Rooms

[Stan Back]

It was all explained to me years ago.  Sitting with a bartender in the basement of the Stateline, I mentioned how great SpeedWeek must be for the casinos.  He begged to differ.  He said we all got up at 6 in the morning and left, came back at 8 and tracked the place up, took a shower and stood in the buffet line and didn't gamble, drink or tip anyone.  I think he had it mostly right (yeah, we all know the exceptions).  The gambling's the reason the rooms used to be so cheap in the casino/hotels.

[Bob Drury]

The sad thing here is that we spend a ton of money at Smiths, the gas stations, etc., but the casinos don't give a rats ass about the small business' that make Wendover work.  Perhaps a little chat with the clerks when you go through the check out lines might get a message to City Hall, but then again, the Casinos probably own it too.

[Bob Drury]

One more winey complaint.  As you enter Wendover returning from the salt, the big three have a large billboard proclaiming, as I recall, 1300 rooms.  This does not include the Nugget or any of the independent motels.  I wonder how many rooms they actually rented out.  By leading us on with the Jan. 8th date, a lot of us passed on other establishments because of the multitude of rooms available.  When you are trying to book for eight or ten people it is normally a lot easier at the bigger places, or so I thought.

[smitty2]

 I camped at the bend in the road, and had a great time. The only problem I had was the nature call in the middle of the night.... left the door opened with the light on and instantly became a home for wayward flys. Must of been 30 of them when I looked at the ceiling the next morning. Make sure you shake your boots out before putting them on in the morning... I never saw any evidence of scorpions, but you never can be too carefull.

Smitty

[esqeddy]

I tried to make reservations at the Rainbow last summer and was told that reservations couldn't be made until the 22nd of Jan.  Now I find out that they were opened on the 8th and everything is already booked up.

Just Great. 

Last year I and my crew had to sleep in the car trailer.  We would pull the trailer from the salt every evening and set it up at the KOA.  Every morning we would take everything down and pull it back out on to the salt.  What a pain.

And please, someone explain the logic of having to leave every evening.   I've not encountered that at any NHRA event.  Do other race sanctioning bodies require this at thier events?  Is security really an issue?  Was their some bad incident that brought this on?

If people were allowed to stay on the salt at night it would make sitting in line all day much more tolerable.

[dwarner]

president@scta-bni.org

DW

[Bob Drury]

Esqeddy, As I see it, there could be a multitude of problems.  How do you keep the participants separated from the spectators being one.  One bad apple who wants a "small souvaneer" could ruin a event for a participant.  How would you control people who want to make a midnight beer run?  We have enough problems in the pits during the day with rat rods, motor bikes, campers, etc, that have no business in there.  If they have free run in the evening, who knows what could happen.  As it is now, I feel free to leave my tools and extra parts out in the open, and I tell all my nearby competitors to help them selves to anything they need, even if I am gone.  I am not sure I would be so accomodating if I did't feel the pits were secure at night.  Now if there was a seperate camping area and the pits were under guard at night I might change my mind, but who would clean up and care for the camping area?  How many guards would be around the pits?  How would you keep four wheelers, etc., from zipping through in the middle of the night when you are trying to sleep?  I think a lot of thought would need to go into it, plus don't forget that the BLM has the final say, and that includes the stewardship over the salt. 

[JackD]

I kinda makes you wonder how Bob knows all that stuff . who told him, and how loud. LOL

[Sumner]

Esqeddy, As I see it, there could be a multitude of problems.  How do you keep the participants separated from the spectators being one.  One bad apple who wants a "small souvaneer" could ruin a event for a participant.............., plus don't forget that the BLM has the final say, and that includes the stewardship over the salt. 

Really good points Bob.  I took stuff from my store once, and that was enough, down to Quartzite, AZ to try and sell to the snowbirds one winter.  You rented a spot in a flea market and setup tables and such and could stay there in your camper at night at your spot.  Most people would leave their stuff on their tables at night and cover them with tarps and it was kind of one big family with a lot of the same people there year after year.  Well a couple weeks into things some one went out for a smoke at 3 in the morning and caught someone lifting their tarp and taking stuff.  It was another vendor that also had a site at the other end of town.  They found thousands of dollars worth of stuff at the other site that he had been taking from our site at night and he had been a vendor there for years and was friend (??) of a lot of the vendors he was stealing from.

Like you say I feel very good about leaving our stuff out there at night now and don't worry about the other racers, but how would you really police who was out there and not out there???

I don't think I would want to stay out there all night even if I could, even I get enough of it being out there 13 hours out of the day .

This problem will all go away anyway once Jon W. gets his  500 room salt flats racer's only motel built across from the truck stop .

c ya,

Sum

[Seldom Seen Slim]

My WHAT?  I suppose you're going to want breakfast in bed, too, and hot and cold running maids.

Let's see -- it costs about $20,000 to build one motel room, so 20k times 500 equals 10 megabucks.  Yeah, I think I can do that.  But it'll cost extra (more like $55/night) if you want more than the elsewhere-mentioned army cots and tortillas for breakfast.

No carpets on the floor, so we won't have to worry about tracking salt on them -- maybe a foot bath like they've got at the community swimming pool -- walk through to wash your shoes before you hit the hallway.

Oh, and to keep prices down -- is it okay if instead of individual rooms I just build a 500-bed dormitory?  Hey -- what the heck's wrong with me -- why don't we all just camp in one of the hangars at the airport?

PROBLEM SOLVED! 

[bak189]

If you race a bike or sidecar there is the BUB International Speed Trials......plenty if CHEAP
room ($19.00 a night......around $60.00 for the weekend) at the Nuggett.  A lot shorter wait to race..........ride your bike back to the pits........National and International Records..
.........passengers in the sidecars (no insurance problems)  Cooler  weather............
.......Great fellowship with your fellow bikers...
...How can you beat that??
And to top it off...I sighn free autographs!!!!!!!

[Bob Drury]

Dolan, while it is true that I have spent a few nights peering out through the bars, I am now calm, docile, genteel, and neutered.  Why, I would make a good pet for someone, and I never say bad things about the rule book either.................

[JackD]

Dolan, while it is true that I have spent a few nights peering out through the bars, I am now calm, docile, genteel, and neutered.  Why, I would make a good pet for someone, and I never say bad things about the rule book either.................

So how did Bob get in SDRC anyway ?
But think about it, Bob may have a clue.
Get yourself thrown in the slam for the night .
Be sure you verify the dinner and breakfast schedule first.
It can't be any worse than El Patio.

[esqeddy]

Esqeddy, As I see it, there could be a multitude of problems.  How do you keep the participants separated from the spectators being one.  One bad apple who wants a "small souvaneer" could ruin a event for a participant.  How would you control people who want to make a midnight beer run?  We have enough problems in the pits during the day with rat rods, motor bikes, campers, etc, that have no business in there.  If they have free run in the evening, who knows what could happen.  As it is now, I feel free to leave my tools and extra parts out in the open, and I tell all my nearby competitors to help them selves to anything they need, even if I am gone.  I am not sure I would be so accomodating if I did't feel the pits were secure at night.  Now if there was a seperate camping area and the pits were under guard at night I might change my mind, but who would clean up and care for the camping area?  How many guards would be around the pits?  How would you keep four wheelers, etc., from zipping through in the middle of the night when you are trying to sleep?  I think a lot of thought would need to go into it, plus don't forget that the BLM has the final say, and that includes the stewardship over the salt. 

Good points and I can see the logic.  However, to my knowledge, these things have never been a problem at other racing events where people stay the night on site.  Probably because people simply close up their trailers at night with their things in them, and because there are a lot of racers around to look after their own stuff and those of thier immediate neighbors.  Sure, I bet there are theives that take stuff from time to time.  But, from what I've heard this has happened at the salt flats during the day.

Of course, I'm still a newbee.   That's why I was asking.

On another note, a casino upper management official gave me jewel of a fact today that clearly suggested to me why its difficult to get rooms from the casinos:

Speedweek is always the lowest revenue week of the entire year for the casinos.  The racers take up the rooms and the casinos are full.  But they don't gamble and loose as much as other guests.  Accordingly, the fewer rooms the casinos rent to racers, the less of a loss they are going to take.

Now I don't know if this is true or not.  But there appears to be sound logic in it.  Of course, if does beg the question:  Are land speed racers less likely to take risks than the general public that comes to the casinos?  Or are we just so speed crazed that we just aren't willing to risk losing our parts money, for fear of it preventing us from risking our lives? 

[Sumner]

..................Speedweek is always the lowest revenue week of the entire year for the casinos.  The racers take up the rooms and the casinos are full.  But they don't gamble and loose as much as other guests.  Accordingly, the fewer rooms the casinos rent to racers, the less of a loss they are going to take.....................

That is why I tell people to never tell them you are coming to go to Speed Week.  Something more like "I did pretty good at your tables last time I was there and the only time I can get away from work and the wife is August 12th...you got a room???".  Who knows you might of done good at the tables last time and won $5  .

Then don't show up to pay for the room and get a key with a "car T-shirt on"  .

.  Of course, if does beg the question:  Are land speed racers less likely to take risks than the general public that comes to the casinos? 

YES

...... Or are we just so speed crazed that we just aren't willing to risk losing our parts money, for fear of it preventing us from risking our lives? 

YES
c ya,

Sum