Slowdown hurting property values

Jennifer Shubinski

Monday, Jan. 13, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

The majority of Clark County's largest property taxpayers saw modest increases in their assessed values over the previous year, funneling little extra cash to the state's cash-strapped coffers.

The top two property taxpayers in Clark County, MGM MIRAGE and Park Place Entertainment Corp., saw increases of 1 percent and 2.6 percent respectively, according to the Clark County Assessor's office.

MGM MIRAGE has an assessed value of $1.6 billion for the 2002/2003 "secured/ unsecured" tax roll, up from $1.5 billion from the previous year.

The secured/unsecured tax roll includes land, improvements such as buildings, and business personal property, which can include everything from slot machines to office equipment to hotel furnishings.

The roll includes all holdings of the companies, based in Clark County, from casinos, hotels and parking garages to bars, restaurants and golf courses.

The assessed value is 35 percent of the full cash value. That number is then multiplied by the applicable tax rate.

Mandalay Resort Group saw its assessed value drop 6 percent, from $951 million in 2001/2002, to just under $894 million on the 2002/2003 tax rolls.

Rocky Steele, assistant director of the Clark County Assessors Office, said the company's assessed value should increase when the newly finished Mandalay Bay Convention Center is added to the roles.

"It could wash out (the decrease)," he said.

Steele said improvements to the land can be added to the tax roles up to June 30.

Station Casinos Inc., is the only other gaming company in the top 10 property taxpayers to see its assessed value fall, albeit slightly. Station Casinos has fluctuated between the seventh and eighth largest property taxpayer over the last two years.

The assessed value for the company, which includes the casinos, hotels and vacant land for future projects, fell just over 1 percent from $306 million to $302 million.

The decreases and modest increases in assessed values in companies that have casino holdings is attributable to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Steele said.

"This is the first year that 9-11 has come into play and we are seeing some influence from that," he said.

Nevada State Controller Kathy Augustine said last week in her annual report on state government that Sept. 11, 2001, affected almost every performance indicator -- taxable sales, gaming activity, jobs and income. She said every indicator has deteriorated, if not in actual terms, at least when compared to former growth rates.

Harrah's saw the largest increase among the gaming companies in its taxable assessed value, with an almost 4 percent increase, to $317 million in 2002/2003 from $305 million the previous year.

The Venetian's taxable assessed value rose just over 2 percent to $396 million from $387 million.

Nevada Power Co., ranked as the fourth largest property taxpayer in Clark County from 2001/2002 at about $688 million and 2002/2003 at $694 million and saw a .85 percent increase in its taxable assessed value.

The Rouse Co., developer of Summerlin, the Fashion Show Mall and the Hughes Center, ranked as the sixth largest property taxpayer in Clark County but saw its assessed value fall by .65 percent from $374.32 million in 2001/2002 to $371.902 million in 2002/ 2003.

The top 10 list of the biggest property values is rounded out with two non-gaming companies.

At No. 9 is the Central Telephone Co., or Sprint, with its assessed value raised from $187.7 million to $193.8 million, a 3.2 percent increase.

At No. 10 is the Sierra-Nevada Multifamily Investments, with holdings in several apartment complexes. The company's taxable assessed value increased just over 1 percent, to $191.6 million from 189.4 million.