Cabelas has the reel down to $60 until tonight. I am definitely getting one for my dad to get him started, and picking one up for myself just because it's marked down from $140.
They 1800s are great reels for the price. I've had one for about a year (for $60 also) and it still works fine. The only bad things I can say is they're on the heavy side and the way of taking the spool off could be better.