Some Concerts Near Sell Out, Two Gaming Tournaments, Kentucky Derby, More

He Wanted a Party – It’s Friday, May 12 in TJ’s Corral!

Before Stew “The Turtle” Stewart passed away earlier this year he told Joey Whitacre, our Director Of Marketing And Casino Operations, he didn’t want a “service” or “memorial,” he just wanted us to throw a party.  Music was Stew’s life-long passion and his biggest sense of pride was TJ’s Corral where he brought in great national acts including one of country music’s biggest stars, Merle Haggard.  So, the party is Friday evening May 12th in TJ’s Corral and we are affectionately calling it “Turtle’s Last Dance.”  The fun starts at 5pm, the Davisson Brothers – they had a special place in Stew’s heart – perform live at 6pm and the evening is free to all ages. 

Concert Chatter

• Thank you for your overwhelming support of our season opening concert!  We had a Sold Out

  

  Aaron Watson June 16 in TJ's Corral

  audience – and the best weather we could possibly have expected for late April – for the Wynonna and the Big Noise Tour concert last Saturday. Our thanks to Tahoe Onstage’s Pheonix Gruneich who posted this review.
• Moving along, just a reminder that this weekly blog is supposed to be fun and light-hearted and we never intend to make serious predictions, give warnings or lecture. However, we did get a couple of “remarks” from people who missed out on Wynonna concert tickets because they waited too long. So, please don’t do the same if you have any intention of attending the Lee Brice Concert on May 20 or the Kenny Loggins Concert on Friday, June 9.  If we were into speculating, we would give you the “nod” that both of these concerts will be sold out in advance. 
• Also on sale now are tickets for the Aaron Watson featuring special guest Clare Dunn Concert on Friday, June 16.
• For your convenience, here is a link to our Remaining 2017 Concert Lineup.

Sports and Race Book:

• The Kentucky Derby is this Saturday and the draw for post positions is this morning at 8 a.m.
  
  - fans can watch a live stream through the Kentucky Derby's official Facebook and Twitter pages.  We’ll start taking bets on Friday and you can place pari mutuel wagers during Sports and Racebook hours until post time Saturday. Of course we’ll be showing the festivities and race (3:46 PM PDT) in the Cabaret Lounge with $2 draft beer specials.
• Also on the Board:  NBA Playoffs, NHL Playoffs, MLB, all other Horse Racing and Sunday’s NASCAR GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Futures include winners for the World Series and 2018 Super Bowl.  Here’s one that will probably come as no surprise to any football fan: according to the odds makers, the Patriots are currently most likely to win the Super Bowl and the Browns are the least likely.

Turns Out It’s More Than PR Fluff! We’ve often touted the Carson Valley Inn as “centrally located” for exploring, recreation, or whatever other activity meets the “promotional” needs of the subject at hand. Well this time we are making another such claim that is de-facto supported, ratified and sanctioned by a media giant! Our claim: the Carson Valley Inn is centrally located for visiting and experiencing two of the Southwest’s 10 Best Small Towns, Genoa and Virginia City! Who says? Turns out the folks who jumped in on the Readers’ Choice Poll conducted by USA Today. . . See the results here.

Some Stuff We Think is Important: 

• Mother’s Day is less than two weeks away and if you haven’t made dinner plans yet, we suggest you do so soon! We’re offering Mother’s Day Specials and our regular menu items in both Katie’s and CV Steak (CV Steak reservations strongly suggested at 775-783-6650).
• Thursday is International Firefighter’s Day and we offer our sincere thanks and appreciation to all of the professional and volunteer firefighter/paramedics who make up the East Fork Fire District. We have witnessed your dedication, training, responsiveness and professionalism so many times over the years . . . the Carson Valley is so fortunate to have such a high level of protection in our area!
• If you are at the Carson Valley Inn this weekend you’ll notice a few most-unusual sites and quite a high level of activity at TJ’s Corral both Friday and Saturday nights (is that really a great big tent?!)  We are pleased and honored to be hosting a major corporate event bringing 300 people from around the country to the Carson Valley for an employee appreciation weekend. 
• Band Tastic 2.0 is coming to TJ’s Corral on Saturday, May 13 . . . with over 200 student musicians from various Douglas County schools participating. Get it on your calendar (noon start) and we’ll have more details next week.
• Today is National Two Different Colored Shoes Day. Do we really think this is important? Of course not. Do we think it is somewhat amusing and strongly indicative of people who have too much time on their hands and sit around thinking these “days” up? You bet we do! Are some of us around here wearing two different colored shoes today? Guess you’ll have to stop by see for yourself! 

Free Entertainment in the Cabaret Lounge

Jamie Rollins tonight, Decoy Thursday thru Saturday, Bill Wharton Sunday and Monday, Half Dressed Mannequins next Tuesday and Wednesday. An upbeat and experienced entertainer, Jamie Rollins performs a variety of music from country to rock, to classic oldies and R&B – plus a few of his own songs. Decoy is one of Northern Nevada's leading cover bands known for their high-energy shows, excellent vocals and varied song list. The group was voted best Casino Band by the Reno News and Review for 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. An evening with Decoy includes the hits of artist such as Patsy Cline, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bruno Mars, Lynyrd Skynard, Cee Lo Green, Miranda Lambert, Sublime, Zac Brown Band, Led Zepplin, Journey and more.  Local artist Bill Wharton’s smooth, melodic tone comes out in his vast repertoire from old classic country thru modern country, pop to classic rock, blues and jazz.  Acousti Pop-Duo "Half Dressed Mannequins" is a stripped down performance of the band “The Well Dressed Mannequins.” Hailing from Northern California, Denver Saunders (vocals/guitar) and Jarom Horner (6-String Bass) are known for inspiring dancing, laughing and sing-alongs wherever they play. 

In the Casino

• Ladies’ Night Tonight: Join us 5:30 to 8:30 PM with free Gold Owl Hand Cream Brulee for the first 150 ladies, Wine Country Gift Baskets as hot seat prizes, games, drink specials, FREE Bingo and a chance to earn entries for the for the May 31st drawings for a $500 Spa Package at Pure Glow Salon.
• Free Breakfast or 50% Breakfast Discount Wednesdays and Thursdays: Earn 50 Points in the morning, swipe at the casino kiosk and receive a free breakfast in Katie’s usable the same day, 7:30 – 11:30 AM. Or, if you’re 50 or over, receive 50% off your breakfast 7:30 – 11:30 AM.
• 5X Points Friday: That’s 5 times the benefits for your play!
• $10,000 Guaranteed Giveaways Saturday: Drawings at 8 & 9 PM with $10,000 guaranteed including one guaranteed $5,000 winner!
• Monthly Ladies-Only No-limit Texas Hold'em Bounty Tourney Sunday:  Play starts at 4 p.m. $40 buy-in, no re-buys. Check with the Poker Room for all the info.
• 4X Points Monday: Quadruple the benefits of your casino play all day every Monday in May with no limit on points earned!
• Monthly Blackjack Tournament Tuesday: Just a $25 buy-in and all entry fees and re-buys go into the prize fund. Sign ups are from 5 to 6 p.m. on the day of the tournament and play starts at 6:00 p.m.
• Poker Room: All our Featured Games, Tournaments and Special Promotions are listed on our website, click here for the full story.
• Here’s a Handy Page with all our Current Casino Promotions!

In Our Restaurants

• Wednesday is Italian Day in Katie’s – three specials for $6.99 each served from 11 AM to 10 PM!
• Our Friday special in CV Steak is Braised Buffalo Short Rib for $30.00.  Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32. 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.
• Click the restaurant name for more info, specials and links to menus for Katie’s, CV Steak and Jobs Perk at the CVI . . . or our nearby sister property restaurants, the Jackpot Café at Sharkey's Casino and the Bodines Restaurant at Bodines Casino. 

Planning a Stay at the CVI? You will always get the best rate by booking directly with the Carson Valley Inn either online or by calling our Reservation Department directly at 775-783-6629 or 800-321-6983.

Comments? Have questions or comments about the CVI? Use the comments section below, shoot us an email or 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!

A Tribute to Stew, Easter Bunny Cakes Return, MMA in TJ's Corral, More

Turtle’s Last Dance – May 12

Stew “The Turtle” Stewart was with us at the Carson Valley Inn for over six years and he helped us transform our approach to entertainment. Since his passing earlier this year we have been working on a party to serve as his “last dance” . . . that’s what he wanted, so that’s what we’re doing!  The details are set and we hope you’ll join us on Friday evening, May 12 in TJ’s Corral. The Davisson Brothers will be providing entertainment, admission is free and we encourage you to read about the Turtle’s Last Dance event at this link – especially the thoughts expressed on behalf of the CVI by Joey Whitacre, our Director of Casino Operations and Marketing.

Golf Season Is Here! Monday is Golfer’sDay and whether or not it turns out to be the perfect day for playing golf, it is a timely reminder that planning is well underway for the many, many golf groups and events that center around the Carson Valley Inn this year. We put on two of our own sponsored golf events each year: the Spring Stag Golf Outing coming up on the last weekend in April and our Mixed Scramble held on the weekend after Labor Day. We are also the headquarters hotel for about 100 different groups of golfers who visit each year - from as few as 8 to as many as 100+ golfers and guests. We set up all the details (rooms, golf, receptions, dinners, etc.) and would be glad to tell you more about how it all works – just call Greg Enholm (he’s a PGA type) in our Sales department at 775-783-6615. Now, back to Golfer’s Day: If you have any appreciation for the game, you might read the information at the link. You’ll find out when the original video golf game was created (before 1980 if you can believe it), when miniature golf came about, a fun little prank you can pull on your coworkers and some other interesting tidbits.

Easter Bunny Cakes Are Back! Our Easter Bunny Cakes were such big sellers last year that our bakery crew is bringing ‘em back again for the next 10 days. The cutie pictured with this article is one we found scampering through the bakery last year. The 2017 Bunny Cakes were just coming out of the oven and not to the design stage when our blog came out this morning - but we know they will be similar to last year’s hot sellers. Interested in ordering one? We suggest you stop by Katie’s Bakery Counter as soon as possible. If there are no Easter Bunny Cakes available, we will take orders up to a couple of days before Easter.  And while we’re on the Easter subject, Katie's and CV Steak are both serving their regular menu plus specials on Easter Sunday. Click for more on the Easter Specials.

MMA Bouts Live in TJ's Corral

MMA in TJ’s Corral: Additional information and ticket ordering is now available for the World Fighting Championship MMA bouts happening in TJ’s Corral on Saturday, July 1. Should be a pretty exciting evening and we encourage you to check out the information and contact the WFC with any specific questions.

Well, That Was Prophetic! In last week’s blog we casually wrote “As for the $85,000+, that’s our Penny Progressive Jackpot (as of last night) and while we’re not guaranteeing it will be won this week, we can guarantee that when it does hit it can only be won on one of the Triple Red Hot 7's slots at CVI, Sharkey’s or Bodines.” Well, it “hit” on Thursday, March 30 when a lucky local pocketed $86,619 here at the CVI.  The winner asked that we not use their name and we always respect such requests. Now, on to our next prediction: Someone will win a new Toyota Camry or $15,000 in cash on Saturday, April 15 and it will happen here at the CVI. Will it be you?

National Beer Day is this Friday, April 7. Come on by the CVI and enjoy one of our many draft or bottled beers in either the Cabaret Bar or CV Steak Bar. While you’re at it, catch the second round of The Masters on TV and stick around for dinner where you can feast on the Beer Braised Wild Boar Shanks special in CV Steak on Friday night. How's our beer selection you ask? Well, two of us sat down at the CV Steak Bar determined - between the two of us - to drink one of each of our offerings. We had ten different beers each and still had a couple to go when we gave up . . . we figure that should be enough choices for just about any beer drinker!

Concert News: If you are planning to attend the Wynonna and the Big Noise Tour concert on Saturday night, April 29 . . . and you have not yet purchased your tickets . . . we suggest you do so very soon as this concert is just about sold out.  Looking ahead to the other concerts and events coming up in TJ’s Corral, this link will take you to the current 2017 Lineup and yes, we will have tickets for some of the other concerts on sale very soon.

Is Genoa One of the Best Small Towns?  Just might be ‘cause Genoa has been nominated in the latest USA Today10Best Readers' Choice travel award contest!  A panel of experts selected Genoa as one of 20 contenders for Best Southwestern Small Town. Turns out you can vote once a day until the voting ends on Monday, April 24. We never take a stand on political issues or candidates but we will stand up for Genoa in this election and we invite you to give ‘em your vote!

Friday and Saturday in the Cabaret Lounge

Free Entertainment in the Cabaret Lounge

Hans Eberbach tonight and Thursday, John Dawson Band Friday and Saturday, Cliff and Dave Sunday and Monday and Denver Saunders Tuesday and Wednesday. The John Dawson Band is a Reno based group of five fun-lovin' guys who just like to play music and entertain with a variety of modern country and classic rock. According to John, “The Washoe County Parole board took matters into their own hands on a wistful spring evening in 1999, and placed these 5 repeat offenders in a working band, demanding we concentrate on Country Music.” The quintet includes Mitch (Lead Guitar), Brian (keys), J.B.  (Bass), Jhan (drums) and John Dawson (vocals and guitar). When Cliff and Dave make their CVI debut, you’ll enjoy a Powerhouse singer/gospel drummer, Cliff Porter, and southern-fried singer/guitarist, Dave Berry, often seen fronting the band Jelly Bread as they provide an evening of  sultry R&B, funk and swinging rock ’n’ roll.

In the Casino

• Ladies’ Night Tonight: Join us 5:30 to 8:30 PM with a free Coffee Cup Duo Set for the first 150 ladies, Shelly Camp Gift Baskets as hot seat prizes, games, drink specials, FREE Bingo and a chance to earn entries for the April 26 drawing for $500 in Cash!
• Anniversary Giveaways Friday: Drawings at 5, 7 and 9 PM. Win up to $5,000.
• 5X Points Saturday: That’s five times the benefits for your play – every remaining Saturday in April!
• Free CVI Anniversary Wearable Monday: We’ll be doing this for the remaining Mondays in April and this week it’s a Black Short Sleeve T-Shirt. Just earn 125 points Monday and it’s yours, plus you keep the points!
• 10X Golden Tickets Monday: It takes a golden ticket to win the Toyota Camry on April 15 and on Monday you’ll earn 10X Golden Tickets - check in the casino for more information.
• Poker Room: All our Featured Games, Tournaments and Special Promotions are listed on our website, click here for the full story.
• Here’s a Handy Page with all our Current Casino Promotions!
• Sports and Race Book: This week you can bet NBA, MLB, NHL and the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts 500. Futures on the board include winners for The Masters, NBA Championship, NHL Stanley Cup and World Series. 

In Our Restaurants

• Wednesday is Italian Day in Katie’s – three specials for $6.99 each served from 11 AM to 10 PM!
• Our Friday special in Beer Braised Wild Boar Shanks $28. Saturday night’s special is Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32. 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.
• Click the restaurant name for more info, specials and links to menus for Katie’s, CV Steak and Jobs Perk at the CVI . . . or our nearby sister property restaurants, the Jackpot Café at Sharkey's Casino and the Bodines Restaurant at Bodines Casino. 

Planning a Stay at the CVI? You will always get the best rate by booking directly with the Carson Valley Inn either online or by calling our Reservation Department directly at 775-783-6629 or 800-321-6983.

Comments? Have questions or comments about the CVI? Use the comments section below, shoot us an email or 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!