Week of July 19, 2023

From the editor’s desk

Buddy Frank, a casino-industry insider for more than 30 years, sets readers straight about Reno’s loose slots, sports betting and ways players can play the odds in their favor. Frank also dishes the dirt about cheating schemes that fattened some clever crooks’ wallets—and then landed them in jail. 

Screw caps have replaced corks even for pricey wines, and now glass bottles are fading into history, reports Steve Noel. He predicts even higher-quality vino will be sold in alternative packaging such as boxes, pouches, cans and plastic jugs—options that offer advantages over glass bottles.

Marc Tiar, our man on the beer beat, cruised up to Incline Village to profile Alibi Ale Works’ two locations: Brewery and Barrel House and Incline Public House. Tiar’s Tahoe tour continued with stops at a host of brew pubs on the California side of South Lake Tahoe.

Photo editor Dave Robert’s latest Streettalk question centers on whether artificial intelligence is a blessing or a threat. Some folks’ responses were informed by movies like The Terminator . Others see AI as a valuable tool, although they fear some jobs now held by humans may be eliminated faster than you can say “Skynet.”

Bob Grimm likes any movie that has Tom Cruise jumping off a cliff on a motorcycle, but he really liked Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One, the latest entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise. In addition to the star’s death-defying stunt work, the flick boasts a solid cast and an understandable plot. Grimm is looking forward to Part Two, to be released next year, but he notes that Part One stands alone as a “complete movie. You won’t feel cheated at the end.”

Summer days can get busy, but if you have not voted yet in our Best of Northern Nevada readers’ poll, you’re running out of time: Voting ends Sunday!

I’ll see you in the funny papers.

Take care,

—Frank X. Mullen, Editor