Reno Week

We had a great time in Reno - though at the end of Monday, I told J. 'I just want to go home'.  A brutal round of slot playing that left me broke and bereft...at the casino where we were staying which made it really bad.  J. tried craps and at a $10 table, also had a not so great run.  Trapped in a so-so hotel with the tightest slots on the planet...it was futile.  J. played golf on Tuesday so I tried again - another brutal pounding.  I put so much money in that I moved up a players card level by Tuesday morning - yay! only no.  An advanced level at a place I never intend to play again doesn't get me much.

Make no mistake - I know gambling will result in losing.  The house is almost always ahead - otherwise, there'd be no casinos anywhere.  I never mind losing if the play is fun and results in wins that keep me going - but that wasn't happening at our hotel.

Tuesday evening, we headed out of our hotel/casino and went to Atlantis for dinner - fabulous buffet! We signed up for players cards - J. hit the craps table - very excited to have found a $3 table! - and I hit the slots.  We had a blast!  J. ended up $145 that night and played for a really long time at a really fun table.  I had great luck at slots, too - got braver as the evening went and starting betting 'full bet' no matter what.  Inspired by a young man about H.'s age who cruised up to the Buffalo Gold machine next to me, bet highest bet and proceeded to win $1000 in about 10 minutes.  He also confessed that he was stopping by just to try it again because he'd won $3500 on that same machine about an hour earlier.

My high bet strategy seemed to be the golden ticket at Atlantis 'cuz I played a lot and I played long.
We came home in the red but still had money that we thought we'd lose leftover so to us? that's a really great trip!  We can't wait to go again.  We went back there every night to play and had a blast! Our 'home' casino did get $120 more out of us this morning when we made our final play a try at the Megbucks $10.6M jackpot - which we did not hit.  But we had fun trying.

Wednesday and Thursday, we did as we'd planned - looked at houses.  We're pretty sure we are decided on the Reno area - though the snow part in the winter has me a bit unsure.  Everyone says it's not like snow back East - unlikely to really impact us much with the exception of the need for a 4-wheel drive vehicle with snow tires - but I'm still unsure.  I worry a bit about moving and then something happening to Jim - or something happening to me - and then the other is alone in Reno dealing with snow, etc. on their own.

We looked at some really incredible homes and fell in love with the builder and the various developments in Reno.  So many options - we visited a few places on Wednesday that were North of Reno - not great and pretty disappointed.  But on Thursday, we ventured South and viola!  Tons of really nice areas that felt like 'home' to us - we loved it!  So many options - we looked at an 'active adult' community - no one under 55 can live there but visitors are OK - and loved the floorplans.  The HOA fees are a bit steep but then they have activities non-stop - constantly stuff to do, outings to join in on.  The same builder has a 'family' neighborhood right next to the adult community and we looked there as well - lower HOA but with many of the same amenities - swimming pool, community club house, gym, tennis courts, etc. -

We have a lot to think about and things to crunch numbers on.  The primary reason for considering Nevada is the appealing financial factor of no state taxes - something to consider when you are looking at long-term financial planning on quite a bit of savings that is pre-tax.  I'm going to check often at the Reno school district website for jobs - 'cuz honestly, if I found a job, we'd consider moving ASAP - as crazy and hectic as that would be.  Yes, we'd have to figure out what to do for H. - but if he stays on his current track, he will be finished with his A.S. by this time next year - and even if we'd signed a contract this week (which we didn't), we'd be looking at six to nine months of construction before we could move in anyway.

Lots to plan for and dream of - and while I said to J. yesterday 'this is starting to make me feel depressed', it is pretty exciting - maybe big changes ahead sooner than we thought.  'Cuz we could move with me still working - and that sounds appealing.  So we'll see.

Last night, we returned to Atlantis and both used our players cards for possible comps.  We scored two $20.99 buffet dinners for $3.45!  Total!  Wonderful food and a bargain, too!!

We arrived home to a tidy house - H. did a good job and he cleaned the kitchen, which he was very proud of.  (I didn't ask why he felt the need to clean the kitchen - was too excited that he did it on his own).  Great to see him and I think he was pretty lonely all week - no school this week and we left my car here but pretty much suggested we'd prefer he stay home as much as possible.

J.'s old Camry is officially totaled and we got a rather huge deposit into our checking account today. H. and J. are going to be shopping for a used car this weekend - 'cuz H. has to have a way to get to/from school.  I only have one day this month when I need to drive to the County Office for a meeting so we can technically manage with only two cars - and we may do that for a bit.  With a little planning, I'm sure we can manage -

We're looking for something cheap and reliable.  Fingers crossed.  Nothing fancy; basic transportation and we hope to spend no more than 2/3 of what we were paid out for the Camry.

We ordered pizza for dinner 'cuz we have no idea what's here and no energy to cook anything.  Spoiled by nice breakfast and dinner buffets daily - we skipped lunch and would have some nuts to get us through to dinner - but we're home now and there's no one to cook but us.  So pizza!  Woot woot!

I am toying with possibly going to work for a bit either tomorrow or Sunday - but I'm also toying with going to Thunder Valley 'cuz the Thuderstrike Jackpot is growing and that amount would be a nice start on our 'saving for house upgrades' fund that we are officially opening NOW!