Gaming commission says small slots parlors are complying with regulation

Dotty’s near Eastern and Serene in Henderson is shown Thursday, March 24, 2011.

The Nevada Gaming Commission is satisfied that operators of small slot machine arcades are on the right track in their efforts to comply with regulations defining what types of amenities they must have to do business.

Without a vote, commissioners reviewed five reports on compliance that came to the board after it imposed stricter requirements for businesses like Dotty’s, Miz Lola’s and Jackpot Joanie’s in August.

Commissioners reviewed reports on two locations for Miz Lola’s, two for Jackpot Joanie’s and one for Dotty’s.

In August, the commission gave companies two years to comply with Regulation 3.015, which requires standalone slot parlors to feature a permanent bar with seating for at least nine customers, a contract or service agreement with a licensed liquor distributor and facilities to serve alcohol by the drink, and a restaurant of at least 2,000 square feet with seating for at least 20 customers.

The regulation also said establishments must be open at least 12 hours a day if the company wants to have more than four slot machines. With a restricted license for small operations, companies can have up to 15 slots.

Michael Eide, chief operating officer of the company that runs Dotty’s, said his company was affected most because it was the largest chain of the slot parlors, which appeal to older female gamblers.

Eide said the company had begun remodeling some of its locations to comply with the law, and wanted to get a positive response on its efforts from the commission before proceeding with more work.

“We need to know this before we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Frank Schreck, a Las Vegas gaming attorney representing Dotty’s.

Schreck said the company would modify 32 to 34 more properties within 1½ years. Two of the chain’s 60 operations are physically constrained from meeting requirements of the amended regulation, and the company will seek waivers from the regulation to keep them open.

In other business, the commission approved the licensing of Houston-based Nevada Gold & Casinos and for Cantor Gaming to operate the race and sports book at the Palms.

Nevada Gold is considering several projects in Nevada, including the management of a small casino in a hotel that is being eyed near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Robert Sturges, CEO of Nevada Gold, said the company was in negotiations with home builder Lennar Corp., which owns property near the Petro Truck Stop off Interstate 15, to manage a 30,000-square-foot casino in a proposed 200-room hotel. Sturges said the company had a deal with the previous developer of the property and he expected to get a decision on the updated proposal “in the near future.”

Nevada Gold, which formerly worked primarily in gold mining in the state, has casino properties in Washington state and South Dakota and recently sold its Colorado Grande property in Cripple Creek, Colo., to finance the acquisition of a South Dakota slot route.

The commission also unanimously approved the licensing of Cantor Gaming to operate its eighth race and sports book in Southern Nevada at the Palms.

Cantor and Palms announced the partnership in November and will install its technology after the busy NCAA basketball tournament in March. The upgraded book is expected to be completed in time for the 2012 football season.

Cantor operates sports books at the M Resort, Cosmopolitan, Palazzo and Hard Rock, among others.

Cantor CEO Lee Amaitis said his company booked about 10 percent of the action in Nevada at last year’s Super Bowl game, which had an $85 million handle. He also thinks this year’s game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants is an “ideal matchup” from the state’s perspective because it is a rematch of Super Bowl XLII in 2008.

Amaitis also said wagering was up on National Basketball Association games, which had been a concern because the season has been shortened by a lockout of players by basketball team owners that was resolved in December, two months after the scheduled start of the season.

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