Safari Club International announced that its 39^th Annual Hunters’ Convention in Reno, Nevada was a huge success. Concluded on January 29, 2011, the convention ranks as the second highest revenue generating convention ever with more than 18,000 attendees. SCI members generously contributed more than $12 million to support SCI’s advocacy to protect hunting freedoms, to promote international wildlife conservation, and to increase wildlife management education. 

The SCI Annual Hunters’ Convention includes more than 1,100 exhibiting companies, leasing over 650,000 sq. ft of booth spaces. The exhibitors’ generous donations of valuable items for SCI’s auctions ensure that SCI can advocate on behalf of hunters in the United States and at international wildlife forums like CITES. SCI’s Political Action Committee (SCI-PAC) raised nearly $200,000 to advance sportsmen’s interest in federal elections. A special auction for disabled hunters was purchased during the Saturday evening dinner and it raised $150,000 for the SCI Foundation’s Humanitarian Services Programs. 

SCI is also pleased to announce the full list of award recipients at the 39^thAnnual Hunters’ Convention. Award winners include members and chapters who display a strong commitment to and have made great contributions to the sport of hunting; displayed a dedication to the conservation of wildlife; have a history of service to the global hunting community, and are committed to SCI’s programs and mission statement to be First for Hunters.

A big year in habitat conservation and enhancement in 2010 has the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation poised for a major milestone in 2011. By the end of this year, RMEF could pass the 6 million-acre lifetime mark in habitat protected or enhanced for elk and other wildlife.

David Allen, RMEF president and CEO, says the landmark figure is within reach in 2011 because of two primary reasons; first, RMEF and its partners in 2010 chalked up 163,658 acres worth of mission accomplishment, for a lifetime total of over 5.9 million; second, RMEF’s organizational momentum continued to build even through the bumpy economy of the past 12 months.

“While many businesses and nonprofits alike have struggled to keep the lights on, RMEF pressed forward and delivered more good things for elk and hunters. That success speaks to the passion and dedication of our 10,000-plus volunteers nationwide, a record number of new members, an incredible staff and amazing partners,” said Allen.

“If together we can harness the energy and focus and accomplishments from 2010, I believe we’ll see some very special headlines from RMEF in the year ahead,” said Allen.

RMEF and its partners tallied the following highlights in 2010:

• Enhanced 89,106 acres, mostly on public lands, for elk and other wildlife
• Reached lifetime total of 4,963,527 acres, mostly on public lands, enhanced
• Permanently protected 74,552 acres for elk and other wildlife
• Reached lifetime total of 973,484 acres permanently protected
• Surpassed 622,000 acres secured for public access including hunting
• Launched elk restoration initiatives in Missouri and Virginia
• Recorded 12 percent growth in RMEF membership for a record total of 178,000
• Reached 1.3 million people with positive messages on hunting and conservation
• Received the highest rating, 4 Stars, from America’s top charity ratings service
• Finished the RMEF fiscal year with budget-positive black ink

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Snowy peaks, dark timber basins and grassy meadows. RMEF is leading an elk country initiative that has conserved or enhanced habitat on over 5.9 million acres—a land area equivalent to a swath three miles wide and stretching along the entire Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. RMEF also works to open, secure and improve public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation. Get involved at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) Convention and Sporting Expo, “The Sheep Show™” will offer on auction more state, tribal, and provincial permits than anywhere on earth during the February 9-12, 2011 event in Reno, Nevada. In 2010, the sale of special permits alone generated more than $2.4 million for wildlife and habitat earning the WSF convention the reputation as being THE wildlife conservation convention. For the 2011 convention, the WSF expects to generate even more.

The WSF will once again offer sheep and other permits from Alberta to Nevada and Texas to California and nearly every western state, province and tribal nation in between. With the support of our generous auction bidders, attendees, exhibitors, sponsors and donors, the WSF expects to raise more than $5 million in revenue to help wild sheep, and other wildlife across North America and around the globe. Without these all important conservation dollars, many wildlife conservation programs would not exist, limiting hunter opportunity and the quality of wildlife and their habitat. For a complete listing of the special sheep and other permits offered visit www.wildsheepfoundation.org.

Celebrating its 2011 event, the WSF has again partnered with MidwayUSA as the Official Sponsor of the convention. “MidwayUSA’s generous sponsor support demonstrates their recognition of WSF as the premier mountain hunting organization in the world!” Gray Thornton, WSF President & CEO noted on this ongoing partnership.

In addition to the special permits dedicated to state, tribal, and provincial conservation,  the 2011 WSF convention will offer on auction nearly $2 million in hunts, trips, wildlife art,  fine sporting arms, hunting gear, and accessories for the wild sheep and hunting enthusiast. Funds generated at The Sheep Show will help wild sheep conservation efforts throughout North America and the world.

The three-day convention and expo is open to the public, Thursday through Saturday, February 9-12 at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Show hours are 10 am – 6 pm Thursday, 10 am – 6 pm Friday and 9 am – 6 pm Saturday. Daily admission is only $15 with $10 off coupons available at Reno-Sparks Cabela’s, Scheels and Sportsman’s Warehouse stores. As an added incentive to attend the show “floor credit” drawings will be offered Thursday, Friday and Saturday for credits valued at $1,000 to $5,000 to be used with Expo exhibitors. Five (5) $1,000 credits will be drawn Thursday, two (2) $2,500 credits drawn Friday and one (1) $5,000 credit Saturday. Attendees must be present to win. Daily passes are available at Expo Registration.

The banquet and live auction events kick off Wednesday evening February 9^th at the Silver Legacy’s Reno Ballroom downtown. WSF will hold their legendary auctions Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. In addition, a Ladies Brunch, International Night party, Ram Awards breakfast and Life Member Breakfast will be held at the Silver Legacy. Other events include a Sporting Clays Shoot with USA Shooting Team members Wednesday morning at Sage Hill Clays, a Sportsman’s Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning and a wine tasting in the expo hall Friday. Visit the Foundation’s website for a full schedule and details on the events.

The Wild Sheep Foundation, formerly the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, was founded in 1977 by sheep and mountain hunting enthusiasts and conservationists. With a membership of more than 10,000 worldwide and a chapter network in North America, WSF is the premier advocate for wild sheep, wild goats, other wildlife, and their habitat. Since forming in 1977, the Wild Sheep Foundation has raised and expended more than $80 million on conservation and education programs in North America, Europe and Asia. During 2010 alone the Wild Sheep Foundation raised and put on the ground more than $2.85 million to wildlife conservation and other mission programs.

For a full schedule of events, to register for the annual convention, join as a member or for more information on the Foundation and their many conservation and education programs, please visit www.wildsheepfoundation.org or contact them at 720 Allen Avenue, Cody, Wyoming  82414 USA. Telephone 800-OK-FNAWS. Email info@wildsheepfoundation.org.

Atlantis General Manager & Executive Vice President, Darlyne Sullivan was presented with the Industry Pride of the Year Award, at the International Women in Gaming Awards in London, England on Friday, September 24^th! The Industry Pride of the Year Award nominees were chosen from the entire field of nominees for seven awards, recognizing women as role models in the gaming industry.

Twenty-five women earned nominations for each of the seven awards, though only 56 were named as finalists. Darlyne was one of eight finalists for the Leader of the Year Award, but said she was surprised, and humbled, when she heard her name called as the recipient of the most prestigious award of the evening.

“I was stunned. But, I immediately thought about the team of 1,800 people back at Atlantis. This is not about me, it’s about the entire team here who made this possible. This is their award,” she said.

Darlyne was the only woman working in the United States to be awarded. The Women in Gaming Awards was created to highlight exceptional women in gaming, who offer proof that the industry provides exciting career opportunities for females throughout the world.

According to WiG, the Industry Pride Award is selected by the judges, from the finalists of seven categories, and goes to one exceptional woman whose vision, innovative approach and success make her an outstanding role model that will inspire more women to choose a career in Land based Gaming or I gaming industry.

See the complete list of winners here: http://www.gaming-awards.com/wigwinners2010.html

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa is located on the strip at the corner of South Virginia and Peckham Lane, in the heart of Reno’s new shopping and dining district. Atlantis offers eight award-winning restaurants, world-class casino action, live entertainment, complimentary valet service and acres of free self-parking. Visit www.AtlantisCasino.com for information on events, tournaments, dining specials, online reservations and more. For more information call (775) 825-4700 or toll-free at (800) 723-6500.

-Ben McDonald

Grand Sierra Resort and Casino (GSR) will license Passkey’s GroupMAX^TM technology to manage its group reservations for meeting and convention planners. Passkey is the hospitality industry’s leading group reservations technology provider. 

With more than $5 million in recent renovations and enhancements, and as the 15^th largest convention-hotel in the United States with nearly 2,000 guest rooms and more than 200,000 square feet of usable meeting, function and exhibit space, GSR strives to exceed the expectations of its group guests and meeting planners during every event. 

“Our meeting planners are specifically requesting GroupMAX, and we are thrilled to be able to provide them an advanced set of tools to optimize their events,” said Denise Banks, Vice President of Sales, Meetings and Conventions at GSR.  “With GroupMAX, each event will have a professionally designed custom booking website and each meeting planner will be able to track their event’s pick-up, pace and reservations online, as well as analyze trends, and manage their room lists securely.  If our clients are happy they will return time and time again as we consistently offer an unsurpassed event planning experience.”

In the past, GSR experienced a high call-in reservation volume for its groups. By utilizing GroupMAX, a large portion of these reservations will be shifted online, where guests can enjoy an exceptional booking experience.  Importantly, by driving bookings online, GSR can offer its guests a wide variety of room and stay options, further enhancing guest experience while generating incremental revenue from the sale of room upgrades, extended stays and amenities. In addition, GSR will be able to use GroupMAX’s built-in e-mail marketing toolset “Group Campaigns” to deliver professionally designed, highly targeted e-mail messages to its guests to further enhance the stay experience.

“We’re eager to begin using GroupMAX’s up sell tools. So far, we’ve only been able to scratch the surface,” said Banks. “With Group Campaigns, we will be able to directly target our group guests in a highly professional manner, offering promotional incentives pre and post-stay. Built-in e-marketing tools will create a strategic avenue for generating maximum incremental revenues from group guests.”

In addition, with GroupMAX, GSR can use the industry’s only fully automated, secure room lists tool to ensure a PCI-compliant room list process.

More information about booking meetings and conventions at GSR
can be found online  or by calling 866.473.6672

Sure, the FunQuest arcade at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino is great for family-friendly entertainment and birthday parties, but would you consider it for your next team-building excursion? Check out the 40,000 square feet of fun that FunQuest has to offer and decide for yourself!

FunQuest Features:

-Private party rooms for birthdays and gatherings

-State of the art 6,000 square foot laser tag arena

-Nine hole miniature golf

-Bumper car arena

-Frog Hopper thrill ride

-Spider Mountain Kids climbing apparatus

-More than 125 of the latest video and redemption games

Where:               
Grand Sierra Resort Lower Level, 2500 East Second St. Reno, NV 89595

Hours of Operation:

Monday – Thursday: Noon – 10 p.m. (Activities open at 4 p.m.)

Friday: Noon – 11 p.m. (Activities open at 4 p.m.)

Saturday: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m. (Activities open all day)

Sunday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. (Activities open all day)

Contact: For prices, party reservations and additional information, please visit www.grandsierraresort.com or call 775.789.1127.

In an effort to help promote energy efficiency, Silver Legacy Resort Casino has made plans to switch the lighting on the world’s largest indoor mining rig into a new LED system.

This month, the old can and wash lights used to illuminate the dome above the mining rig will come down.  The lights generate 792,000 watts of power, while the new LED system will produce only 5,400 watts of power—a huge energy savings.

In addition to using less power, the new LED lighting system will not emit heat, which will help lower the cost of climate control in the casino.  Lifetime for the new LED lights is also approximately one hundred times greater than the old system.

It’s just another example of Reno Tahoe’s investment in green energy. No wonder we made the list of greenest U.S. cities.

Silver Legacy Resort Casino is making a statement with the final phase of a $15 million dollar renovation project.  As part of a commitment to reinvest in the overall property, Silver Legacy will begin to completely transform each of the guest rooms and suites into fresh new spaces with modern comforts July 2010.   

With soothing elements and a new status of comfort and luxury in mind, each of the new guest rooms and suites are designed to provide the perfect oasis for relaxation and modern amenities for functionality.  This fresh new makeover harnesses classic contemporary style with rich furniture finishes, sleek lighting and posh carpet and fabric textures in bold silver, red, brown and black shades.  Splashes of sophisticated décor will add to the warm, welcoming feeling each room will exude. 

“The new rooms are stunning,” says Gary Carano, general manager of Silver Legacy.  “This entire renovation project is a testament to our long-standing guest service reputation. We’re committed to reinvesting in the property and our guests comfort and enjoyment.  Giving our guests an amazing experience is the bottom line”. 

Other elements of comfort include new amenities and modern conveniences, such as easy-access outlets at our ergonomically designed desks and frameless mirrored closets.  New 32” LCD televisions provide a stunning focal point to each guest room, while 37” LCD televisions add sleek style to each spa suite. 

In addition to the haute new look, Silver Legacy is also providing a luxurious new feel with fine linens.  New bedding ensembles include triple sheeting, plush pillows, elegant damask throws and beautiful bolsters for high end comfort.  

In all, Silver Legacy will give 1,549 guest rooms and 143 spa suites a new look during this renovation.  The 10 penthouse suites were previously upgraded to reflect a classic style. 

Quick Facts about Silver Legacy Resort Casino Renovations

Here are a few quick facts on the transformation:

 -       Total Remodeled Guest Rooms: 1,549

 -       Total Remodeled Spa Suites: 143

 -       Total Cost of Project: $15 Million

 -       10 Penthouse Suites previously remodeled in classic style

 Hotel Facts:

 -       Top Name Entertainment and Nightlife: See national headliners in the Grande Exposition Hall—Bars, clubs and lounges including Aura Ultra Lounge, Rum Bullions Island Bar, Drinx Lounge, Silver Baron Lounge and Catch a Rising Star Comedy Club

 -       On Site Amenities Include: Health Spa, Pool, Concierge Services, LuLu Hair Salon, Executive Business Center, Parking and Shuttle Service, Hertz Rental Car, Shoe Shine

 -       Boutique Shopping: Harley-Davidson, Bijoux Turner, Tradewinds Casualwear, The Boutique, Carriage House, Ami Jewelers

 -       Dining Options Include: Sterling’s Seafood Steakhouse, Fairchild’s Oyster Bar, Flavor’s! The Buffet, Café Sedona, Fresh Express Food Court, Sips Coffee and Tea, Room Service

 -       Facilities Include: 50,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, outstanding catering services, wedding reception packages

 -       Largest Working Indoor Mining Rig simulating the silver mining process of Nevada’s Comstock era, 120 ft. tall in the center of the property under the world’s largest composite dome

 For more information on Silver Legacy Resort Casino and this renovation project, please visit us online or call 775.789.0490.

26th Annual Elk Camp & Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Expo
March 4-7, 2010 Reno-Sparks Convention Center

The Expo Hall at the Elk Camp is a great way to spend time with family and friends, as you experience a wilderness adventure as you enter our extensive hall filled with nearly 400 exhibits. Roam through fantastic exhibits of custom rifles, hunting accessories, outdoor gear and unique handcrafted art. You can even scout out the hunt of your dreams.

The World Record Elk display is definitely something you won’t want to pass by. This is your chance to see some of the world’s biggest bulls.

World Elk Calling Championships will be held on Saturday, March 6th with preliminaries on Friday, March 5th. When the world’s best callers get together, things get exciting, so come experience this incredible competition and choose your own favorite, or grab your tube to squeal, grunt and bellow with the best.

If your interested in learning more about everything elk, stop by the Spike Camp Hunting Seminars, and learn how to hone your hunting skills as some of America’s best known outdoor enthusiasts share their latest tips on bow hunting, horse packing, marksmanship, calling wildlife, cooking and more!

Don’t miss out on the Interactive Area, which includes everything from a Kids Camp to the Archery Range to the LaserShot Shooting System, this addition to the Exhibit Hall has something to entice everyone. The Reno Fly Shop will provide fly casting instructions for the entire family. And on Friday and Saturday, you can lean how to pack your horse or mule at the Packing Clinic.

General Admission tickets may be purchased in the lobby during show hours.
General Admission
Members Non-members
Daily Individual Pass $10 $12
Daily Family Pass $20 $25
Kids 5 and under FREE FREE

Exhibit Hall Hours
Thursday, March 4, 2010 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Friday, March 5, 2010 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 6, 2010 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 7, 2010 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

The Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA) is pleased to welcome the 2010 Wild Sheep Foundation’s Annual Sheep Show to Reno Tahoe USA.

“The Wild Sheep Foundation has strong roots in our destination and we are thrilled to officially open this year’s exhibition and show,” said RSCVA President and CEO Ellen Oppenheim. “We look forward to kicking off this long-term partnership and fulfilling it to mutual benefit for many years to come.”

The Wild Sheep Foundation recently signed an agreement to bring its convention and international sporting expo, “Sheep Show,” to Reno for six years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

“We are looking forward to a great week in Reno Tahoe,” said Gray N. Thornton, Wild Sheep Foundation president and CEO. “This year we are expecting increased attendance from last year. We welcome Reno, Sparks and Lake Tahoe enthusiasts to visit this years show. The event is open to the public and the cost to attend is $15.”

The Wild Sheep Foundation estimates its event will generate 5,000 hotel room nights annually. The organization also estimates that more than 5,000 participants will attend the show. The hotel partners for the January 30 – February 8, 2010 convention are the Silver Legacy Resort Casino and the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. The 2010 event marks the 15th time the group has visited Reno. It is the first time the group will utilize the Reno-Sparks Convention Center because the group has grown in size.

“We selected Reno Tahoe because the destination is focused on hospitality and understands the conservation market,” said Thornton. “The combined support of the RSCVA and the many fine hotel properties makes Reno the ideal place for the Wild Sheep Foundation Convention and International Sporting Expo. We are very pleased to come home to Reno.”

Hours of the show are:
Thurs. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Fri. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sat. 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The Show is open to the public. Membership in the Wild Sheep Foundation is not required.
Day Pass $15 per person
Membership special is $45