\nRENO\/TAHOE \u2014 Casino operators in the greater Reno\/Tahoe area are doubling down on their properties.<\/p>\n
\tThe more than $100 million spent or tabbed for renovations at regional hotel-casinos includes $50 million at JA Nugget, $20 million at Boomtown, $30 million at Grand Sierra Resort, $20 million at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe in Incline Village and more than $40 million at the Horizon at South Lake Tahoe.<\/p>\n
\tCasino operators are bullish on northern Nevada for any number of reasons, says Carlton Geer, president and chief executive officer of JA Nugget. First and foremost, Geer says, is the significant rise in year-over-year gaming revenue at large casino properties in northern Nevada.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIf you look at the Nevada Gaming Control Board revenue reports, large casinos in northern Nevada gained about 6 percent year-over-year through December in gaming win,\u201d Geer says.<\/p>\n
\tThat, coupled with other tangible signs that the economy in northern Nevada has found its legs \u2014 solid movement in the residential and industrial construction markets, a rise in revenues from room rates at properties in Washoe County, continued signs of economic recovery from neighboring California \u2014 has casino operators scrambling to upgrade their properties to capture greater market share.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe have a real economic recovery in northern Nevada; it is tangible, we can see it,\u201d Geer says. \u201cAnd we have the recovery of the northern California economy. We want to deploy capital to reposition ourselves to become more competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tDeployment of capital is a fundamental element of growth, says Dean DiLullo, chief executive officer of M1 gaming, owner of Boomtown. Repositioning Boomtown with $8 million in capital improvements was made easier by the modest $12 million purchase price M1 Gaming paid to former owner Pinnacle Entertainment in June of 2012. The property has been profitable every month since then, DiLullo notes.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe key to any good investment comes on the buy,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to invest the right amount of capital without overspending \u2014 and our industry has been known to overspend. You have to make sure your capital is focused on the products the guests want.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn addition to the regional economic recovery, there\u2019s a continued migration of California residents to northern Nevada that\u2019s bolstering casino revenues, DiLullo says.<\/p>\n
\tNorthern Nevada is a safe bet for casino operators, he adds, because it\u2019s a relatively easy place to run a gambling operation. Reno in particular has tremendous upside because of its proximity to California\u2019s huge population base.<\/p>\n
\tDrawing guests from northern California is a key aspect of the many changes taking places at Grand Sierra, says General Manager Dan Uonites. The property recently unveiled LEX, its new $15 million, 25,000-square-foot nightclub, one of the final pieces of a completely renovated casino floor.<\/p>\n
\tThe GSR is banking on the allure of the upscale nightclub experience to pull visitors from the Sacramento Valley and greater San Francisco Bay Area.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe added this nightclub to attract individuals coming over from the Bay,\u201d Uonites says. \u201cIf you look Vegas over the course of the years, it started to buy into the entertainment concept. It was about nightclubs, bottle service, and all these different amenities. It worked. They tapped into this new customer base, and that is what our goal is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn addition to the extensive renovations, Grand Sierra Resort placed a renewed emphasis on strategic marketing. The combination of those efforts, Uonites says, has better positioned the property for near- and long-term success.<\/p>\n
\tThe Horizon at South Lake Tahoe is following a similar path. Jon Park, managing member of NevaOne LLC, owner of the Horizon, says repositioning the property built in 1965 isn\u2019t without risk.<\/p>\n
\tHowever, the Lake Tahoe gaming market still is quite viable \u2014 total revenues at South Shore properties increased by $6.2 million to $349.7 million in 2013, the Gaming Control Board reports in its annual Gaming Abstract.<\/p>\n
\tThe end goal of the renovation plan is to create a destination with a diverse choice of resort-style amenities, Park says. The property will have multiple restaurant and dining options, as well as upscale bar, lounge and entertainment options similar to competing properties on the other side of Highway 50.<\/p>\n
\tSometimes upgrades are just a necessary course of business. The Nugget, Geer says, is 58 years old and requires substantial capital expenditure for routine and deferred maintenance that had been delayed over the years.<\/p>\n
\tJA Nugget will paint the entire property in coming months and upgrade behind-the-scenes functions such as its HVAC and mechanical and plumbing systems to increase the properties airflow and energy efficiency.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition to the large-scale renovations, JA Nugget plans to add a new country bar, upgrade its bingo operations and move bingo, gift shop, deli and sports book operations to the main casino floor \u2014 all part of a sweeping effort to gain an edge in a crowded marketplace.<\/p>\n
\tThe final piece of the puzzle, DiLullo says, is that northern Nevada continues to be a place where people want to be. Reno-Sparks will never shed its small town roots, but it\u2019s changing and maturing into a more eclectic and vibrant city. DiLullo cites the many small businesses cropping up in Midtown as but one example.<\/p>\n
\tAs for Boomtown, DiLullo says the 50-year old property nine miles west of Reno functions best as a complete package \u2014 and that means bringing a truck stop back to the site.<\/p>\n
\tTruckers for decades stopped at Boomtown before passing over the Sierra but lost that option when Cabela\u2019s opened in early 2008. DiLullo says adding a truck stop component at Boomtown is a near-term goal.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe are working to put the pieces of Boomtown back,\u201d DiLullo says. \u201cWe would like to see the truck stop added back. If we do that the 700 trucks that park on I-80 during a snowstorm will have somewhere to park, fuel, gamble and stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tDiLullo says M1 Gaming currently is reviewing legal and developmental aspects of adding a truck stop to the property. M1 Gaming owns 100 acres at the site and also is mulling plans to develop parcels fronting the Truckee River.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI could see mixed use development or a riverwalk happing here,\u201d DiLullo says.<\/p>\n
Posted by:<\/strong> TommyC on April 1, 2014, 4:21 pm<\/p>\n RENO\/TAHOE \u2014 Casino operators in the greater Reno\/Tahoe area are doubling down on their properties. The more than $100 million spent or tabbed for renovations at regional hotel-casinos includes $50 million at JA Nugget, $20 million at Boomtown, $30 million…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}