RSS 2.0 FeedVol. 3, No. 9, September 2007, Tumbling Dice
Boomtown Douglas County
A number of high-profile casino projects in Douglas County, Nevada, could have a dramatic impact on the area’s economy, and most residents are happy to see the development.
The Beverly Hillbillies Mansion and Casino is clearly the most prominent project, but two others—the $125 million GoldTown hotel casino with 300 hotel rooms and a 92,000-square-foot casino and the 30,000-square-foot Bodine’s casino—are being heralded as godsends in the community.
Casino supporter John Wagner of Carson City, said the new developments will attract tourists and create jobs in Douglas County, something he wished was happening in his town.
“I’m sorry this is not in Carson City, and I wish it was,” he said. “We need a destination casino, and this will be good for everybody.”
Others are not so sure that the area can support additional gaming operations because it is too far from an airport and a major interstate highway, and the local population isn’t large enough.
“Carson City is at a disadvantage,” said Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada. “If you are coming from Northern California, you have to drive through Reno or drive through South Lake Tahoe. If you are coming from the east side of the Sierra, you are on a very light-trafficked road that is hard to get to anywhere except Los Angeles and San Diego. And then it is a 12-hour drive.”
Beverly Hillbillies developer Max Baer Jr. disagrees, noting that South Lake Tahoe is also a difficult location to get to.
“We have the same amount of airports that Tahoe has,” Baer said.
Eadington said it’s not a good comparison.
“The Tahoe casinos have lost half of their gaming stock in the last 15 years,” Eadington said. “In terms of the number of table games and the number of slots, the gaming revenues now are roughly the same as they were in 1990. It is a market that has contracted pretty dramatically.”
Gaming analyst Ken Adams said the location does not guarantee success, but any new development will have to work hard to generate business.
The Beverly Hillbillies Mansion and Casino is clearly the most prominent project, but two others—the $125 million GoldTown hotel casino with 300 hotel rooms and a 92,000-square-foot casino and the 30,000-square-foot Bodine’s casino—are being heralded as godsends in the community.
Casino supporter John Wagner of Carson City, said the new developments will attract tourists and create jobs in Douglas County, something he wished was happening in his town.
“I’m sorry this is not in Carson City, and I wish it was,” he said. “We need a destination casino, and this will be good for everybody.”
Others are not so sure that the area can support additional gaming operations because it is too far from an airport and a major interstate highway, and the local population isn’t large enough.
“Carson City is at a disadvantage,” said Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada. “If you are coming from Northern California, you have to drive through Reno or drive through South Lake Tahoe. If you are coming from the east side of the Sierra, you are on a very light-trafficked road that is hard to get to anywhere except Los Angeles and San Diego. And then it is a 12-hour drive.”
Beverly Hillbillies developer Max Baer Jr. disagrees, noting that South Lake Tahoe is also a difficult location to get to.
“We have the same amount of airports that Tahoe has,” Baer said.
Eadington said it’s not a good comparison.
“The Tahoe casinos have lost half of their gaming stock in the last 15 years,” Eadington said. “In terms of the number of table games and the number of slots, the gaming revenues now are roughly the same as they were in 1990. It is a market that has contracted pretty dramatically.”
Gaming analyst Ken Adams said the location does not guarantee success, but any new development will have to work hard to generate business.
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