Tavern wins eight-year fight to expand casino

Valerie Miller

Thursday, Aug. 5, 1999 | 11:25 a.m.

A settlement approved this week by the Henderson City Council ends a nearly eight-year legal battle between the city and a local tavern fighting to expand its casino.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, the council voted to approve an agreement with Thirstbusters that would allow it to increase its number of gaming machines from 40 to 100, while adding five live games or four live games and a sports book.

In April the Nevada Supreme Court had ordered the City Council to reconsider an earlier decision not to let the casino expand, saying the limitation on Thirstbusters may have been an "inequitable and oppressive" restriction on the owners' use of property.

Ronald Coury and Daniel Hughes, owners of Thirstbusters, 697 N. Valle Verde, gained a license in 1989 for 15 slot machines, but their application to expand gaming operations in 1991 was denied.

After Thirstbusters filed suit against the city, a settlement was reached in 1992 for another 25 slot machines, but under the condition that Coury and Hughes would not seek another gaming increase as long as they were the sole shareholders in the company.

Coury maintains that he agreed to the settlement under the belief that the city was seeking to limit gaming in general in the Green Valley area, but soon saw a flurry of smaller casinos opened or expanded in the area.

"Barley's and Renata's opened, and they had the same license as us, but were allowed 199 machines, and the old Sidelines Casino turned into the Goldrush Casino, all along Sunset Road," Coury said Wednesday after the settlement was reached. "All we wanted was a fair chance to run our business and be competitive."

When the city refused to allow the owners to void the settlement in 1995, Thirstbusters' owners went to court again to void the settlement. In turn, the city filed a countersuit seeking to force Coury and Hughes to give up back profits earned from the additional 25 slots awarded as part of the original settlement.

After a District Court rejected the city's countersuit but ruled in favor of the city on the request for more slot machines, both sides appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.

This year, the Supreme Court agreed that the city had the right to put restriction on the license, but ordered the City Council to reconsider Thirstbusters' request for additional gaming, saying conditions had changed in Henderson.

Both sides opted to settle instead of spending years more in court, according to Norman Kirshman, an outside attorney hired by the city to handle the case.

"It would have took 2 to 3 more years of litigation," he said. "This is a good compromise and we feel we have upheld the dignity of the 1992 settlement."

The current gaming limitations now run with the property instead of the owners, and Coury said he felt that it should have always been that way.

"To have the land uses run with the property owners allows for discrimination," Coury added.

Still, Coury maintained that he is happy with the settlement, even though he had originally requested 199 slots and nine live table games.

"Because of the dimension of my property, this (amount of gaming) would probably be all I have space for." Coury added that he is now considering selling Thirstbusters. Coury and Hughes also own the Castaways Casino.