Coach Polian at CVI, Could Job's Perk Influence the Election?, Sportsbook Picks, More

Blitz Lunch with Coach Polian Monday:
Nevada Wolf Pack football coach Brian Polian will be here at the CVI for one of his four 2016 Blitz Lunches on Monday, October 24 and all area Wolf Pack fans are invited to attend! Coach will be sharing information about the state of the Nevada football program and showing film from Nevada’s homecoming game this Saturday against the Wyoming Cowboys. His candor, openness and specialized game film combine for an interesting and enlightening program. The buffet lunch is $20 per person in the Valley Ballroom - the doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the program begins at noon. No advance reservations are necessary.

TG Sheppard in 3 Weeks:

T.G. Sheppard's first commercial album in over 13 years "Legendary Friends & Country Duets" was released about a year ago featuring duets with some of music's biggest icons. The four minute video above, shot during the recording of TG’s duet with the Oak Ridge Boys singing “Down On My Knees,”  includes a light-hearted exchange between TG and William Lee Golden of the Oaks bantering about which artist provokes the most back stage pass requests from the female fans! TG Sheppard and his special guest, wife Kelly Lang, returns for a special acoustic concert in the Valley Ballroom on Saturday night, November 12. Tickets are $25 and are available at the hotel desk or by calling 775-783-6606. A special 2-night hotel package is also available that includes tickets for TJ’s Concert. All the details are at this link.

Walk Inside to Influence Others' Opinions!

Could Job's Perk Influence the Upcoming Election? 
It's a possibility . . . Follow through on our sometimes sketchy blog writers' logic: according to a study cited in this article, coffee can make one more susceptible to persuasion. Therefore, if you have a friend, relative or neighbor who doesn't lean the same way as you politically, whether about a candidate or an issue, offer to buy him or her a cup of coffee in Job's Perk. Use your friendliest and most gentle persuasion skills and you may just be successful. Do us a favor if you find this works: before the caffeine buzz wears off, drop a hint they spend a few minutes trying their luck in the casino – perhaps on the Penny Progressive. If they win, you’ll be the hero. If they don’t win, you can blame it on the coffee!

Sports and Race Book:

• On the Board: This week you can bet the American League (Cleveland Indians vs. Toronto Bluejays) and National League (Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers) Championship Series, NFL and NCAA Football, NBA Basketball (season starts Tuesday, October 25), NHL Hockey, the WNBA Finals (Minnesota Lynx vs. Los Angeles Sparks) and Sunday’s Alabama 500 NASCAR race.  Also on the board: futures bets on who will win the World Series, the NCAA Football Championship, the  Super Bowl and the 2017 NBA Championship.
• The PRO PK’EM Parlay Progressive is now at $3368 – pick all 15 NFL games straight up on the $5 card and it’s yours!
• Chatter Around the Sportsbook with Mike & Alan (where did Jim go?):
• Last Week: Jim liked the Raiders at home against the Chiefs for last Sunday. They didn’t cover and they didn’t win so Jim got booted downstairs to the poker room because we just don’t stand for one of our guys getting a pick wrong! Mike said give the points and take these favorites – Nebraska over Indiana (they covered) and Florida to top Missouri (Florida covered twice over). Mike is now 4-0 over the last two weeks..
• Mike looked closely at 13^th ranked and undefeated West Virginia Mountaineers (-5½) hosting the 4-2 TCU Horned Frogs and he says take the favorite at home. He also espoused on his “when two less-than-stellar-teams play each other” theory that when there is a large point spread, usually take the underdog. So, he likes the 1-5 Buffalo Bulls to be to beat the spread against the favored-by-22 Northern Illinois Huskies (1-6). Alan, who jumped in for Jim, likes the “they are starting to come together” Kansas City Chiefs (-6½) to cover against the “my what a porous defense” New Orleans Saints.    

A Few Tidbits:

• She’s Coming Back so mark your certain-to-be-busy holiday calendar for Sister’s Christmas Catechism show on Thursday and Friday, December 1 and 2. Tickets are $22 and are available at the hotel desk or you can order by phone at 775-783-6606.
• Thursday is Suspender’s Day (just try to buy ‘em around here!) which we share because it is the perfect questionably useful info for Information Overload Day on the same day. On a more pertinent tone, Thursday is also Waiter’s Day so if you’re dining in CV Steak or Katie’s, please give an extra nod of appreciation to your server as it often is a tough job.
• Friday is Apple Day – think Apple Pie in Katie’s!!
• Tuesday is World Pasta Day - not to be confused with National Pasta Day which was last Wednesday (we have no idea why they are not on the same day). Anyway, we suggest you satisfy your appetite without pasta on Tuesday and then get your pasta fix with one of Katie's Wednesday Italian Specials or stop by Sharkey’s on Thursday and enjoy the Chicken Primavera Pasta Special.

Entertainment in the Cabaret Lounge:  

Patrick Major entertains tonight, The John Dawson Band is in Thursday through Saturday, we show NFL Football on the Big Screen in the Cabaret on Sunday and Monday nights and Bill Wharton performs next 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). Click here for the upcoming lineup of  free entertainment in the Cabaret Lounge.

In the Casino

• Ladies’ Night Tonight: Join us 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with free Breast Cancer Awareness Water Bottles to the first 150 ladies, World Market Gift Baskets as hot seat prizes, games, drink specials, FREE Bingo and chances to win drawing entries for the October 26 drawing for a free Coach Handbag and Wallet. 
• Bingo Thursday: Come in and play Bingo on the odd hour, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and win $50 - $100 instantly!  Simply be in the casino playing slots or table games using your INN Club card and watch for our staff bringing around Free Bingo Cards. 
• Win $15,000 Friday: Weekly Friday drawings in our October Progressive Giveaways Promotion are at 5, 7 and 9 p.m. with plenty of cash and free play and the chance to win the $15,000 progressive jackpot. Use your INN Club card while you play!
• 4X Points Saturday: Every Saturday in October earn 4X Points all day.
• Free T-Shirt Mondays: We're giving away Free Long Sleeve CVI T-Shirts every Monday through October 24th!  To qualify, simply earn 75 points the same day and the free T-Shirt is yours . . . plus you keep the points! The gray shirts went out last Monday . . . watch for a different color each Monday.
• Senior Mondays: Seniors 55 and over are invited to our Senior Mondays during October from 8 AM to 11 AM in the Cabaret Lounge. We have free coffee and cookies, free bingo games and a chance to win free play and cash!
• Penny Progressive Pushing $27,000 . . . a handsome jackpot that can only be won on one of the Triple Red Hot 7's slots at the CVI, Sharkey’s or Bodines.
• Poker Room: Our Poker Room offers a Monday Night Football squares grid plus Featured Games, Tournaments and Special Promotions with something going on every day of the week.  Click here for all that’s happening in our poker room
• Here’s a Handy Page with all our October Casino Promotions!

In Our Restaurants

• Wednesday is Italian Day/Night in Katie’s – three specials for just $6.99 each! Check all the Katie’s Daily Specials at this link.
• The 18-Piece Sushi Platter Special is served in CV Steak on Thursday (hint: save $4 Thursdays), Friday and Saturday nights.
• Our Friday special in CV Steak is Buffalo Tournedos for $30.  Saturday night’s special is Garlic Studded Prime Rib for $26 and 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.
• 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!

Eli Young Band Coming, Granger Smith Tickets on Sale Monday, Easter, More

Eli Young Band Coming to TJ’s Corral

Their hit "Crazy Girl" won the Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year in 2012. They've been nominated for over 20 music awards including a 2016 ACM nomination for Vocal Group of the Year (catch the 51st ACM Awards® on CBS Sunday, April 3).  They are the Eli Young Band and they will appear live in TJ's Corral on Sunday, August 14. The full concert line up as we have it so far is on this page on our website which will be updated regularly as tickets go on sale and more concerts are announced.

Granger Smith Concert Tickets On Sale Monday: Granger Smith released his album Remington two weeks ago and it has been in the top-ten onthe Billboard Top Country Albums chart since. Last night Granger appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. We can’t pass all this up so tickets for the Granger Smith Concert in TJ’s Corral on Saturday, May 28 are going on sale via our website this coming Monday, March 28 at 8 a.m. – $23 for the party pit and $29 for reserved seating. 

But First, Win ‘Em Before You Can Buy ‘Em! We’re giving away two free sets of two party pit tickets for Granger’s Concert and you can enter two ways: tell us you want to win in the comment section below – that gets your name in the hat once. Then, go to the TJ’s Corral Facebook Page and either “Like” the page if you already don’t, or share our blog posting from TJ’s Corral Facebook Page with your friends on Facebook. That enters you a second time. Deadline is Sunday, March 27 at 4 p.m. and we’ll post the winners on this page. Must be 21 to enter and win tickets and it’s up to you to get a hold of us if we can’t contact you (we’ll try!).

Before We Go Outside For Concerts . . . It’s just over two weeks until the Lacy J. Dalton Concert in the Valley Ballroom on Friday, April 8.  Dale Poune, comedian Huck Finn and the singing group All Hat and No Cattle will be joining Lacy to help support Nevada's wild horses at this special event sponsored by her Let'em Run Foundation. Tickets ($20) are available at the CVI hotel desk or call 775-783-6606. All proceeds from ticket sales go to the Let 'em Run Foundation.

Easter Bunny Cakes Big Hit! Remember the Easter Bunny Cakes we mentioned in last week’s blog? As promised, we’ve included a picture this week and, as you might guess from looking, our bakery has had a hard time making them fast enough to keep up with the sales! So, if you’re interested, 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 point this week.  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.

Go Pack!!!  We’re rooting for the Nevada Wolfpack as they compete in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational tournament tonight at Lawlor Event Center in Reno. Coach Mussleman has done an excellent job developing his team and recruiting for next year. Whatever the outcome tonight, we know they are going to be a powerful force in the Mountain West Conference next year.

Free Cabaret Lounge Entertainment: The Rye Brothers are here tonight through Saturday and John Palmore performs Sunday through Wednesday.  The Rye Brothers are a “power-pop” country act, mixing contemporary country music and rock n’ roll guitar driven songs Paul Justin & Justin Foutz, who trade off on the lead vocals and guitar licks, formed The Rye Brothers in the of Summer of 2015 and quickly added a solid rhythm section consisting of Jacob Delott (bass, backing vocals) and Jeff Sorenson (drums, backing vocals) to round out this Southern California based “power-pop” quartet.

Interesting, Helpful and Even Useful Tidbits and News

• Sports and Race Book: This week you can bet College Basketball tournament games, Major League Baseball Exhibition Games, Horseracing, NBA Basketball, NHL the Masters. NASCAR takes this weekend off for Easter.
• Ladies’ Night Tonight: The first 150 ladies who sign up for Ladies’ Night tonight receive the third of four Jennifer Aniston Luxury Fragrance items.  Also tonight: a ladies-only drink special, games and hot seat prizes – this week for Wine Country Easter Gift Baskets.
• Buffalo 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. 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.
• Monday’s CVI Polo Shirt is Red and you can have one just for earning 150 points on the same day. Check at Guest Services for your shirt and remember, you keep those 150 points for comps or Freeplay!

Because We Feel Like Mentioning It

• Friday is Waffle Day. You can go the "traditional" route in the morning and order waffles in Katie’s at the CVI or at Bodines Restaurant. Or, wait until later in the day and dig into the Waffle Fried Chicken in Sharkey’s Jackpot Café: Maple syrup marinated chicken breast fried in waffle flour finished with a peppered maple syrup and served with vegetable and sweet potato waffle fries! Come on, admit it . . . you’re thinking about it!
• Saturday is Spinach Day. We have options starting with the healthy approach of the Spinach Salad in Katie’s. You can also add fresh spinach to any Katie’s Omelet (along with your other favorite toppings).  CV Steak has a Warm Artichoke and Spinach Dip served with toasted baguette. Cutting to the chase, you could also go to Bodines, order a Fresh Made Pizza, and include spinach as one of your toppings. Anybody looks at you, just stare ‘em down and say, “It’s got spinach on it, it has to be good for you!”
• Sunday is Quirky Country Music Songs Day. We checked out a few of the lists online and didn’t feel comfortable directing you to any one of them in particular . . . so, click here to Google the subject and take it from there!  Also, here’s a quirky title in need of a song to be written around it: Guns and Grass and Taxes and Gas. We didn’t make this up - it was the title of the presentation given at the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce meeting last week regarding four resolutions which will be on our local ballot this November.

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!