Friday, Dec. 14, 2001 | 9:59 a.m.
Stateline and Northern Nevada hotel-casinos need to diversify their visitor base as increasingly larger and more-sophisticated Indian casinos compete for the same customers.
That was the consensus of a panel of tribal gambling experts who spoke Wednesday during the 18th annual Nevada governor's tourism conference in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Strip resorts, however, should be insulated from the growing number of tribal casinos in California and Arizona.
"The impact on the Strip will be minimal because most visitors come by air," said University of Nevada, Reno gambling expert Bill Eadington.
And unlike those who might be tempted to gamble closer to home, Las Vegas visitors are often interested in the city's entertainment, dining and shopping offerings in addition to slot machines and table games.
"Tribal casinos can't compete with the Strip," said Eadington, director of UNR's Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming.
Indian casinos, however, already offer the same slot technology as Nevada, and all table games except craps and roulette, thanks to Proposition 1A that passed in March 2000 allowing Nevada-style gambling in California.
That means Reno and Laughlin resorts, for example, need to begin selling their regions to a more diverse clientele, including conventioneers and recreation-seekers, the experts said.
The California casinos could cost downtown Las Vegas up to 23 percent of its gambling revenues and Reno 22 percent by 2004-05, one Wall Street investment firm predicts.
Casinos in Laughlin and Tahoe could lose 16 percent and 15 percent, respectively, according to the Bear Stearns Co. report, Eadington said.
"This is something you can't take for granted," he told travel and tourism industry leaders. "You need to respond in a positive way."
Suggestions offered by panel members included the cleanup of downtown Reno and stronger marketing campaigns for special events, such as Reno's Hot August Nights or Laughlin's annual River Run.
By 2007, with the anticipated construction of several other key Indian casinos, Eadington estimates that northern California's casinos could exceed $600 million in cash flow on $1.8 billion in revenues.
"Northern California is lagging behind, but it's catching up," he said, referring to the 16 significant tribal casinos that have been established in Southern California's San Diego and Palm Springs areas.
Rather than relying on beating the competition, some gambling corporations are getting in on the action.
Harrah's Entertainment Corp., for example, was the first casino company to embrace tribal gambling, said Carlos Tolosa, president of Harrah's Western Division and a panel member.
"We believed early on (tribal gambling partnerships) could expand our market and extend our brand," he said.
Las Vegas-based operator Station Casinos Inc. plans to run a $100 million casino planned outside Roseville for the United Auburn Indian Community once it receives federal approval to open.
Wayne Smith, deputy assistant secretary for the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs, said a decision on the Auburn casino could come within 30 days.
"It's sitting on my desk," said Smith, a panelist.
Not everyone on the panel was optimistic about the continued growth of California's tribal casinos.
The tribes that are interested in opening casinos continue to face numerous political limitations, said Brenda Soulliere, chairwoman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association.
"Tribes are still fighting to find capital (to build casinos)," she said. "And tribes have a lot of other challenges because they aren't corporations. The casinos are government businesses."
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