There's still a lot of great pool being played in Reno.
The first year I went, though, had Archer, Sigel, Varner, Buddy H., Earl, Jimmy Mataya, Jimmy Reid, Efren, Bustamente, Davenport. In other words, more Hall of Fame class players that made the trip out pretty exciting to me since I had just started playing pool and reading about those guys.
Plenty of great players still there playing top class pool but only Parica is really a HOF level legend playing there now.
I also think the prize fund has been about the same but the cost and hassle of flying out (especially post 9/11) has gone up for players not near the west coast.
The US Open in one pocket is having similair problems it seems. The money is just not high enough to draw a world class field. Some great players for sure, but not a full field of the top guys in the game.