Friday, July 18, 2003 | 11:09 a.m.
After 14 months of struggling to operate as a gambling-free entertainment and retail facility, Neonopolis businesses soon will have a shot at limited gaming licenses for bartop slot machines in hopes the devices will boost business.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said at his weekly news conference Thursday that the city and the downtown casinos that operate the Fremont Street Experience have agreed to allow 25 slot machines for the 227,000-square-foot, $99 million Neonopolis complex at Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard.
"We're not turning (Neonopolis) into a gambling hall," Goodman said, noting that he was in The Saloon restaurant recently and felt that more people would have stayed longer if there were a few slots at the bar.
The Las Vegas City Council would have to vote on any change to the development agreement with World Entertainment Centers, Inc., the company that runs Neonopolis.
As that contract now stands, Neonopolis could obtain gaming only by gaining the approval of the City Council and neighboring Fremont Street Experience operators.
City Attorney Brad Jerbic said the council vote could come as early as the Aug. 6 meeting if all of the paperwork is in his office within a week.
Fremont Street Experience President Mark Paris said Thursday that the downtown casinos have agreed to the request for slots to help businesses at Neonopolis through their growing pains.
"Twenty-five slots won't make or break Neonopolis," Paris said. "Its success will depend on more entertainment and retail businesses. However, there would be some potential revenue from slots and we're happy to support them."
Paris said it is not fair to say that Neonopolis' apparent need for slots is a sign that the concept is failing.
"Any urban redevelopment project takes time," Paris said. "In Las Vegas, people want instant gratification -- open a place today and 50 million people will come. It doesn't work that way. It is a slow process. That is why we are cooperating with Neonopolis."
Neonopolis General Manager Frank Wheat said Thursday World Entertainment did not ask the city for the addition of gaming at Neonopolis, but that one of the existing businesses has done so.
He declined to comment further.
If the change to the development agreement is approved, Neonopolis businesses such as The Saloon, the 40,000-square-foot Jillian's family-oriented nightclub that opened in October and La Salsa Cantina could apply for gaming licenses.
City and Fremont Street Experience officials said that each of those businesses would get a few slots, perhaps five apiece. Once the 25 slots are doled out, there would be no more, officials said.
The Neonopolis slot plan would not extend to the neighboring Special Entertainment District bounded by Las Vegas Boulevard, Ogden Avenue, Carson Avenue and Eighth Street. The city created that district in October to revitalize a rundown section of town, where only the El Cortez hotel has a gaming license. As part of the plan, the city approved music-themed nongaming supper clubs and taverns with reduced cost liquor licenses.
The Neonopolis slot issue marks the second time in as many months that there has been a suggestion of an apparent shift in objectives for the project that was heralded as a jewel of downtown redevelopment but has had a less-than glimmering start.
In June, Goodman questioned whether Neonopolis was shifting gears by providing office space.
Officials for the property that also features a 14-screen theater and retail shops said that while 5 percent of the project's space had been leased as office use to one company, the focus is still entertainment, food and retail.
Goodman at Thursday's news conference said he was satisfied with an agreement he reached recently with Neonopolis officials, where they will inform his office before they rent office space to any additional clients.
Goodman said he was concerned because the project was pitched to the city as an entertainment attraction that would bring thousands of tourists to the downtown area. Also, Goodman noted, the city has $32 million in taxpayer liability sunk into the project.
The city invested $40.5 million in the project, including $23 million for the land at the corner of Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard and $15 million for the construction of an underground parking garage. The city received $8 million back from the developer for land rights to Neonopolis.
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