Boyd mum on Oakland casino report

Thursday, July 29, 2004 | 10:57 a.m.

While Boyd Gaming Corp. officials Wednesday touted expansion and renovation projects under way across the country, they were mum on a recent news report that Coast Casinos Inc., which merged with Boyd this month, may develop a casino in Oakland, Calif., for the Alturas Rancheria tribe.

The plan would mark the first tribal opportunity for Coast but would not be a first for Boyd. Coast, the second largest operator of Las Vegas locals casinos behind Station Casinos Inc., has also pursued gaming deals in other states such as Indiana and Nebraska.

The story, which appeared in the Oakland Tribune on Saturday, said Coast Casinos Inc. would operate a proposed casino that could potentially be located near Oakland International Airport. The plans also called for the casino proposal to be put to a local vote. Details were revealed in a proposal presented by Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown to members of the Oakland City Council.

The Alturas Rancheria has a compact with the state to operate a small casino in Northern California near the Oregon and Nevada borders. Tribal representatives could not be reached for comment.

Coast officials had only discussed the casino opportunity with the tribe before the merger with Boyd but had never reached an agreement, Boyd spokesman Rob Stillwell said. He declined to comment further on whether those plans will move forward. Coast operates as a separate subsidiary under Boyd Gaming with its own top management.

Boyd "gets calls all the time" from tribes and other potential business partners about developing casinos, Stillwell said. Asked to characterize the company's interest in tribal deals, Stillwell said the company will consider deals that make financial sense but is preoccupied with at least five development projects.

"We've got a lot on our plate right now," he said.

The company is well into a $50 million expansion of its Louisiana-based Delta Downs racetrack casino, which will add a 200-room hotel, special events center and other amenities. The company soon will upgrade its Blue Chip riverboat casino in Indiana with a new vessel and parking garage at a cost of $150 million. Coast's Orleans hotel-casino in Las Vegas is adding 450 rooms and the company also has broken ground on the $400 million South Coast hotel-casino south of the Las Vegas Strip, which will feature 662 rooms, seven restaurants, 150,000 square feet of convention space, an indoor equestrian center, a 16-screen movie theater and a 64-lane bowling center.