New: (1) 25¢, 50¢, $1 : 99.00% BSP-JOB, 98.99% BSP-DW location unknown

MIA: 25¢, 50¢, $1 SP : 99.94% SA Spin Poker

MIA: 25¢, 50¢, $1, $2 : 99.94% SA Multi-Strike

MIA: 25¢, 50¢, $1, $2, $5 : 99.94% SA

Player's Club Update

MIA: (1) 10¢, 25¢ 3/5/10 Play Quick Quads : 99.54% JoB, 99.17% BP

MIA: (1) 25¢ 50 Play : 99.69% SDB

Received a report about major downgrades that occurred sometime between 2/5/13 and 2/13/13. Super Aces are now 7/5, DDB no longer 10/6 but 9/6. This is on the multi-play, multi-denom slant tops. The DBDW also slashed. The JOB Dreamcard has been changed to 8/6. The QQ DDB is now 9/5 and so on. All machines and all denoms were not checked but it looked widespread.

MIA: 25¢, $1 3/5/10 Play : 100.00% 5ADDB near front entrance

Corey Amestoy

MIA: (2) 25c, 50c, $1, $2 3/5 Play : 99.96% APDW near cage

FP 9/6 JoB and SDB confirmed on many machines in various denominations, $0.25 and up including 50-play (new) and all the spin pokers. Double Bonus is NOT FP

Tamarack Junction has begun work on an expansion that will, if news reports are correct, triple the size of the casino. So far they don't appear to be moving too quickly on the construction so we'll just have to wait and see how, and when, it's all finished. For single line video poker, in quarters through $1 on nearly every machine, and also in $2 and $5 on some machines, you can find: 9/6 Jacks or Better (99.5%) 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe (99.6%) 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.1%) 16/10 NSU Deuces (99.7%) 9/7 Double Bonus (99.1%) 9/6 Double Double Bonus (99.0%) 8/5 Super Aces Bonus (99.9%) 9/6 Super Double Bonus (99.6%) All of the same games are available in SpinPoker .25 through $1 (lower denominations are short-pay), and MultiStrike .25 through $2. If you are willing to play a high variance game like Super Aces, the MultiStrike version probably provides the only truly over 100% opportunity in the casino. The slot club gives comps only with a .33% return. Ongoing promotion: double points all day the third Thursday of each month. Comments: This is a pretty popular place with locals in the South Reno area. The combined restaurant/bar serves "big food" (large portions of pretty good food) and they have TV's all over the casino showing sports. They also have a small Sportsbook (run by the Cal-Neva) so you can make a bet and then watch the game (the place is generally packed on football Sunday's). No table games and no live poker, but some of that might change when they complete their expansion. While there are no really profitable opportunities, this is still a nice comfortable local's place with good, inexpensive food.

The Tamarack Junction is a local's casino located far to the south of Reno on South Virginia Street. It is owned by the same folks that own the Eldorado. The quickest way to get there is to take 395 south and exit at the next to the last Virginia Street exit (the one that has you go north on Virginia Street, not south). Tamarack Junction is just a block or so from the freeway exit. By the way, if you happen to take the wrong exit just remember that, if you pass the Mount Rose Highway you've gone too far . . . and if you are at or near the Wal-Mart shopping complex you're not far enough. With some casinos (such as Western Village), if you don't visit them regularly, the video poker inventory has changed so much you almost have to start over to find the good games. Not so (so far) with Tamarack Junction. It's been several months since I did a full inventory, and as near as I can tell not a single machine has changed. The vphomepage is still spot-on accurate. Tamarack Junction still has a sport's book, operated by the Cal- Neva. They have no table games and no hotel. They do have a pretty good restaurant that serves large portions of good food reasonably cheap, and they have dozens of televisions scattered around the restaurant, bar and casino itself so it's a good place to catch the football playoffs. There is no need to worry about finding the good games at Tamarack junction. Again, unlike some other casinos, the layout here is so open and easy to walk around in, and the facility itself is small enough, and the good games are numerous enough . . . well, you would have to work hard NOT to find the playable games. Every machine in the place, by the way, is coinless ticket-in, ticket-out. Player's Club - The player's club (Conductor's Club) has not changed. It's still a comps only system with $1 = 1 point and 300 points = $1 in comps for a .33% return. One thing that has changed is that they now have a multi-points day. If you happen to visit on the third Thursday of the month you can earn double points all day, as well as participate in the free video poker tournament they have going on that day. That's right, one day a month you can earn double points (be still my heart!). Video Poker Inventory - The base full-pay games in this casino are 9/6 Jacks or Better and 16/10 NSU Deuces. These games are available at .25, .50, $1, $2 and $5 in single line configurations. One important item to note is that most of the single line machines in Tamarack Junction are 10-coin machines. However, these 10-coin machines are also full pay at the five coin level, so you don't need to play the max bet 10-coins to get the full return. Just be aware of that, though, before you press "Max Bet" on any machine. These two games are also available in triple play and five play at .25, .50, $1 and $2. 9/6 Bonus Deluxe is also available on many of the single line machines at denominations from .25 through $5. There are three (by my count) Multistrike Poker machines with 9/6 JoB and 16/10 NSU Deuces at .25, .50, $1 and $2. All of the machines are on the long bank of slant-top video poker machines fronting the center bar/restaurant complex. Two are on the far right of that bank (as you face the bar/restaurant) and one is on the far left. Also on the far left are two SpinPoker machines that were, unfortunately, busy the whole time I was there so I was unable to check paytables. In a carousel over by the Sportsbook is a group of .25 9/6 Double Double Bonus Progressives that might go positive at some point. I think this progressive is linked, not only with the machines in the carousel, but with machines in nearby slant-top banks as well. Every single 50-play and 100-play machine is short-pay at all denominations. Other than some of the games just mentioned, it's not really necessary to discuss locations simply because nearly all the machines have the base full pay games in the standard denominations. Conclusion - This facility is interesting in that, while they have plenty of full- pay games, they seem to have been very careful not to place any 100%+ game anywhere on the property. They come very, very close (the 16/10 NSU on the Multi-Strike is probably the best game in the casino) but never quite get over the top. Couple that with a slot club with no Cashback, a fairly mediocre comp return and few promotional or multi-point opportunities, and you have a facility for which it's hard to really justify a trip. I enjoy breakfast there on occasion, but since I rarely (knowingly, anyway) play a game in which I don't have at least a small advantage, I never play there. It's a shame, too, because it really is a nice, clean, comfortable casino. With slightly better games, or Cashback on their player's club, this would be a very worthwhile play.