Rolling the dice for $800 million in Reno
Reno-Tahoe is the latest gaming-reliant resort area to spend millions of dollars to upgrade and expand, according to the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority.
”Resort owners said they must improve their properties because of the growing threat of tribal gambling in California and plans for new local hotel-casinos,” said the AP.
“It is imperative (to reinvest) if you want to stay competitive with other regions,” said John Farahi, chief executive officer of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno.
Mr Farahi’s resort is investing $50 million in an expansion that will include renovation of rooms, new restaurants and a larger casino area.
Bill Eadington, director of the Institute to Study Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, said Reno has lost about a third of its gambling market since the rise of tribal casinos in 2000.
“We are in a situation where competition is bringing about contraction in the market,” Mr Eadington told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “For the future of tourism in Reno, it is going to have to transition, become more attractive.”
The Peppermill Hotel Casino has embarked on Reno’s largest expansion, a $400 million venture that includes construction of a 600-room, all-suite hotel tower, a sports book, and new pools, shops, restaurants and convention space.
The Cal Neva Resort Spa and Casino at north Lake Tahoe, once owned by Frank Sinatra, is preparing for a $60 million to $70 million renovation.
The Grand Sierra Resort — Reno’s largest gambling property — plans to build the nation’s largest indoor water park and a 48-story condo tower.
The Grand Sierra already has undergone about $90 million in upgrades, according to the convention authority.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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