Best of Nevada 2012
Meet the winners of our 15th annual readers’ survey.
Once a year we ask you, our readers, to select your favorite spots to splurge, pig out, and pamper yourselves; your preferred places to hit the slopes, swing your clubs, and dance the night away; and your go-to destinations for rolling the dice, taking in a show, and resting your head. And we take your answers seriously—so seriously, in fact, that we call them the Best of Nevada.
Some of this year’s winners take home multiple awards—Reno’s Peppermill Resort Spa Casino won best casino, hotel, nightclub, spa, and wedding venue. Some return to defend their “Best of” titles: Cactus Creek Prime Steakhouse at Reno’s Bonanza Casino and Great Basin Brewing Company in Reno and Sparks have each won numerous times. Some make their first Best of Nevada appearances—The Mob Museum in Las Vegas and Reno’s Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum both opened within the last year.
Without further ado, the winners are…
BREWERY
North: Great Basin Brewing Company
Reno & Sparks
greatbasinbrewingco.com
South: Gordon Biersch
Las Vegas
gordonbiersch.com
Rural: High Sierra Brewing Company
Carson City
highsierrabrewco.com
BUFFET
North: Toucan Charlie’s Buffet & Grille, Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
Reno
atlantiscasino.com
South: Studio B Buffet, The M Resort Spa Casino
Las Vegas
themresort.com
Rural: Rum Jungle Buffet, Casino Fandango
Carson City
casinofandango.com
CASINO
North: Peppermill Resort Spa Casino
Reno
peppermillreno.com
South: Red Rock Casino Resort Spa
Las Vegas
redrocklasvegas.com
Rural: Casino Fandango,
Carson City
casinofandango.com
CONCERT VENUE
North: Reno Events Center
Reno
renoeventscenter.org
South: House of Blues, Mandalay Bay
Las Vegas
mandalaybay.com
Rural: Harveys Lake Tahoe
Stateline
harveystahoe.com
EVENT
North: (tie)
Hot August Nights,
Aug. 3-5 in South Lake Tahoe & Aug. 7-12 in Reno and Sparks
hotaugustnights.net
Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off
Sparks, Aug. 29-Sept. 3
nuggetribcookoff.com
South: NASCAR Weekend
Las Vegas, March 8-10, 2013
lvms.com
Rural: (tie) Genoa Candy Dance Arts & Crafts Faire
Genoa, Sept. 29-30
genoanevada.org/candydancefaire.htm
Nevada Day Parade
Carson City, Oct. 27
nevadaday.com
GOLF COURSE
North: LakeRidge Golf Course
Reno
lakeridgegolf.com
South: Angel Park Golf Club
Las Vegas
angelpark.com
Rural: Genoa Lakes Golf Club & Resort
Genoa
genoalakes.com
HOTEL
North: Peppermill Resort Spa Casino
Reno
peppermillreno.com
South: Bellagio
Las Vegas
bellagio.com
Rural: Mizpah Hotel
Tonopah
mizpahhotel.net
MUSEUM
North: Nevada Museum of Art
Reno
nevadaart.org
South: The Mob Museum
Las Vegas
themobmuseum.org
Rural: Central Nevada Museum
Tonopah
tonopahnevada.com
NIGHTCLUB
North: EDGE, Peppermill Resort Spa Casino
Reno
peppermillreno.com
South: TAO Nightclub,
The Venetian
Las Vegas
taolasvegas.com
PLACE TO SHOP
North: The Summit
Reno
thesummitonline.com
South: Fashion Show Mall
Las Vegas
thefashionshow.com
Rural: Galleria at Sunset
Henderson
galleriaatsunset.com
PLACE TO TAKE
THE KIDS
North: Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum
Reno
nvdm.org
South: Springs Preserve
Las Vegas
springspreserve.org
Rural: Nevada Northern Railway
Ely
nnry.com
RESTAURANT
North: Cactus Creek Prime Steakhouse, Bonanza Casino
Reno
cactuscreek.net
South: Hash House
A Go Go
Las Vegas
hashhouseagogo.com
Rural: The Steakhouse, Tropicana
Laughlin
tropicanax.com
SHOW
North: “Benise: Nights of Fire,” at Eldorado Hotel Casino
Reno (Eldorado Showroom)
eldoradoreno.com
South: Blue Man Group, The Venetian
Las Vegas
blueman.com
SKI RESORT
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe
Reno
mtrose.com
SPA
North: Spa Toscana, Peppermill Resort Spa Casino
Reno
peppermillreno.com
South: Red Rock Casino Resort Spa
Las Vegas
redrocklasvegas.com
Rural: David Walley’s Resort Hot Springs & Spa
Genoa
1862davidwalleysrestaurantandsaloon.com
STATE PARK
North: Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park
Incline Village
South: Valley of Fire State Park
Overton
Rural: Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park
Gabbs
parks.nv.gov (all)
TOUR COMPANY
North: Reno Tahoe Tour Co.
Reno
renotahoetourco.com
South: (tie) Looktours, LLC
Las Vegas
looktours.com
Pink Jeep Tours,
Las Vegas
pinkjeeptours.com
WEDDING VENUE
North: Peppermill Resort Spa Casino
Reno
peppermillreno.com
South: Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapels
Las Vegas
vivalasvegasweddings.com
Rural: (tie) David Walley’s Resort Hot Springs & Spa
Genoa
davidwalleys-resort.com
Pavilion Theater at Tropicana
Laughlin
tropicanax.com
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Comments
I agree with Dave Miller. Have three areas — Las Vegas, Reno, and elsewhere. There are some really great places to visit in Nevada away from Las Vegas and Reno. Too bad more people don’t get out and enjoy it, especially in the spring and fall.
Seeing how nearly every North winner is in the Reno area and nearly every South winner is in the Vegas area, duh, make the categories, “Reno area”, “Vegas area”, “Elsewhere.”
IT is interesting that you feel that Carson City our State Capital is considered RURAL??
Sue and Whitney, we don’t actually consider Carson City “rural,” but for the purposes of the contest dividing it this way makes sense. Do you have other suggestions for how we could categorize the winners?
When did Carson City become rural?