Cheapo Reno - Harvey's Tahoe Resort

A nice resort along the shore of Lake Tahoe. There's no reason to recommend this place over its nearby neighbors, except if you can get a great price for one of their outstanding rooms. It began life as an independent casino, but was bought by Harrah's, to which it is now connected by a tunnel passing under Highway 50. It tends to get a little confusing, because the two casinos share marketing duties, so it's hard to know if a restaurant or show is in Harrah's or Harvey's.

Room Quality: Rooms are nice, and recently updated to a modern look. There may be too much red for our taste in the simplest rooms. The hotel has two towers - original and newer. Rooms in the newer are much bigger and have nicer furnishings than those in the original tower. Really, though, both are fine. The lowest rooms are called Mountain view, the higher (and pricier rooms) are called lake view.


	Check prices for this property with Expedia and HotelDiscount.com. Weekday $80-$150 Discount Weekday $60-$100 Weekend $150-$240 Discount Weekend $120-$200 What does discount mean?

Service Quality: They're not going to have a parade in your honor, but they'll treat you like a paying customer if you are one. It's a full-service hotel, so you can have all the room service and extra towels you want.

What You Get Bottles of in the Bathroom: Shampoo/conditioner and some hand lotion. Not the top quality stuff, but it will clean you up okay.

Clientele: Rich folks rub elbows with other rich folks in this joint. It's not quite our style, but that's just because we always figure rich people are looking down on us.

How's the Pool? It's not much to crow about, although it is heated an open year-round, except maybe on the snowiest days of the year. Also, it's on the roof of the casino, and has a pretty neat view of treetops.

Table Games: Lousy blackjack. Double only on 8,9,10, or 11. Craps with 3-4-5 odds, roulette, Pai Gow, Let it Ride, Caribbean Stud, Baccarat.

Bet Minimums: Most everything is $5 by day, but up to $10 on busy nights. You can bet dollars at roulette, $1 minimum inside, $5 outside (not outside the casino, outside of the straight up numbers). When it's busy, table games tend to creep up to $10 every single hand. Jeez! That's our whole stake for a weekend.

Machines: Mostly quarters and above, although you'll be able to find some nickel slots around. Video poker has horrible payouts, so don't go looking to win anything here.

Cocktails? Lots of cocktail waitresses hanging around, so you'll be ableto get lots of free drinks quickly. One time they even offered us a cocktail and we weren't even betting.

Who Gets Comps? They see some pretty heavy action here, so you're going to haveto shell out big-time to get any attention. Figure five hours or more at $25/hand before they start thinking about offering you free food, and even more for a room.

19 Kitchen: Man, this place and the accompanying bar are swanky. They are up on the 19th floor, hence the name. The menu is steak and seafood with a hipster twist. That means that you just don't get a baked potato, you get fried mac and cheese or some fancy french fries. What a view!

Cabo Wabo Cantina: This is Sammy Hagar's rockin' bar and Mexican restaurant. Don't worry, we've heard very few reports of Sammy's hair in the food. Hair notwithstanding, this is typical and solid Mexican served in a small room behind the loud bar. The bar has live music at night, so don't dine here if you like to hear yourself think, or your tablemates speak. Wednesdays are Naughty School Girl Night with a low-rent pole dance contest.

Hard Rock Cafe: Just like every other Hard Rock Cafe in the world, only this one sells t-shirts that say "Lake Tahoe" on them. Whee!

Sage Room: This is one great room to eat a steak in. It's not too stuffy or overdone, just elegant. We'd love to tell you how the steaks are, but we got kicked out by the Maitre'D just as we were about to convince some guy to give us a taste of his. It looked good, anyway.

Sierra Choices Cafe: Wow, this is one enormous coffee shop! It's got a standard menu and a salad bar, but the place is just acres upon acres because it is the coffee shop for Harvey's and Harrah's, which ditches theirs.

Harvey's has not only the requisite Starbucks but also a Cinnabon. So, if you need empty calories, they've got you well covered.

Arcade: Lots of video games down in the basement, but 50 cents for a game of Galage? no, thanks. We'll stick to the "free play" version at our local nickel arcade.

Improv at Harvey's: The Improv features mid-level comics who you might have heard of if you watch a lot of Comedy Central or late-night talk shows.

Number of TVs: Five great big ones in the main room and seven more in the adjacent "Stadium" room (which is pretty cool). Then there are a few little plasmas. They pretty much will all show sports.

Number of Seats: About 90 seats, with 24 having individual TVs. Many seats for sports fans surround tables, which are perfect for banging your head on when the quarterback for the team you bet on throws an interception with 30 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Of course, in the adjoining Video Stadium, there are about 200 more seats at tables and booths.

Snack Bar? There are some vending machines that sell chips and other snacks that our mothers told us were unhealthy, and also a small stand selling hot dogs and nachos.

Other Notes: This room is completely non-smoking (probably to offset the fatty snacks available in the vending machines). The Video Stadium has cocktail waitresses come through, but no betting windows, so you could go here if all you want to do is watch.

Comfort of Chairs: Black WSOP seats that won't do your bottom any harm. They're not luscious, but better than average for a poker room. These are probably hand-me-downs from the Rio in Vegas, which hosted the thousands of participants in the WSOP. Who knows, maybe a winner sat in that one you're thinking about plopping down in.

Closed Room or Open to Casino? It's open, and near the casino floor. The noise level is bad in the front, but better in the back.

Game Spreads and Limits: 3-6 Hold 'em; 4-8 sometimes but mostly it's No Limit starting at $2-$3.

Beginner Games or Classes? Nope, but they'll teach you the difference between a flush and a straight if you ask nicely.

How Crowded is the Room? It all depends on when you go. On weekends, the place gets pretty packed, but weekdays are quiet. Expect up to an hour wait at peak times.

How Good Are the Players? They get some good players, and they get some bad players. We can't tell you the exact days and times when the bad players will be there, though, so sorry about that.

What Else Do I Need to Know? No limit Hold 'em tournament Tuesday, Thursday and weekday mornings. Rake is maxed out at $4 at a 10% rate. This room is sort of cramped and crummy.