TDY Gouge - Nevada

Fallon AFB, NV - Since most crews are in Fallon for a month you can do it all but it get's expensive. First you need wheels. Reno and Carson City are an hour away. There is a ton to do in Reno, gamble at the Bird Farm in Fallon for craps lessons then hit the strip in Reno to loose big money. Mens Club downtown Reno has the best looking dancers you have ever seen but is really pricey. The Midnight Roper in Fallon is great unless the Airwing is intown. Then there are 7 guys per girl. Hit the gun/liquer/porn shop on the end of town for the best price on booze. Rent a 4x4 and hit the desert to tear it up. Tons of trails allover! Fallon's not bad if you have wheels.

Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, NV - Don't stay at Super 8 if they try to put you up here. And don't let the billeting office tell you they can't move you, they can, but they will want a reason in writing. The place is right out side the front gate, and is a real dump. Crew rest will be impossible due to all the cars parking 3 feet from your door. Barcelona Hotel (right outside the gate - what a roachmotel). Stay downtown - make reservations EARLY. Hotel for Las Vegas is the Royal Hotel and Casino - It's on the contract quarters list and is close to everything. The Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino is still reasonable on prices and a good spot to party. Radisson "New Frontier" (702)794-8200 is an older hotel with acceptable rooms. Big plus = right on the strip. The Normal Clubs, restaurants, and casino stuff are downstairs. When you call about price you can talk to the manager and get a Military rate. Another place to to check would be Circus Circus (same type of Hotel). Do not stay at Vacation Village - it's nasty, carpet sticks to your feet and rooms cost $70! UPDATE: World Trade Center =No longer a viable option...will be closing after 31 Apr 01. Apparently the owner told the gambling commission to "pack sand" and as a result lost it's gambling license. No license, no business, no hotel. Also, during the first wk of April 01, 3 murders within a block of the hotel. Hotel scheduled for demolition at end of April or May 2001. Residence Inn Hughes Center (1 800 331 3131) is great and only 1 mile from Bally's (East on Paradise). Mon-Thurs: free beer (MGD) and dinner in the evening. Free breakfast in the mornings. Inconvenient to Nellis, but then again, it's VEGAS, BABY! Big room, kitchen, pool fair jogging area. Gov't rate- NO PROBLEM ($72). Nevada Palace is the worst place I've ever stayed! The rooms smelled like they haven't been cleaned in over a month and when you walked on the carpet your feet stuck to it. San Remo Hotel & Casino (702-739-9000 / Tropicana Blvd) is decent, but it's located only a hundred yards off the Strip, within a 5 minute walk of MGM Grand, New York, NY, and the Tropicana. Room rates are well within the perdiem rate and the 2 for 1 happy hour rocks...~We were put in the San Remo by Nellis billeting. It's a cut rate casino hotel. Not too bad for food and rooms, but who bitches about rooms on the strip anyhow? It is right across from the MGM Grand and NY/NY. Say no more. When we were getting the non A's from billetting I let them suggest this joint. I'm not sure if acting coy helped or if we could have better dealed it.~Stratosphere is an excellent Hotel and Casino! Tons of stuff to do in the area. 5 minute cab ride to Cheetah's. Viva Lost Wages. ~MGM Grand (702-891-7777) was Awesome! Great rooms within per diem, 7 days a week. Food in hotel is expensive, but a lot to choose from. Just a few miles from Signature FBO. Take cab ($7) or rent car from FBO. Free valet parking. ~Luxor 1-888-777-0188 was great! Flew in for an overnight (student cross country). Signature Flight Svc screwed up our fuel order and didn't fuel us until we showed up to depart the next morning! Get a reduced rate from the Luxor through Signature.. only $75/night. Nice room on 9th floor with great view of "The Strip." Service was good, room was clean, 2 queen beds per room so if you can stand to split the room, it's a great deal! Y'all have plenty of "to-do" info for Vegas, so I won't bore you with more. ~Be very careful dealing with Las Vegas Signature Flight Support / Casper Executive Services. An Alaska ANG C-130 recently stopped at McCarran using the gov't contract holder, Signature Flight Support for RON parking and fuel services. During trip set-up we had Signature reserve lodging for the aircrew using the pilot's credit card to guarantee the rooms. After arriving at KLAS the Signature crew bus took the aircrew to the hotel where they thought their reservations were. A month later the pilot's credit card bill had an additional charge for another hotel. He was charged a "no-show" at the Doubletree Inn, the initial reservation was made by Signature Flight Services at the Hampton Inn. The charge was disputed, but The Doubletree Inn will not drop the charges and Signature will not intervene and pressure the Doubletree Inn to drop the 7 no-show charges. Signature claims they sent out a FAX with the reservation changes, but have no proof of transmission. Their response now is "that person doesn't work here anymore", but the charges are still there.

~Las Vegas Travelodge 1-702-733-0001 was A Dump. This is the Travelodge on W. Sahara Avenue (there are three near the strip), and it was a total roach motel! I think even the roaches left since I didn't see any. My room smelled like somebody had just taken a piss in the corner, was hot and the air conditioner didn't help much. It was only 85 that day, I can't imagine what it's like in the summer! It's not too far from the Strip, but it's impossible to walk there since there's fenced-off yards and railroad tracks between the hotel and the Strip. Plus, the clientele looked like the folks in the mutant bar in Total Recall. Stay away! On a brighter note, I talked with the Group Sales department at the Las Vegas Hilton, they will give you a government rate any day of the week with no minimum stay required. Talk to Ryan Leibowitz in Group Sales, his phone is 702-732-5879. Unfortunately, they were sold out when we were in town, but Ryan said he'd take care of USAF crews if he's got vacancy. ~We got put in the LaQuinta on Paradise. Great rooms with fridge, microwave, in-room jacuzzi. Nice workout room and big, clean pool. Across the street from Gordon Biersch, down the road from PF Changs, next to Morton's. Free continental breakfast. On the approved list, $72/night. Shuttle to strip.

~Palace Station was a dump! Highly recommend that you stay elsewhere. One of our crew members got fleas from the sheets! He was given a $50 comp and new sheets. will never stay here again. ~I'm just a bottom dwelling scum sucking low life contractor (I work for Boeing), but I noticed something in the Nellis portion of the TDY gouge. The Hard Rock Casino is one of the best places for eye candy, but you must NEVER gamble there. I have been there many times and I have never seen any of my friends win. I don't know how they do it, but the house always seems to win. My buddies win at other casino's, but never at Hard Rock. I watched three of them lose $1400 in a matter of less than 10 minutes. Although this provided me with great amusement, they were not as happy. I guess my advice would be to be very careful when gambling there. Watch the tables for awhile before trying anything!

~Boulder Station was a great hotel. Stayed at Boulder Station for 2 weeks. So-so location on the Boulder Hwy but hotel was great and they had plenty of restaurants to choose from as well as a decent movie theater. 99 cent breakfast was a plus for the late-late night crowd. Minuses included no fridge or laundry machines. Key Largo Hotel and Casino was decent. Pretty much a locals hang out, around the corner from the Hard Rock. It had a small casino and sports book downstairs and a descent pool complex. there were some little things like the lacking of ESPN in the rooms that annoyed a lot of people but for two weeks it wasn't that bad

~Alexsis Park Resort was a total dump! So called "recently renovated", Paint is peeling off the walls, basic amenities like fixtures are either loose or don't work properly, etc. I don't how this place didn't get in the gouge sooner. It is located close to the approach/departure end of one of McCarren's runways. See "Noisy" in the dictionary. Hotel is walking distance to Hard Rock and strip but neighborhood is questionable at night. There are much better places to stay in sin city.....

Reno, NV - During off season, book the Reno Hilton through Mercury Air (FBO at Reno Int'l) and get weekday rates at $25, and weekend at $55. 2000 rooms -definitely the best rooms in Reno, awesome casino, many restaurants in the hotel, although further from the strip. A great hotel closer to the strip is the El Dorado. Atlantis Resort and Casino is an excellent place to stay. Under max per diem. Everything you want under one roof. FBO is Mercury Air, very helpful. ~El Dorado was fantastic! Set up hotel through Mercury FBO. Great hotel, with casino right there. Brewpub right in hotel, service is a bit slow, good food and prices. Automatically upgraded to next available room category available when we checked in. Park in valet and get reimbursed, self-park is a pain.

~An Alaska ANG TDY C-130 crew ops stopped at Reno Jet Center (Mercury) to drop off PAX. They have changed their procedures, if you don't buy at least 1000 gallons of fuel you will be charged a $900.00 ramp fee. On the return trip, the crew called a "box lunch" order in through Mercury. The crew was charged $330.00 for 15 assorted box lunches! $22.00 each for one sandwich, a bag of chips, a small cup of potato salad, two small cookies, and no drink! We only get $30.00 a day per diem.