Letter: Triple 5/Boyd knew land wasn’t zoned for casino

Wednesday, March 1, 2000 | 9:44 a.m.

The suggestion is that the county has more authority than the state of Nevada. They were unashamed to suggest legislators were morons to include appeal provisions.

They don't seem to recognize that two key members of this commission will vote on the gaming license applications presented for any future gaming property. They seemed confident that alienating these individuals is an excellent part of their overall business strategy.

Remember that Boyd Group initially tried to prevent the passage of Senate Bill 208 in 1997, later attempting to have the law repealed -- unsuccessfully. Boyd tried to sneak in through the back door, while hiding behind Triple 5.

Station Casinos' announcement regarding the purchase of land from Rhodes shows that grandfathered parcels were available to Boyd throughout the valley if the company had been willing to pay for them.

So I feel: 1) Boyd couldn't work within the law and chose to work outside it instead, and 2) Boyd wasn't willing to pay a premium for grandfathered land.

Triple 5/Boyd have suggested that if they don't get their way, they will build nothing on this land. They bought the land, knowing it wasn't zoned for a casino. I've got news for Triple 5/Boyd. There are plenty of ethical developers who would be glad to build a shopping center here.

DAN GONZALEZ