Indian casino expansion threatens Reno-Tahoe gaming venues
By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Expansion plans by an Indian casino near Sacramento signal another bad omen for Northern Nevada’s beleaguered gaming market.
Casino revenues in Reno and the Lake Tahoe area have been decimated for almost three years. The recession has zapped tourism, while bad weather routinely impedes travel by casino patrons from the important San Francisco Bay Area feeder market.
But Northern California’s large Indian casino community is the primary reason Washoe County hasn’t seen positive gaming revenues in 29 months and South Lake Tahoe’s casinos are reporting figures mirroring the 1980s.
Bay Area residents have a choice. The Red Hawk in Placerville opened a year ago with 2,100 slot machines and 75 table games. The 7-year-old Thunder Valley near Sacramento is answering with an $800 million expansion opening in July.
Now, Cache Creek is adding to the pain.
I laugh at the way the casinos in Reno blame the Indian Casinos in Calif for them having to close their doors. When I USE to play in Reno I would gamble at least $3,000.00 a visit. I know the casinos are there to make money, but when they switched, tightened the machines sooo tight you could not play for awhile, goodbye!!! A lot of casinos closed, did not hurt my feeling one bit, matter of fact I am glad they got hit big time. I feel sorry for the employees of such greedy casinos….I use to be able to shop in the stores in the casinos not anymore….so I now take my money and give it to the Indians…Hey Reno how does it feel to get screwed back, if you kicked out a few winners every once in awhile I would go back, but now when you play a machine, I call them the cherry machines, because that is all you hit anymore, they take what ever denomination you feed it, and when they suck everything they can out of you then they give you cherries. If you notice the amounts you do hit are at the bottom of the glass on the machines, they put the large amounts eye level, these are the amounts you never win. OH WELL, I hope more and more casinos in Reno close…..!!!!!!!!
None of the casinos, Reno, Tahoe and especially the Indian casinos pay out ANYTHING in slots and blackjack tables, it’s all a big joke…on us. After reading about the Indian casinos, I will never go to one again. Not following standard safety practices for workers? that is horrible. It’s a known fact the entire economy around an Indian casino, the quality of life all goes to he** in a hand basket with an uptick in GAMBLING and all that comes with it. All the Indian casinos have are close location with express buses and airports dropping off losers every hour. The casinos are packed with NO WIN high limit tables, each table staffed with their own employees playing the tables or worse yet these stupid cartooned themed slot machines with names like “little pony” or some nonsense. Tahoe, if they were smart, would package resort/snow and ski with one of the most beautiful locations in the world. Remember when you would go on a Tahoe or Reno vacation and actually hear someone, every time, win a big jackpot? Never heard that magical sound in a long, long, long time–and THAT’s what’s wrong with all these places.