Best Casino in Reno: Atlantis Casino

2005 was a banner year for The Atlantis Casino (www.atlantiscasino.com), which was voted Best Casino by Reno News and Review in their "Best of Northern Nevada" poll, Friendliest Casino by the Reno Gazette Journal's "Best of 2005" poll, Best Place To Gamble in Nevada Magazine's "Best of 2005" poll, and Best Overall Casino Theme in Casino Player Magazine's 2005 "Best of Gaming" poll. They also managed to pull down Best Sports Book, Best Poker Room, Best Customer Service, Best Buffet, and Best Sushi.

The casino features blackjack with $5 tables that also feature a single deck, double on anything and dealers hit soft 17 games. Roulette is a buck with a $2 minimum. Craps is $2 at its lowest with 3x4x5x odds. Pai Gow, 3-Card, 3-5-7 Poker, Mini-Baccarat and Let It Ride can all be had for $5 a hand.

Slots and video poker are all over the place, including some full-pay video poker at the quarter and up level. The non-smoking slots area is located in the big atrium in the elevated walkway between the parking lot and casino. The slot club is called Club Paradise and it tracks tables, slots and even keno. While not wildly generous, expect to get some food for a few hours of $15 a hand and higher play. Rooms are for the $50 and up players.

The casino's clientele tends towards tourists of the middle class, middle-age crowd, although it also attracts a lot of regional gamblers. There are eight different places to eat within the casino and hotel, and no doubt the buffets are packed with locals on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.

The casino's hotel has three adjoining towers and an old motor lodge. The tallest of the towers is the newest, and each tower room has big comfortable beds and a sofa, at least two phones, and nice, large bathrooms. The lodge rooms aren't as nice and are in the older motel section out back, with considerably smaller bathrooms. Room rates are $60-$90 for the towers and $30-$60 for the lodge on weekdays; $110-$180 and $80-$100 for the weekends, respectively.