A new Reno casino in downtown is the first time since 1995 as the Silver Legacy has opened. Siri’s Casino opened its doors Friday at the site of the old Primadonna Club across from Harrah’s Reno. Owner Jeff Siri, who also is president of downtown Reno’s Club Cal Neva, says the new casino’s theme is based after Miami’s South Beach neighborhood. It features some 140 slot machines, a mermaid fountain, a full bar and a wide range of daiquiri drinks. Siri says he hopes the casino will help draw more visitors to the downtown and prompt other casinos to open….

Sacramento Bee – The signs of decay linger on Virginia Street, the main casino corridor in “The Biggest Little City in the World.” Pawn shops and cut-rate motels line up alongside the high-end hotel towers. The strip is still pocked with shuttered casinos, victims of the recession and burgeoning competition from Northern California’s Indian tribes. But signs of comeback – slow and steady – are evident as well. Construction crews are turning the old Fitzgeralds casino, closed since 2008, into the outdoor-themed Whitney Peak Hotel. A small slot-machine parlor called Siri’s Casino soon will open next door. In nearby Sparks,…