I disagree, you're talking about today's Reno, the future Reno looks really bright. We've got 2 massive retail projects potentiallly coming downtown, the Baseball Stadium and the Northeast Downtown Project. Have you ever been to www.downtownmakeover.com? Check it out, it tells you all about downtown Reno redevelopment both downtown and around the city. Yes, today's Reno is very sort of.. drab, but the potential future will turn the city inside out.

Gotta agree with you prwhite. Wifey and I were in Reno 12 years ago and the downtown main street was very vibrant. We stopped over again last year after a night in Las Vegas on our way to San Francisco and we very disappointed at the way downtown Reno had deteriorated.

There seem to be a lot of homeless people on the street and we did not feet particularly safe. We stayed at Sands Regency Hotel just off the downtown and it was very nice.

We are also not too happy with the City of Reno for stealing our AAA baseball team the Sidewinders from Tucson and moving them up to northern Nevada. Ya Bums Ya.

I also agree with you prwhite, Reno, for what it was once known for, is not the same! The upcoming "new" Reno looks a little positive if one is looking for shopping, ball games, and condo purchasing I guess. But it's not what I am looking for in Reno. It's lost it's unique and exciting atmosphere with the closing of so many casinos. And unfortunately they can't be brought back or replaced. Nothing like walking next door from casino to casino and people milling about in throngs. Miss the bright lights and entertainment that was so abundant then. For us, we don't feel comfortable walking outside at night with all the vagrants around...will plan for a night through on our way to AZ sometimes but will not make a special trip down anymore just for Reno.

And who is going to step up and demolish all the pawn shops and gaudy souvenir stores that are eye sores up and down Virginia Street? The casinos could also use some major face lifts.

harrahs..i have loved staying here at harrahs. all the employees are super helpful,not one employee said or did anything that was mean or rude. the food is great, the steakhouse was absolutly marvelous! what i dont like is the homeless sitting along that long walkway..i have made the extra step and walked all around to the center street entrance rather than walk by them. maybe they are harmless, but i dont like being asked for change.the elevators need some help. its a seven floor establishment with 2 elevators for the garage, one not working so many times waiting 10 minutes for an elevator. but i sure hate all the pawn shops and souvenier shops. virginia street is clean but the shops make it uninviting.maybe there is a future for reno. at one time i considered moving back here but i think i wont. i guess you cant bring back the past, but the city leaders need to do some revamping. for the life of me i cant understand why any big name celebrity comes here, other than the pay.

prwhite55 wrote: "at one time i considered moving back here but i think i wont. i guess you cant bring back the past, but the city leaders need to do some revamping. for the life of me i cant understand why any big name celebrity comes here, other than the pay."

You would only consider moving here based on the current status of Virginia Street? I find that odd. because the livable part of Reno has an extremely high quality of life and many amenities that are quite separate from the gambling. And the revamping is exactly what is going on currently-Rome wasn't built in a day!

And I don't know of any big name celebrity that travels anywhere for free. Don't they get paid no matter where they go? Reno draws from all of the surrounding NV towns as well as lots of areas of Northern California for concerts, so not sure where that statement came from.

Living here, I always find it interesting to read visitors' points of view about Virginia Street. I totally understand that there has been a lot of change in the last few years (and there is lots of change to come, as well), but if you are honestly ONLY here to gamble and not see any of the sights, aren't the ElDo, Silver Legacy, Circus Circus, and Harrah's enough? And for those venturing a little further south, the Atlantis and Peppermill don't suffice?

fonzambo, no it is not enough for those of us that were so used to everything downtown Reno used to have to offer us "Gamblers". I would not put Reno down as a city. Just talking about Reno and how dead it feels downtown compared to how we loved it then. Yes, there are some great casinos still in Reno and I do believe they still have a lot to offer. We are not alone in our opinions here. Virtually everyone we know either quit going to Reno for all the reasons mentioned in pryor posts or if ones do go they come back with all the same complaints. It is not the town Reno. It is the "Biggest Little City" that the arch stood for that is missing.

Ya know, the Fonz is right, Rome wasn't built in a day, give Reno time, let it reinvent itself with bigger and better stuff, besides Gaming because if the economy worsens, gaming is going to disapate. Even in Las Vegas, speaking of LV, I look at Reno heading in the direction they started about 10 years ago with all the new condos and shopping, just be patient and look forward to a new Reno, by the way, sorry Tuscon we're taking your baseball team

About 10 years or so ago, while visiting Vegas, we stayed at the Tropicana for a week with a group of 10. We all hopped on a bus one day and went down to old downtown Vegas now known as the Fremont Experience. We all visited the old casinos that day, Fremont, Binions, 4 Queens, Nugget, to name a few. It was getting late and we were told by security not to venture out to much at night beings it was not safe with the homeless and crime everywhere. Now the Freemont Street is covered and light shows are shown each night. Security is present on bikes everywhere. Crowds are busy and people are milling around again. Little and big casinos, entertainment, little eateries, pubs, and shopping are plentiful. We feel safe there and love the casinos all close together in a safe invironment. Just wondering if Reno could do something like that and turn things around again. Get rid of the shops that don't attract tourists and gamblers as much( souvenier and pawn shops, etc..).and make the little town a bit more exciting. Just wishing downtown's old Reno, what is left, would be worth preserving and expanded in some positive way. Not just about the gaming, but about the history and what made the town what it was to us all who miss it....

Just so ya know, it's not a little town. There are more than 420,000 people in Reno and Sparks, it's a city you can call it that. It WAS a little town and that's what I think everybody misses, it's Reno's urbanization it's currently undergoing that everyone hates.