By John Stearns - RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Reno no longer needs glasses to see the handwriting on the wall with
California Indian gaming.
The letters are boldly in its face after Friday’s announcement putting
a planned $100 million casino east of Sacramento a giant step closer to
breaking ground.
A U.S. Department of the Interior official from Washington, D.C.,
announced the agency’s notice to take land into trust for the United
Auburn Indian Community casino a couple of miles outside Roseville
and northwest of Interstate 80.
Savvy Las Vegas-based casino operator Station Casinos Inc. will operate
the facility, so you can be assured it will sizzle.
Station could be the best in Vegas at attracting locals (plus a good
share of tourists). Their southern Nevada properties include Palace
Station, Boulder Station, Sunset Station, Santa Fe, Wild Wild West,
Texas and Fiesta hotel-casinos, plus half of Barley’s Casino and
Brewing Co. and Green Valley Ranch Station. It plans a
“state-of-the-art gaming and entertainment facility” for the
tribe.
Construction appears likely to begin midyear and is expected to take
about a year to complete. Look for significant Nevada-style gaming in
the heart of Reno’s customer base next year in a facility that
eventually will approach the Peppermill and Silver Legacy in numbers of
slot machines.
Driving back to Reno after the Interior Department’s announcement at
tribal offices in Newcastle, Calif., it seemed ironic to encounter a
“Lucky Tours” bus announcing a “Daily Reno Trip” on its back
window.
How many fewer people will head east in the future?
And how about all those vehicles climbing the Sierra? How many of them
will continue making the trek (or reduce their treks) on a freeway that
is so rough, laced with potholes and fractured by large cracks in
places as to make a vehicle shudder? And that was in perfect weather
Friday, minus the threat of storms and road controls that can slow
travel dramatically.
How about the construction zones reducing traffic to one lane? It seems
orange is always in season on I-80.
This casino will have all the most popular slots seen in Nevada, plus
table games like blackjack. Only craps and roulette are
prohibited.
But that doesn’t matter. Slots will be the moneymakers, just like they
are here. They’ll look the same as slots here, drop coin and make
obnoxious noises.
That’s why it’s so important for Reno to demonstrate the city is more
than just slots, to attract more people for more than just gambling and
to mine new markets outside of northern California (which also will
provide much-needed support to airlines serving Reno).
The number of gambling junkies surely will erode when this casino
opens. They’re already being lured to casinos in more obscure places
such as Brooks, Jackson, Oroville, Hopland and Clear Lake, Calif.
This casino will be as close to the heart of a major metropolitan area
in Reno’s marketplace as one can get — for now. The San Pablo Casino, a
card club next to I-80 in the East Bay, could be next (pending
political and legal hurdles).
One industry expert predicts the two casinos easily could do half the
gaming revenue — or more — of all of Washoe County. How much of that
will come out of Washoe County?
That’s not the Auburn tribe’s problem, though, that’s Reno’s problem —
to ensure it continues broadening its appeal beyond just gambling while
cleaning up what remains, in parts, a tired and very average gaming
product.
More power to the tribe for getting closer to opening this casino. The
federal government sold the tribe’s reservation land, minus a 2.8-acre
parcel, out from under the tribe after a 1953 congressional act. Then
the feds terminated recognition of the tribe in 1967 — then restored
recognition in 1994. Some of its 215 members live in alarming poverty
in the shadows of swanky homes.
Gaming has helped various tribes rebound and thrive economically. With
its casino location and help from Station, the fortunes of the tribe
should turn dramatically. It plans to use gaming proceeds for housing,
health insurance and other member benefits.
On top of that, it’s going to contribute $30 million worth of fees and
services back to Placer County over coming years. The agreements it
struck with surrounding governments and communities are being held up
as a model for other tribes throughout the nation.
Not that Reno needs another wake-up call, but this is surely a loud
one. Station’s train is comin’ ’round the bend.
