CVI construction well under way

Visitors to Carson Valley Inn will already see some significant changes to the casino floor.

While construction is ongoing, with parts of the casino walled off, visitors will notice new chandeliers, the absence of the once slanted mirrors along the ceiling, and different ceiling treatments altogether.

"This ain't your old CVI anymore," Director of Sales Bill Henderson said on Friday.

He said the new cabaret and island bar in the southeast end of the casino will be opening this weekend or early next week.

On one side of the renovated area stands a new sports book desk with granite countertops and four horse-racing flat-screen TVs. On the other side, customers will find a long island bar with more granite counters, 28 bar poker machines and six flat-screen TVs on each side of the bar.

"There are TVs all over the place," Henderson said. "There are 28 total high-definition flat-screen TVs and one big pull-down HD."

The 5-step carpentry millwork in the cabaret and the new soft reflective lighting around the ceiling will give the area a new ambiance, Henderson said.

"Theoretically, we want the entertainment right here, not blasting the place apart," he said.

Les Porter of Commercial Construction Consulting, Inc. was in the cabaret area Friday "trimming out the bar." He said they were already receiving audio/visual signal for the new TVs. He also said that a lot of the subcontracted work was assigned to local companies.

"Most of the subcontractors are from Carson Valley," he said.

Henderson said the entire casino floor would eventually get new carpet.

"Re-carpeting is a major deal in a casino," he said. "You have to unhook everything, and then move it, and then find the holes and hook it back up."

Henderson said when construction is completed, there will be 200 new slot machines in the casino, and upgrades of more than 100 existing machines.

The new pit area, he said, will open toward the end of the month with eight table games.

"We used to have 11 games, but we never used 11," Henderson said.

When the new pit opens, customers will find changes in the cashier/customer service area as well, including a semicircular granite-topped service desk. There will also be a tile walkway from the entrance of the casino floor to Katie's Country Kitchen.

Henderson said when the cabaret island bar is ready for business, construction crews can then switch over to the Fiona's restaurant area, which is being remodeled into CV Steak.

He said historical pictures of the Valley will adorn the restaurant walls. An ornate, backlit wine display will lend the restaurant a certain elegance while not taking away from the rustic feel of hardwood flooring. A hand-painted mural of sheep, fields and mountains is also planned for a rear alcove.

"We're looking at opening the restaurant in mid-to-late March," Henderson said. "We're just about done with the menu. The whole idea is to come in and have a nice salad and entree, but with the majority of items costing under $25."

Outside Carson Valley Inn, passersby are presently seeing a construction zone on the west side of the building. That area, Henderson said, will become a 2,500-square-foot addition to the back of Katie's for storage and loading purposes. A 20-foot landscape buffer will screen two adjacent sheds from view of the highway, and a new roadside sign with an electronic reading board will be erected between the CVI Shell station and the west side of the casino.

Henderson expects outdoor construction to wrap up in 2-3 months.

"Our out-of-town customers are getting excited," he said. "We're communicating with them, and they're sensing our own enthusiasm. They're telling us they can't wait to get up here to check it out."

For more information about Carson Valley Inn, visit cvinn.com.