Comedy, Eagles, Deer, Mangia, VoodDoo Cowboys, More at the CVI

Laugh It up Next Wednesday Night in the Valley Ballroom! There’s nothing like live standup comedy in the close-up setting of our Valley ballroom! With our booming sound system, bright spotlights and seats right up to the stage, you’ll catch the comedians’ facial expressions when they are animated and the beads of sweat when a joke bombs!  Headline performer Del Van Dyke has been a fixture on the nightclub circuit and won several major comedy competitions. Feature comedian Kelly Hilbert grabs you with his happy-to-be-here attitude, and his working class, blue collar points of view on kids, parenting, relationships, and life in general. The two combine for an hour+ of laughs for just $15 with the doors opening at 7 and the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Buy tickets at the hotel desk or call 775-783-6606 (21 or over, please).

A Good 6 Months For Eagles! It started last August when the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds filled the skies of Carson Valley. Their logo and name come from the mythical Eagle -like bird! Six months later, live eagles are now flocking to our Valley as the calving season unfolds . . . and what better way to see them up-close than by attending the Eagles and Agriculture event produced annually by the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce and headquartered at the Carson Valley Inn.  The picture at the left is one of many, many images captured locally by noted Carson Valley wildlife photographer John T. Humphrey whose images can be viewed on his Facebook Page or at his Website. The subject of the eagles also brings up the classic shown below by the Steve Miller Band so click on it and listen to this “LP Version” of “Fly Like an Eagle.”

Audience Shuns TJ’s Corral’s First 2016 Show! Sure looks like this "audience of one" turned its back on the stage at TJ’s Corral earlier this week. Can hardly blame her, the act on stage certainly wasn’t very entertaining! However, that will not be the case this summer and we hope to start announcing some of our 2016 concerts in the next month or two. We'll always try to "break the news" in our Wednesday morning blog and the TJ’s Corral Facebook Page.  The schedule will be posted on this web page which you may want to bookmark for this summer when TJ’s Corral will be the place to be “seen and not herd!!” 

Cash Patrol Trivia: Free T-shirts, drawings, gifts for answering trivia questions correctly, cakewalks, balloon pop games and plenty of on-the-spot cash prizes are all part of Cash Patrol continuing on Friday and Saturday nights this month between 5 and 9 p.m. As a reminder, some of the trivia questions may just pertain to items covered in this blog. Also this Friday and Saturday: Slots Happy Hour Mystery Multipliers (3X-7X Points) from 4 to 6 p.m. and our $75,000 King of Cash Drawings at 5, 7 and 9 p.m.

Bere Vino Added to Mangia on Wednesdays! Loosely translated here’s what it all means: The three Italian Specials were very well received last week in Katie’s so we are serving the same three specials every Wednesday for the rest of the month from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Katie’s: your choice of Chicken Parmigiana served on a bed of spaghetti pasta with marinara sauce; Chicken Piccata served on a bed of spaghetti pasta with lemon caper butter sauce and mushrooms; or Meat Lasagna. All three specials are $5.99 and are served with vegetables and garlic bread. You can add a cup of soup (Italian Meatball is one of the Wednesday options) or a side salad for just $1.50 and Italian Wine (the Bere Vino part) is just $2!

Cabaret Lounge Entertainment – Free! Josh Budro performs tonight, the Voodoo Cowboys entertain Thursday through Saturday nights, and George Pickard returns Sunday through Wednesday.  Playing together since 2009, the Voodoo Cowboys have appeared at most major casino venues in Nevada.  Not the cryin' in your beer type country band, they are the life of the party with their dance-inducing, hard drivin' country music and rock ‘n’ roll. The group has shared stages with such rock and country stars as David Nail, Little Texas, Ron Keel, Toby Keith and more.

Race and Sports Book:

• This week you can watch and bet the NFL Divisional Round Games on Saturday and Sunday, Horseracing, NBA and College Basketball and NHL Hockey.  We are also taking action on Saturday’s Deontay Wilder vs. Artur Szpilka WBC World Heavyweight Title fight and Sunday’s Dillashaw vs. Cruz UFC Bantamweight Title fight. 
• No one could have predicted what happened in a couple of the NFL wildcard playoff games last weekend, so the PRO PK’EM progressive jackpot is still alive and it took a jump to $4,980 for the coming weekend. The parlay card features winners, totals and props on the four NFL Divisional Round games this Saturday and Sunday.  Anyone care to select all the road teams winning again this weekend?

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

• Liquor Tops Cigarettes by a Mile!! We sure gave away a lot of 200 ml bottles of Jaegermeister last Wednesday . . . That option left Marlboro Red or Gold in the dust from those who earned 100 base points. We’ll see what happens today when the choice is the smokes or a 200 ml bottle of Fireball!
• Bison Friday, Prime Rib Saturday, King Crab Sunday in CV Steak:  Our Friday special in CV Steak is Braised Buffalo Short Ribs for $29. Saturday night’s special in CV Steak is Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32. Both 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 National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day and we tempt you to gather (that's part of the pastrami day tradition)  in Katie's and enjoy our Grilled Pastrami Sandwich served on rye bread with stone ground mustard and Swiss cheese!
• Friday is Strawberry Ice Cream Day. Did you know that we offer four flavors of ice cream in Katie's (the three standards plus red cherry) and, behind the scenes, we have an ice cream counter where our servers can make ice cream sodas, milkshakes, etc. So, no excuses for not getting your sweet tooth soothed by ice cream anytime you are in Katie's.
• Saturday is International Hot and Spicy Food Day. If you feel like celebrating, scurry down to the Jackpot Café in Sharkey's and order The Volcano Burger. It’ll set the inside of your mouth on fire!
• Sunday is Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day which had us pondering how many people really make New Year's resolutions, which resolutions are most common, how many people follow through, etc. We found some interesting statistics in this posting from the Statistic Brain Research Institute . . . you check with them regularly, don't you?

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!

Italian Wednesdays, Cash Patrol, Entertainment, Sports, More at CVI

Cash Patrol Starts This Weekend! Free T-shirts, drawings, gifts for answering trivia questions (perhaps from info in this blog) correctly, cakewalks, balloon pop games and plenty of on-the-spot are all part of Cash Patrol starting this Friday. Want more details? So do we, but we'll just have to wait and see how it all unfolds when the first Cash Patrol happens this Friday led by local MC/DJ/Entertainer Anthony Janssen. Will you win a prize or have an opportunity to participate in one of the zany antics? It's all about being in the right place at the right time!  The right place is the Carson Valley Inn casino and the right time is between 5 and 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through February 12! Also on tap Fridays and Saturdays this month: Slots Happy Hour Mystery Multipliers (3X-7X Points) from 4 to 6 p.m. and our $75,000 King of Cash Drawings at 5, 7 and 9 p.m.

cash prizes

New - Wednesday Italian Specials in Katie’s: During January you can count on three Italian Specials every Wednesday in Katie’s from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Today all three of the specials are $5.99 and your choices are Chicken Parmigiana served on a bed of spaghetti pasta with marinara sauce; Chicken Piccata served on a bed of spaghetti pasta with lemon caper butter sauce and mushrooms; and Meat Lasagna. All three specials are served with vegetables and garlic bread and you can add a cup of soup or a side salad for $1.50. In keeping with the Italian theme, Katie’s will have Italian Wedding Meatball Soup as one of the two choices Wednesdays in January.

Did you receive one of these?

The Gift Card Thing - One More Week! 

We’re not really milking the Gift Card subject . . . After so many people received CVI Gift Cards

over the last few weeks, we started getting questions. So here are the answers to the three most common questions:

• Where: Gift Cards can be used at the Carson Valley Inn, Bodines Casino and Sharkey’s Casino. Click here for all the uses.
• How: Gift Cards are “kinda like” a debit card in that whatever amount you use on a given visit is deducted from the card balance and any remaining balance can be used the next time.
• How Much: You can check the remaining balance on your Gift Card here. 

Cabaret Lounge Entertainment – No Cover, No Minimum – Free! John Palmore performs tonight, the Eric Hisaw Band entertains Thursday through Saturday nights, and Josh Budro returns Sunday through Wednesday.  Playing guitar since he was 13 years old, Eric Hisaw’s sound is influenced most notably by the Rolling Stones, Merle Haggard and Bob Dylan.  A true guitar hero with real writing talent, his songs are for the honest, modern working-class hero who is struggling to make ends meet, find some peace of mind and maybe a woman to rely on.  Like all great American music, Hisaw’s songs evoke a strong sense of place, from the small desert towns of New Mexico to the bustling streets of L.A. and back down the dusty trails of deep South Texas. Thanks again to Sarah Hauck of The Record Courier for interviewing Eric and posting this great article!

Race and Sports Book:

• This week you can watch and bet the NFL Wild Card Games on Saturday and Sunday, the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday, Horseracing, NBA and College Basketball and NHL Hockey.
• The PRO PK’EM jackpot has not hit yet so it now sits at $4,913 on this week’s progressive parlay card which will feature winners, totals and props on the four NFL Wild Card games this Saturday and Sunday.
• This week could be your last chance to bet a long shot on who will win the Super Bowl. All 12 NFL Playoff teams are on the board and odds as of yesterday ranged from 25 to 1 for the Texans or Redskins down to 3 to 1 for the Panthers.
• Sports: What We Can't Write Because It Isn't Right! That's right; apparently the AP Stylebook for 2015 has come up with the following: A team losing a game is not a “disaster.” Home runs are homers, not “dingers,” “jacks” or “bombs.” A player scored 10 straight points, not 10 “unanswered” points. If a football team scores two touchdowns and the opponent doesn’t come back, say it “never trailed” rather than “never looked back.” In short, avoid hackneyed words and phrases, redundancies and exaggerations. Seriously? We'll do our best (fingers crossed behind our back) to write according to their suggestions, but if you’re watching a game at the CVI, especially if you have a bet riding, say it anyway you want with as much emphasis, slang (consideration for others around, please) and enthusiasm as takes to sway the outcome!! Oh, the AP Stylebook would also insist we cite our source for the above quote which came from an article in the Columbia Journalism Review. Interesting this same article also mentions an apparently acceptable term defining what a team is doing when it is parking the bus! 

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

• Old Gambling Hall Feel Tonight! Earn 100 base points today and get your choice of a pack of Marlboro Red or Gold cigarettes or a 200 ml bottle of Jaegermeister liquor.  Same thing next Wednesday except the liquor choice is Fireball.  
• Quail Friday, Prime Rib Saturday, King Crab Sunday in CV Steak:  Our Friday special in CV Steak is Roasted Stuffed Quail with Prosciutto, wild rice and plum port glaze for $28.00. Saturday night’s special in CV Steak is Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32. Both 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.
• Monthly Blackjack Tournament Tuesday: Our Blackjack Tournaments are held on the second Tuesday of each month with a $25 buy-in and all entry fees and re-buys going into the prize fund. Signups are from 5 to 6 p.m. on the day of the tournament and play starts at 6:00 p.m.
• Because We Feel Like Mentioning It:
• January is Soup Month - a great reason to remind you Katie's has two hot soups featured every day (remember, one of them is Italian Wedding Soup on Wednesdays)! January is also Oatmeal Month  - in addition to serving oatmeal in Katie's we can also meet the requests for most of the toppings (peanut butter is our favorite) suggested at this link.
• Monday is Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day.  Assuming you are familiar with the term Morse code, and you are curious as to how you to spell your name or anything else, you can fumble around at this link.  To hear "Carson Valley Inn" in Morse code, click here. In case a wandering M.C. asks on Friday or Saturday, the Morse code was invented by Samuel Morse. 
  

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!