Board lowers Reno casino’s taxable value

Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1999 | 11:35 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The state Board of Equalization got a brief glimpse of the economic problems in downtown Reno.

The board last week agreed to set the taxable value of the Flamingo Hilton Reno hotel-casino at $50 million, down from $62.5 million of the year before.

Mark Stafford, a commercial appraiser for the Washoe County assessor's office, said the income at the property, owned by Park Place Entertainment of Las Vegas, has been declining for the last four years.

The property consists of a 16-story, 604-room hotel built in 1978 on Sierra Street, one block off Virginia Street, the main artery in Reno. There's a casino addition that faces onto Virginia Street. There's also a small office building plus the air rights over the railroad tracks.

Operating income dipped from $15.6 million in 1995 to $8.3 million last year, he said.

The Washoe County Board of Equalization deadlocked on setting the value for the Flamingo Hilton and the case was forwarded to the state board. Officials of the hotel-casino did not argue with the lower valuation established by the assessor's office.

Earlier this month, Geoffrey Davis, spokesman for Park Place, told a Reno newspaper the property has been available for sale since 1992.

The hotel-casino was bought from Del Webb Corp. for $34.5 million in 1981 by the Hilton Hotel chain. It was renamed the Reno Hilton and then the Flamingo Hilton Reno in 1989.

In contrast, the value of the sister Reno Hilton, located about 3 miles east of downtown, was raised from $110 million to $123.4 million.

Downtown Reno is dotted with pawnshops, souvenir stores and closed casinos. But there are signs of a revival.

Harolds Club and the Nevada Club, which were once two of the main casinos in the downtown area, have been closed for years. They were recently purchased by Harrah's Entertainment, which intends to tear them down and start anew.

The Riverboat and the Virginian, both shut down in recent years, have been purchased and re-opened by the Club Cal-Neva.

The Riverside Hotel, once a mecca for big entertainment, has been turned into shops and an artists retreat.

The Reno City Council continues to debate the future of the Mapes Hotel, which has been closed for years. There have been suggestions it could reopen as a casino, be turned into a retirement home for the elderly or converted to office space.

And the Holiday Hotel, just off the main street, is also shut down.