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Small Casino Facilities in Nevada Affected by Financial Crisis

On January 11th, 2009, for ten years, Nonie Galloway helped with the bills by working as a hostess and cashier at the Silver Club in Sparks. Now, the thirty-four year old single mother of five is wondering on what will do after the resort that she is working became the latest small casino facility to shut down in Nevada-a long term trend industry experts say is being affected by the financial crisis. Galloway said that it is also upsetting to her kids because they are worried about what they will do now.

Galloway is among the thousands of casino employees who have lost their jobs all over the state as the financial crisis and the spread of Indian gaming have greatly affected the small casinos. The weakening economy is the main reason in the Holder Hospitality Group's decision to shut down its Silver Club in Sparks and its Red Garter Casino facility in West Wendover on March 3rd, 2009, according to company spokesperson Tom Clark. The Silver Club had 219 employees and the Red Garter has 155 employees. Clark said that Holder has been trying to sell their thirteen Nevada casino facilities for eighteen months but potential buyers have faced difficulty securing money.

Clark said that both tourists and locals do not have extra dollars to spend on gaming. Smaller casinos are having more trouble facing the financial storm compared than bigger casinos. Aside from that, the December shutdown of the Oasis' casino, restaurants and night clubs affected around five hundred employees, while the November shutdown of the Fitzgeralds Casino-Hotel in Reno affected around 475 employees.

A University of Nevada, Reno economics professor, Tom Cargill said the smaller casino facilities in Nevada have struggled to survive since the growth of Indian casinos in California and the financial crisis may have accelerated the demise of the casinos. The Silver Club is the latest in a growing string of casino facilities in Reno to shutdown since 1995 that includes Harolds Club, the Nevada Club, the Riverboat, the Comstock, the Sundowner and the Golden Phoenix. The financial crisis continues to hurt big and small Nevada Casino, according to a recent report released by the state Gaming Control Board.

The casinos reported an almost fifteen percent slide in winnings from players in November-the eleventh straight month of drops-compared with the same period a year earlier. The report shows drops during November in every important market in the state, including the Las Vegas Strip which was down by 16%. In the northern Nevada area, clubs in Washoe County, which takes in the Washoe area, were down by 15.2%. That is the 17 consecutive month of drops for the market. Gaming Control Board analyst Frank Streshley said that the main reasons for this gaming drop are the economy, the drop in the stock market and people lessening their gaming spending.

 

Sunday, February 22 , 2009
Gerald Kernighan