Jets, Golf, Pizza, Whiskey & Concerts

Concert Updates:

• Gary Allen Concert June 4: tickets continue to move briskly for this concert and, if our pool of available tickets were a gas tank, we'd be running kinda low. With just three weeks to go we suggest you get your tickets soon!
  
• The Davisson Brothers Band and Loving Mary Band Concert June 12: this one is on the Friday of Carson Valley Days weekend and we know you'll be pleased with these two young country acts. It's quite affordable at just $22.50 - make your plans now to attend!
• Rodney Atkins Concert June 27:  Funny thing happened last week – we found out that Rodney Atkins tickets were going on sale a few hours after our blog was already posted on Wednesday morning at 7 AM. So, we updated the blog which quickly stirred up ticket sales. So, if you missed that exciting news, here's a reminder: RodneyAtkins tickets are now on sale!
• For complete list of the remaining 2015 concerts in TJ's Corral, click here. And do check back from time-to-time as we are working on a few more.

Jets, Golf, Pizza and Whiskey (sounds like one heck of a weekend!):

• Today is Top Gun Day! That action-packed Tom Cruise movie was released in 1986 – that's 29 years ago - and what better segue into the modern day military jet excitement produced by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds!!  The team's power-packed F-16s will be performing on August 22 and 23 at the AviationRoundup at the very nearby Minden Tahoe Airport. The weekend is sure to be a sellout in our Hotel and Motor Lodge, so we suggest you make your reservations soon!
• This Thursday is Golf Day and we'll take the opportunity to remind our readers the Carson Valley Inn is one of northern Nevada's premier group golf headquarters. We've built an incredibly positive reputation and our hotel is a magnet for golfers participating in area tournaments, group outings and more. We offer a variety of group golf packages that include receptions, dinners, hotel rooms and golf. Want to know more? Call Greg at 775-783-6615.
• Friday is Pizza Party Day which provides yet another segue – this time into one of the specialties at Bodine's Casino! 
  This is definitely not a "throw a prepackaged pizza into the oven" operation. Bodine's old-fashioned pizza oven maintains a stone surface temperature of 450° and an internal temperature of nearly 600°. Each pizza is hand tossed after your order is placed, loaded with the ingredients you request, rotated during the cooking process and served piping hot! Pizza is served daily in Bodine's restaurant and bars from 11 AM to 10 PM (a little later on weekends). And here's two inside scoops: First, there is a Bodines Pizza Hotline, 775-283-4005, which you can call to place your order and have it ready when you arrive. Second, on Fridays and Saturdays from 8:30 p.m. to midnight all 16" pizzas are half off PLUS pitchers of beer and pitchers of margaritas are just $5! But back to the Pizzas: We asked Ryan (pictured)"Just how popular are they?" According to Ryan: "I've made over 100 of them myself on a busy night and our guests just keep on coming back!"
• Saturday is World Whisky Day so we went up to the CV Steak Bar earlier this week and said to Russell "See how many bottles of
  
  whiskey you can get on that table in one minute – GO!" We figure he'd come up with about 6 or 8 but it was closer to 15 or 16 by the time he stopped to catch his breath. We snapped this quick picture without a stylist to help Russell look anymore "GQ" than he already does and without any special lighting or attention to how the bottles were arranged. Anyway, since this Saturday is World Whisky Day, stop by the CV Steak Bar and try a few that may be new to you. If you're local, be sure to have a designated driver! As for the two spellings we used - whiskey and whisky - we do know the technical difference but, among friends, just enjoy!

Speaking of Whiskey and Other Spirits! We're getting pretty excited about the Bently Distillery project that had its official groundbreaking earlier this week. It's within a few hundred yards of the CVI and will definitely add a first-class attraction about a three minute walk from our casino entrance. Kudos to our friends and neighbors at Bently Enterprises for this undertaking and for the grand opening earlier this week of their corporate headquarters in the totally refurbished Farmer's Bank Building in "downtown" Minden (6-7 minute walk from CVI).

Prefer Wine to Spirits?  No problem because the first 2015 Thirsty Third Thursday Wine Walk in Gardnerville is coming up on May 21 and Sharkey's Casino is participating! Be sure to register at the start of the wine walk at either the Town of Gardnerville Office or Big Daddy's Bike Shop.

Pasta Anyone? Our friends at carsonvalleytimes.com are at it again with another one of their Food Wars. This time it's Pasta Wars and a couple of the pasta dishes in both Katie's and CV Steak are in the nomination round. How about taking a look and, if you have enjoyed them, please cast your vote!

Meanwhile, In Our Back Parking Lot: you never know what you're going to see inside a casino or even in a casino parking lot. Take a look at the video and make your own judgment. This was just sitting in our back parking lot last Tuesday and, try as we may, no one knew why it was there. The first speculation came from an older and pensive-looking chap who softly suggested that it was something from a remake of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (if you don't get it, you probably didn't relate to the Top Gun blurb either)!  Anyway, turns out it belonged to a gentleman who was giving a presentation to the Minden Rotary Club in our convention center on Tuesday. It's actually called a Vertical Axis Small Wind Turbine. He was enjoying himself until one of the Rotary members walked in and kiddingly said within earshot of the speaker "who's trailer is that out back? It's surrounded by 15 people with signs that say 'no solar power in Carson Valley!'"

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

• Wednesday Ladies' Night 5:30 to 8:30 PM: The first 150 ladies to sign up tonight receive the second set of two May spa products.  Also enjoy hot seat drawings for Bath & Body Works Baskets ladies-only drink specials and more.
• Mike's Horses: Some weeks are not worth mentioning. Mike ran three horses at Santa Anita last weekend and . . . just reread the first sentence!
• Blackjack Tournament Winners: We had another fun Monthly Blackjack Tournament last night. Dave Baily was the winner followed by Malcolm Treasure  in second and Gary Hitt in third  The next tournament? Tuesday evening, June 9 and, as always, just a $25 buy-in!
• Grilled Duck Breast Friday in CV Steak:   Our Friday Game Special this week is Grilled Duck Breast, a Maple Leaf Farms 9 oz. duck breast marinated with fresh herbs, grilled to medium rare-medium doneness with natural duck jus, served with tableside-tossed salad, vegetable and your choice of potato - au gratin, baked, or a one-pound, twice-baked potato . . . all for $28.00.
• Free Entertainment in the Cabaret Lounge: Steve Lord is here tonight, Melissa Drew and her band entertain Thursday thru Saturday, and Jonathan "JB" Barton takes the stage Sunday through Wednesday nights. You can also watch and bet the NBA Playoff games, NHL Stanley Cup games, Major League Baseball games, NASCAR, Indianapolis 500, horseracing – including the Preakness Stakes.
• Because We Want To Make Sure You Know:
• Our Food Truck Festival is Saturday, May 23 with offerings from a variety of  food trucks plus beverages, free live entertainment, and a giant inflatable obstacle course for the kids. 
• World War II Bomber Rides will be available at the Minden-Tahoe Airport, located just five minutes from the Carson Valley Inn, on Monday through Wednesday, June 1 – 3.

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!