bracelet to the first 150 ladies who show up - and 20 of these will also have Free Play as a bonus!  Ladies Night Bingo games are at 6:45, 7:30 & 8:15 p.m. with the first 2 games "paying" $50 in Free Play and the last game paying $100 Cash. 

Concert Update: Be sure to check our full schedule of concerts and watch for tickets going on sale in the next few days for Michael Martin Murphy on May 1.

Lots More Coming Up: We have a lot more coming up at the Carson Valley Inn so check our Blog posting every Wednesday! Oh, and don't forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour when hitting the bed this Saturday night!

Have questions or comments about the Carson Valley Inn? Send us an email using info at carsonvalleyinn dot com.  Please also feel free to call us at 775-782-9711. Hit "0" when the automated voice comes on and you'll go right to the hotel operator. He or she will get you to the correct person or department!