Nevada's Sierra Mountains

he view of Nevada's Sierra Mountains is stunning. From your car window, you can see the majestic mountain ranges with their snow-covered peaks. They are overpowering and make the mountains in Arizona and New Mexico look like hills in comparison.

I first saw the Sierra Mountains in 1984 when I took my family on a 30-day across America. I had left my reporting job with the Phoenix Gazette and was looking for work.

My first interview was in Seattle, WA. That job interview didn't turn out well so I continued driving east, passing through Lake Tahoe, Reno and then jutting north to Oregon and Montana before heading back to Pennsylvania where I accepted a position as editor of a daily newspaper in Brownsville.

Now I hear that Ante Up Magazine, which has published some of my articles in the past, is teaming up with the Atlantis Casino Resort to hold a series of tournaments Aug. 16-26. One of the tournaments guarantees the winners a minimum $250,000.

The Atlantis Casino in Reno offers an incredible view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Keith Dames, poker room manager, calls his room 'Poker With a View.'

Scott Long and Christopher Cosenza publish Ante Up Magazine. They expect a good turnout for the tournaments. The magazine has helped host several other tournaments in the area.

While I have never played poker at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, I hear it is an AAA Four Diamond Luxury Resort with Reno's only concierge tower. There are eight restaurants in the casino, including Bistro Napa, a winner of the Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence.

Reno residents voted Toucan Charlie's Buffet and Grill the Best Buffet. The resort also has a 30,000-square foot spa, a large convention area, and 1,400 slot machines, table games, a race and sports book and a non-smoking poker room.

If you ski, there are alpine and cross-country ski slopes nearby. And of course, you can visit beautiful Lake Tahoe where Frank Sinatra used to entertain.

Ante Up is a good poker magazine that provides its readers with information about poker events around the world. You should put this event on your list of places to visit. I wish my publishers the best of luck. Let the games begin.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).