Reno with the Go-Gos
 

We Got the Passes

Jailer got backstage passes for the Go-Gos concert so I booked a flight on United Shuttle to join him and Craig6z in Reno for an overnight stay at the Reno Hilton. Hunnybear hadn’t driven my white Pontiac convertible for some time so she climbed into the driver’s seat and whisked me to LAX. It took eight minutes flat to get from the apartment to the airport and another eight minutes to get to the United terminal. I kissed Hunnybear goodbye and went through secret security to the Red Carpet Club where I picked up a couple of biscotti for the trip. The line at the Red Carpet Club to check in was long so I went to the secret Premier Executive checkin desk on the way to the Shuttle Terminal, which should be called Terminal 8 but is just called part of Terminal 7. I saw the guy in front of me use a coveted Time-Verified Upgrade for the short flight to Reno. I mean he spent something worth maybe $150 if he used it cross-country on this piddly little flight. It made me cringe.

I was really getting the hang of this Shuttle flying because I then went to Starbucks for a decaf to drink with the biscotti. With a little effort you could make do-it-yourself premium service. We boarded on time and I settled into seat 1C. Service was friendly and efficient on this one-hour flight but we had a bit of a queue to take off so we left about fifteen minutes late. My seat opponent was a retired United flight engineer who pointed out geographical landmarks along the way. He said the word from the pilot’s union was that the outlook was good for ending the labor troubles soon.

We landed as we took off, fifteen minutes late. I wheeled past the slot machines to door D and caught the free shuttle to the Reno Hilton. It was the nicest casino in Reno, about the quality of Harrah’s or Bally’s on the Vegas Strip. Of course in Reno they hit soft 17, which gave the house an extra half a percent advantage. I wheeled past a long line over to the VIP/Crystal Club/Casino Guest/HHonors checkin. I blew the dust off my HHonors gold card and asked if any upgrades were available. As has almost invariably been my experience at Hiltons, the clerk said I was in luck and that he had something nice for me. It was a large room on the 16th floor (bottom half of the hotel) with a view of the airport. As has almost invariably been my experience at Hiltons, I failed to see any difference between the “upgraded” room and any other room in the hotel.

I said not a word but went straight down to play Pai Gow Poker. My luck was running like fat juicy trout this trip as I could do no wrong and quickly built up a nice cushion of winnings by the time Craig6z and Jailer arrived. I played a little Three-Card Poker, a new game that was fun but had a high house advantage especially considering how many hands they can get in in an hour. I went upstairs to www.thewizardofodds.com to learn how to play. It was easy. Bet with a Queen-6-4 or higher, fold otherwise. I hit a straight and a flush and left ahead by a bit.

I met the boys in the lobby, ascertained that their room was exactly the same as mine but four floor higher, and looked for someplace to get a bite. We settled on Chevy’s, a mediocre Mexican restaurant chain right in the hotel lobby. I ordered fajitas but they brought four chicken satays on a bed of sliced zucchini. I complained about paying $11.95 for four strips of chicken and the waitress offered to bring more chicken for another $3-$4. I declined.

The boys and I went over to Jailer’s friend’s art gallery, Richardson Gallery, and looked at a huge selection of high-quality art by contemporary artists. Craig6z and I were astonished that such a place could be in Reno, Nevada. Jailer wanted a more in-depth look so Craig6z and I wandered over to the Atlantis casino and played a bit. Craig6z got hoovered at everything but the trout were still running for me. I hit Five of a Kind at Deuces Wild and cashed out ahead $70. I even won $13 at Monopoly.

We went back and changed for the show. It was a triple bill of Eighties bands: The Psychedelic Furs, The B-52s, and the Go-Gos. The venue was the “Reno Hilton Amphitheater,” actually a bunch of bleachers set up in the parking lot. The Furs opened at seven o’clock straight up and played a passionate 40-minute set to the sparse crowd, concluding with hits “Pretty in Pink” and “Heaven.” It took 30 minutes to change for the next band but then the B-52s came on an performed a brilliant set of all their best songs, beginning with “Private Idaho” and saving hits “Love Shack” and “Rock Lobster” for the end along with a personal favorite, “Planet Claire.” The band had aged gracefully and still looked like they were having fun weaving their offbeat lyrics with the distinctive voices of the three lead singers. It was worth coming just for them.

We all awaited the entrance of the Go-Gos, whom we had backstage passes to see. They opened with hit “Vacation” and played energetically through an hour of songs that most people weren’t too familiar with until they concluded with their other two hits, “We’ve Got the Beat” and “Islands of Seals”—I mean, “Our Lips Are Sealed.” Funny how, if you mishear the lyrics to a song the first time you hear it, it sticks with you.

After an upbeat but unfamiliar encore we headed backstage. They kept us waiting for ten minutes but we finally got to meet the band. The experience was kind of like running into the 37-year-old woman who used to be the 17-year-old girl in high school that you had a crush on but never gave you the time of day. She was generous and kind with her time now, but the intensity just wasn’t there. All three bands put on good shows, but the distracted crowd of 4000 watching these once-popular groups sobered me to just how fleeting fame is.

The show ran much longer than I had thought so the reservations I had made at the Reno Hilton’s steakhouse (called “The Steak House”) were dead and buried. The only place open at the Hilton was that rat-trap Chevy’s so we climbed into Craig6z’s Audi and headed to the Peppermill where we had a fine dinner although there was no chance to get it comped. I had a Joe’s Special ($5.99) which was good although not up to Grande Luxe Café standards. We headed back to the Hilton and Jailer and I played Pai Gow Poker into the wee hours. I won even more before going up to my upgraded room and crashing.


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[This message has been edited by QuietLion (edited 07-31-2000).]

Until just a few weeks ago, I thought B.T.O.'s Takin' Care of Business was really Takin' Care of Elizabeth.

Sounds like a great time!! I love 80's music in general and the Go Go's in particular. Haven't seen them since they were in NYC in the mid-90's.

He said the word from the pilot’s union was that the outlook was good for ending the labor troubles soon. - it will end sep-5-00, and not one day before, that's when I will fly UA again, except a return Express flight LAX-SNA (first time since the Catman-Do-II ...) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

fame is indeed fleeting, as i said to my waiter, newt gingrich http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Great trip. It’s comforting that even rock stars get old. And even though Jane pranced around the stage like a 20-year old, she said that the pace of the tour was killing her, so I guess a job is a job.

The Gogos were great, but I didn’t expect the B-52’s to be so much fun. Even though our backstage passes were for the Gogos, some of my S.F. cousins and I used the passes to Bogart into the B-52’s after concert party, which was before the Gogos' set. Had some B-52 eats and drinks, and generally tried to look like we belonged.

Maybe it’s me, but even backstage parties seem less wild then they used to be.

Another highlight of the concert was looking at the people who colored their hair every imaginable shade and dug their 80’s clothes out of the closet. I’ve never seen so many boas at one time in my life, not to mention every reincarnation of punk.

Had so much fun I may have to repeat it at the last concert stop, San Diego.

Yes, Virginia, there is gambling in Nevada. And while most people see a sign over the table that say “Pai Gow Poker”, QuietLion sees a sign that say, “friendly withdrawals made here.” Even with some mental mistakes, I won a (very) few bucks at Pai Gow thanks to some Lion tutoring, so maybe I’ll give up the day job, yet. Q.L., on the other hand, appeared to do some real damage to the Hilton’s bottom line.

Comp City

I had a few hours to play Pai Gow Poker before my 3:56 flight back to Los Angeles so I hunkered down at the most crowded table and won some more money from Park Place Entertainment. Jailer and Craig6z had left early in the morning to drive home so it was just me and the dealer. Around noon I got hungry and I thought of Arnie the Compmeister so I asked the supervisor for a comp for Lindy’s deli. Twenty minutes later a casino host showed up and wrote me the comp so I cashed in my winnings, took down the marker I had started the trip with, and had a nice Reuben sandwich on bread that was a little soft to be good rye but it wasn’t rotten or anything.

I played Pai Gow Poker a little more and won even more money before it was time to go up and pack. Instead of checking out I went to the casino host office and asked them to comp everything. They were happy to take care of everything except the tip on lunch and $3 worth of local phone calls. Neither the casino host nor I could figure out why they couldn’t comp the phone calls, which of course cost the hotel nothing, but he said they never comp movies, tips, or phone calls. I guess they figure if you're watching a movie or making a phone call you’re not gambling and it’s bad for business so they don’t want to encourage it. He said they only comp phone calls for HHonors Gold and Diamond. Well what do you know? I raised my eyebrows and said, “But monsieur—I am Gold.” He immediately took off the $3 in phone calls.

I thanked the host and prepared to catch the free shuttle to the airport when I felt Arnie-Wan Compnobie’s astral projection whispering in my ear—“Use the comp, son.” So I said, “And could I get a ride to the airport?” He immediately picked up the phone and arranged for a ride. I told him 20 minutes, which gave me a chance to play a little Deuces Wild in the high-limit slots room. I found a machine that let me play three hands at once for $5 a hand. The lady next to me hit two Five of a Kinds and two Four Deuces while I treaded water. Attendants kept coming up to her wheeling buckets of money to pay her.

I went to the bell desk and found that my luggage had already been loaded into a white stretch limo. The bellman whisked me to the airport, a 10-minute drive, and dropped me right at the United checkin counter. I tipped him $5 but he looked disconcerted. I’m not sure if it wasn’t enough or something else was on his mind.

There was no line at the First Class/Premier checkin and only one person in the regular line. A very friendly (like everyone in Reno) agent looked up at me, smiled, and said, “I’ll be right with you, sir.” He checked me in quickly and I told him I appreciated the acknowledgement. There was time to play a little more Deuces Wild before checking in so I hit a Wild Royal Flush for $125. This trip was as winning as the last one was losing and I ended up close to even for the two trips—ahead if I considered the value of the comps, of course.

The United Shuttle to LAX boarded on time. I had seat 1A, my second-favorite seat on the Shuttle. My seat opponent was a young man who had just finished 11 years as a naval officer and was making up for lost drinking time. We were overweight due to heat and altitude so we waited while they kicked off a couple of space-available employees from coach. We took off about a half-hour late but got a rare pre-flight drink service while we waited. The August Hemispheres was in the aircraft a day early. Once again service on this Shuttle was first-rate. Apparently the LA and Denver crews are just consistently in better moods than the Seattle ones.

We landed a half-hour late. Hunnybear met me at the secret place and whisked me home to a splendid dinner of Salmon à la Hunnybear. We went for a nice walk under the friendly skies and talked about how lucky we were.

The end.


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[This message has been edited by QuietLion (edited 08-01-2000).]

The Reno Hilton is my favorite for that city. The casino is indeed large and spread out, with no sense of claustrophobia one easily gets in many casinos.

The rooms facing the airport are without a doubt among the best for observing airport activity. Any mention of the Reno Hilton always reminds me of one truly scary experience I had watching when runway 34 was in use - landings and take-offs to the north. That put the departure end of the runway just below my window. A NW 727 made its take-off roll toward me - it just kept coming and coming and coming. The aircraft could not have been more than 200 feet from the end of the runway when the nosewheel finally came up, and the main gear lifted off so close to the end of the runway that the wheels nearly hit the approach lights. For a couple of seconds, I was convinced they were not going to make it.

I'm not usually a big concert fan. But, your 80's trio sounds like a blast. I particularly like the idea of dressing ala 80's!

Thanks once again, for the vicarious travel pleasure!

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