Casino In Reno
- The casino is equally large for Reno standards, boasting 1,400 slot and video poker machines, along with 85 table games. This hotel also has a comedy club, convention hall, spa, five bars, seven restaurants and a Starbucks. Full List of Reno Casinos. Here is a list of all of the casinos in Reno, NV. Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.
- Best Casinos in Reno, NV - Peppermill Reno (2303 reviews), Grand Sierra Resort and Casino (3106 reviews), Atlantis Casino Resort Spa (1111 reviews), Silver Legacy Resort Casino (1427 reviews), Eldorado Resort Casino (862 reviews), Nugget Casino Resort (1427 reviews), Circus Circus Reno (1173 reviews), Crystal Bay Casino (115 reviews), Western Village Inn and Casino (242 reviews), Hobey's.
- Circus Circus is in downtown Reno. It’s the far north casino of a network that also includes El Dorado and Silver Legacy, all connected by an over-the-street mall way full of shops, restaurants and dance clubs.
Guest Reviews
Great casino!!!! Great for sports betting and food! Great food for cheap nice employees and excellent service. I try to go often since it’s one of the last locally owned casinos in town.
Out of the way place but worth driving to. Very quiet atmosphere and spacious dining area. GREAT food, friendly and efficient wait staff and fabulous prices. Wish I lived in Reno.
Price and Value Jewel for Reno. Quiet solitude with great food and service. Ambiance is good. Value comes from pricing, both food and wine are excellent values. Service cannot be any better, as Alexa our server, was so helpful and knowledgeable.
Cactus Creek Prime Steakhouse
Rod R. on TripAdvisorWe love this place! The staff are some of the best in the area. We can’t wait to stop by every time we visit to grab a bite to eat, sit at the bar or play some slots.
Can’t miss steakhouse in Reno… 5+ Stars!!! My friends and I had dinner here over this past weekend and I couldn’t be happier that this was where we went. We were looking for the best steak and service in Reno and we found it!
Cactus Creek Prime Steakhouse
twistedblonde369 on TripAdvisorReally great place to spend your time! It has a nice laid back atmosphere, and a really great cafe. The slot machine selection is really great, and table games are really nice for a casino of this size. Definitely a good place to kick back and spend your time!
Located in the heart of Reno, Nevada, the AAA Four Diamond Atlantis Casino Resort Spa has always been a favorite hotel destination for travelers near and far.
Las Vegas is definitely the crown jewel of the Nevada gambling industry. It’s also the most-notable casino destination in the United States as a whole.
But once upon a time, Reno was actually the most-popular gambling city in Nevada and America. It had the largest casinos and drew the biggest celebrities during its heyday.
Reno is still one of the more-popular gaming destinations in the US. But it’s no longer anywhere near Vegas in terms of prestige, visitors, or revenue.
What happened? I’m going to discuss the rise and fall of Reno’s gaming industry along with where it’s at these days.
Early Days of Reno
Native Americans settled the modern-day Reno area as early as 2000 BC. However, most of its written history started in the mid-1850s, when pioneers began settling the area.
The region’s economy revolved around subsistence farming and tourism. Regarding the latter, travelers often came through the area when traveling the California Trail.
A gold discovery in nearby Virginia City brought even more people to what would eventually become Reno. The discovery of silver in 1859 at Comstock Lode drew an even larger rush of miners.
Railroad expansion brought more visitors and settlers to the area. The Central Pacific Railroad was especially significance in this regard.
Reno would officially have its name after Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer in the Civil War, died at the battle of South Mountain. The town was named after Jesse Lee to commemorate his heroic acts.
In 1926, the city built the Reno Arch on Virginia Street. The arch was meant to commemorate the Transcontinental Highway Exposition of 1927.
Atlantis Casino In Reno
The mayor at the time, E.E. Roberts, offered $100 to anybody who could come up with a slogan for the arch. Considerable time went by before Sacramento’s G.A. Burns coined the nickname “The Biggest Little City in the World.”
Nevada Legalizes Gambling
Nevada became the first state to legalize casino gambling in 1931. It also passed a law that made divorces easier in the Silver State than almost anywhere else in the US.
Both pieces of legislation opened up new opportunities to Reno. People from California and other states began traveling to the city to get uncomplicated divorces.
Some of these same travelers stayed in Reno for a few days. This situation helped the local tourism industry boom.
Casino In Reno Nv Nugget
By the late 1930s, large casinos started opening and running in the town. The Bank Club quickly became the biggest casino in the world.
A combination of legal casinos and easy divorces gave Reno a risqué reputation. Soon, people were coming here to indulge in adult activities just as much as they were for the simple divorces.
Reno Becomes the World’s Most Popular Gambling Destination
This city’s gambling industry continued to grow throughout the 1940s and 50s. Casinos like Harrah’s and Harold’s Club quickly became prominent gambling establishments in Reno.
This town also began attracting plenty of non-gambling businesses as well. By the 1950s, city officials realized that they needed to diversify the economy a little. So, they offered tax breaks to business owners.
Reno had many things going in its favor at this point, including a major railroad, interstate highway system, low business taxes, and affordable property. It was also the world’s most-popular casino destination at the time too.
Las Vegas Surpasses Reno
Both Reno and Las Vegas entered the gaming industry along the same time. They each had the foresight to take advantage of Nevada legalizing gaming in the early 1930s.
Reno got out of the starting blocks faster and quickly built an impressive casino industry. However, Las Vegas also saw plenty of development on this front over the years.
Once a small dusty town, Vegas drew lots of investments from mobsters. The latter ran many of the town’s casinos and also laundered money through these gambling establishments.
While their reasoning behind opening casinos was deceiving, the mob quickly accelerated Sin City’s growth with its investments. By the late 1950s, Las Vegas overtook Reno as both the United States’ and world’s most-visited gambling spot.
California Casinos Hurt Reno Gambling
Reno may no longer have been the state’s biggest casino hotspot, but it still experienced widespread success for a few more decades. From the 1960s to 80s, it remained a premier gambling destination.
However, things would slowly start changing in 1988, when the US government approved the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
The IGRA didn’t immediately impact Reno’s gambling industry. However, it would pave the way for California tribes to eventually negotiate a casino compact with the state’s government.
By the early 2000’s, Native-American casinos in California were cutting into Reno’s revenue. Establishments near Lake Tahoe were especially hitting the city hard.
Reno Loses Its Airport
Reno has never had a major international airport. However, they used to at least have an airstrip that could serve commercial airliners.
This situation changed in 1999, though, when American Airlines bought out Reno Air. American Airlines originally planned to integrate Reno Air and its fleet into the company’s east-west route.
However, this deal fell through when American Airlines reduced its fleet in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks. The result is that Reno lost its airports and ability to fly visitors directly into town.
Losing this airfield was a huge deal when considering that cross-state rival Las Vegas features one of the country’s largest airports. Now, the only way to reach the city is by car or bus.
What’s Reno Like Today
This town certainly isn’t the gambling capital that it was several decades ago. In fact, its downtown looks a little shabby in recent years.
The main street features plenty of litter and vacant buildings. That said, Reno doesn’t quite measure up to Las Vegas in terms of appearances.
Furthermore, some of the once-successful casinos have been torn down. For example, Fitzgerald’s, Nevada Club, Horseshoe Club, and Harold’s Club are no longer standing.
But not everything is bad for Reno these days. It still has over 20 casinos and makes around $5 billion in annual gambling revenue.
Some of the casinos here have thrived and expanded. Atlantis, Grand Sierra Resort, and Peppermill have all been quite successful.
Casino In Reno Nevada
Going beyond gambling, Reno has also become something of a tech hub. Its Truckee Meadows area houses operations from major companies, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Panasonic, and Tesla.
Conclusion
Reno is long since removed from its golden era, which ran from the late 1930s to the late 1950s. This time period saw the Biggest Little City in the World grow significantly and build prominent casinos.
Even after Vegas surpassed it in the late sixties, Reno remained a notable gambling destination for years. It wasn’t as far off from Sin City back in these days.
However, California Indian casinos eventually put a serious dent in Reno’s gaming profits. Online casinos added some more competition. Reno Air shutting down provided yet another setback.
Nevertheless, Reno is still one of the more-popular casino destinations in America. It features over 20 casinos and draws millions of tourists every year.