Mike Tice Charity Golf Details, Food in Every Direction, More

First TJ’s Corral Concert Getting Close! Granger Smith kicks off our 2016 Concert Schedule in TJ’s Corral on Saturday, May 28 and Frankie Ballard follows 5 days later on Thursday, June 2!  We hope you’re getting as excited as us to get the outdoor concert season started!  Granger’s new lyric video (above) for "If the Boot Fits" from his “Remington” album will get you in the mood and give you a taste of his drivin’ country sound! And for a quick tease of our Eli Young Band Concert on August 14, check out the 20-second clip below from their April performance at the two-day Off The Rails Festival in Texas.

Mike Tice Charity Golf Tournament Opportunities: What started off as a private event five years ago has slowly developed a local almost “cult” following which has created more and more requests to join in this “quite energetic” gathering of Coach Tice’s extended circle of friends. In response, Coach Tice – in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada – has opened the doors this year to even more local participation. Tickets and information are now available for the Decades Concert on Saturday, June 18 in TJ’s Corral (you had to be there last year to understand this was one of the highlights of the summer!), an optional Spaghetti Dinner before the concert, and various packages for participating in the Charity Golf Tournament and Awards Dinner on Sunday, June 19. This event has raised in excess of $400,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada Carson Valley Branch over the last few years with the total topping $100,000 the last two years. Buying tickets for the concert or getting involved in the golf tournament is easy at this link. If you have questions or want to donate or participate in a manner not covered, please call Katie Leao at (775) 882-8820.

The Penny Progressive is inching closer to $50,000!

Catching Flights in Reno Just Got Easier

New Schedule – Early Departures for Early Flights: The Carson ValleyAirporter has revised their schedules to provide early morning departures from the Carson Valley Inn so that passengers can catch the early bank of flights heading east. They have also instituted a late departure for those catching the 11:59 p.m. Jet Blue flight to JFK which is perfect for a long spring weekend in New York City . . . but not on one of our concert weekends, please! Here is a link to departures from CVI to the Reno Airport and another link to departures from the Reno Airport to the CVI.

Food – In Every Direction and Plenty of Choices!  

• Today is Eat What You Want Day and we offer a full realm of possibilities starting here at the Carson Valley Inn with the 24-hour convenience of Katie's, nightly dinner in CV Steak and a variety of snacks and other offerings in Job's Perk. A mile south,  The Jackpot Café in Sharkey's Casino is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And 12 minutes to the north from here, the Bodines Casino Restaurant offers yet another variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner choices including cooked-to-order pizza in a special pizza oven . . . the perfect segue into National Pizza Party Day! Celebrated on the third Friday in May each year (this Friday!) National Pizza Party Day is a perfect reason to stop by Bodines and enjoy a fresh-made pizza in Bodines Restaurant or at the casino bar!
• Seems a week doesn't go by that we don't mention something about all the fresh bakery products and make at the Carson Valley Inn. We'll start with this Friday which is National Apple Pie Day - one of our specialties serve either by the slice and Katie's or by the whole pie at the Katie's bakery counter. Sunday is Chocolate Chip Day and we sell a pretty hefty size chocolate chip cookie at the bakery counter – 6 for $5! And to wrap up the whole subject of baked goods and put a bow on it: Tuesday is World Baking Day.

Would you fly this to 90,000 feet?

Local Soaring Again Garners a National Spotlight: Tucked away in a private hangar at the nearby Minden-Tahoe Tahoe Airport is a project that, if all goes as planned, will soon blossom into international headlines. The Perlan Project hopes to break the world altitude record set by the Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” when it flew 85,069 feet above the surface of the earth. Unlike the high powered SR-71, the Perlan II is . . . a pressurized glider! Last weekend a group of dignitaries from major sponsor Airbus were in town along with national and international media to review the progress. Here are just a couple of the international postings in the Daily Mail in the UK and the Bangkok Post. The Perlan Project is just one example of some of the many interesting projects and businesses headquartered at the Minden-TahoeAirport.

Free Cabaret Lounge Entertainment: George Pickard entertains tonight, Melissa Dru takes the stage Thursday Friday and Saturday and Bill Wharton performs Sunday through Wednesday.  Singer and songwriter Melissa Dru has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York and at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Melissa and her band cover a wide mix including classic rock, R&B and a bit of country; everything from Pink Floyd to Patsy Cline. A natural performer and entertainer, Melissa will delight you with her unique vocal style and sense of fun. Don't miss this popular songbird in action!

Interesting & Helpful Tidbits and News

• Casino Extras: Our $100,000 Guaranteed Giveaways Promotion continues through June 30 – be sure to get in on the giveaways and other casino promotions.
• Sports and Race Book: This week you can bet Major League Baseball, US Open Golf Futures, Horseracing, the NBA Playoffs, the NHL Playoffs and Sunday's NASCAR AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway.
• Ladies’ Night Tonight: The first 150 ladies who sign up for Ladies’ Night tonight receive another Logo Flower Pen to add to the Pen Planter that 150 of you got last week!  Also tonight: a ladies-only drink special, raffle, games and hot seat drawings for Bath and Body Works Baskets.
• Game Friday, Prime Rib Saturday, King Crab Sunday in CV Steak:  Our Friday special in CV Steak is Grilled Game Brochette with marinated Buffalo and Elk tenderloin, Wild Boar and Alligator Sausage finished with a red wine demi for $28.  Sunday's special is one pound of King Crab Legs for $32. All three 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.

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!

Chris Young Tickets On Sale, Eddie Money Concert this Weekend, Great Videos, Much More

Dustin Lynch A BIG HIT: Whew – what a night at the Dustin Lynch Concert last Friday! Another sell-out crowd and our best guess is that 85 - 90% of the audience was totally different folks than those who attended the sold-out Oak Ridge Boys concert in May. Actually, many said this was their first time to the CVI and the Carson Valley. Dustin stayed after the show and signed autographs for his fans until everyone was covered. Then Dustin and some of his band joined Stew Stewart on the Cabaret Lounge stage after the show and the party and jamming went on for hours! According to Stew, "Dustin did everything we asked and then some – he was one of the most cooperative acts I have ever worked with!" Our sincere thanks to this talented young singer who treats people with respect!  And also thanks to Deanna who got behind the stage and took this iPhone video of Dustin and the audience singing Friends in Low places!

Mike Tice Invitational = Big Boost for Boys & Girls Club: Looks like a guaranteed third straight exciting weekend at the CVI as NFL Coach Mike Tice brings 100+ of his friends to town for the annual Mike Tice Invitational Golf Tournament and the Eddie Money concert . . . and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada Carson Valley Branch will reap the benefits! Coach Tice, now Offensive Line Coach for the Atlanta Falcons, is hard to miss at 6' 8" and you can certainly see why he was effective as an NFL tight end from 1981 to 1995 with the Seahawks, Redskins and Vikings. But not to worry, when you run into him in the casino he is as gentle and polite as you would hope a guy his size would be!! While most of the participants are outside of the "I played NFL Football" ranks, joining Mike will be Bryan Cox, former NFL linebacker and current Falcons Defensive Coordinator who played for the Dolphins, Bears, Jets, Patriots and Saints from 1991 to 2002. One of the Invitational's evening functions includes a Silent Auction with many valuable prizes and ALL proceeds to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada, Carson Valley Branch.

Eddie Money: We admit that we've explained it a few different ways and, honestly, we really don't want to get into banging the same drum week after week on one subject. So, if you'll indulge us one last time:  The Carson Valley Inn is paying all costs associated with Eddie Money's appearance this Saturday. The Eddie Money tickets are $60 each – which includes two drinks - and all $60 goes to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada, Carson Valley Branch. So spend a night enjoying some good ole rock 'n' Roll and do your part to bolster the chances of tomorrow's generation!

Chris Young Tickets Go On Sale Today!! We told you we'd give our blog readers a heads up and here it is: Chris Young Concert tickets go on sale through our web site today at 8 a.m. (not before). Click here to go to the Chris Young Concert Page!

Mike's Horses:

• Fiftyshadesof hay finished third in the Ruffian Stakes on Saturday night at Churchill Downs.
• What's Up for Mike in the 2015 Kentucky Derby? Ha! If we – or anybody – had the answer to that question we'd be . . . well, we don't have the answer. BUT, for a feel about the path to the Derby and how Mike has fared over the years, check out Chris Murray's column in last Sunday's Reno Gazette Journal. Chris is one of those special sports reporters who listens carefully and then reports fairly and accurately. 

How About The USA Soccer Game Against Ghana!! As they say, "A win is a win" (somebody please tell us who first said that!) and the United States' defeat of Ghana, coupled with Portugal's loss to Germany, puts a big target of importance on Sunday's USA - Portugal game at 3 p.m. Catch the action on the HD screens in the Cabaret Lounge and Cabaret Bar!

Look Up in the Sky . . . it's a Bird, It's a Plane   . . . Actually, in this case it is a Plane!! If you are reading this in the Carson Valley area you may have noticed a multi-engine jet flying around the last few days (and continuing today and tomorrow). It’s British Aerospace 146e Airliner that's been converted by our friends at Minden Air into the next generation of Fire Bombers – and that's a good thing to have nearby as the fire season approaches rapidly.  Take a look in the sky, read about it here or watch the incredible video taken by Airport Operations Manager Chris Johnson when we joined him right on the edge of the drop zone for Tuesday's test drops. You'll see two real-time passes dropping water, another real-time pass dropping retardant and then a final slow-motion retardant pass - all taken from just 200 feet directly below the overflying aircraft!

As Always, Interesting and/or Helpful Tidbits and News:

• Coming in Next Week's Blog Posting: Our list of July events and activities in the Carson Valley area and news about an Austinpalooza Festival in TJ's Corral in mid-August featuring Lee Rocker and a handful of local bands.
• Bunko for Breast Cancer: It's not until October, and, in this usage, it is spelled "Bunko" instead of Bunco, but now is the time to check out the details on how you can become involved in this admittedly loud and boisterous fund raiser for Cancer services in our area.  This is a yeoman's undertaking by our friends at the nearby GE facility and we are proud to be part of their efforts!
• Friday's Game-On Fridays special in CV Steak is Grilled Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast with natural duck jus for $28 - includes tableside-tossed salad, vegetable and your choice of potato - au gratin, baked, or a one-pound, twice-baked potato!
• CV Steak is humming on all cylinders since we opened 7-days-a-week for the summer. We recently made a few additions to the wine list so check it out!
• Free Entertainment in the Cabaret Lounge: Jonny Smokes (an unbelievable power-packed one man band you have to see and hear!) finishes up tonight, After Dark takes the stage tomorrow through Saturday and Michael Furlong entertains Sunday through Wednesday.  Here is a link to the schedule for the next couple of months.

Just Wondering: Does anyone really read blog postings all the way to the end? Does anyone post any comments or questions on blogs anymore? Does anyone know what year the Carson Valley Inn first opened? Just Wondering.