Clark County Commissioners voted 6-1 Wednesday to tighten restrictions on Dotty’s and similar so-called slot parlors, forcing them to become more like traditional taverns.
They will now have to operate full kitchens and embed slot machines in bar tops, or prove that slot machine earnings do not exceed 50 percent of revenues.
Not complying could lead to a cut in the number of slot machines allowed from 15 to seven.
The changes were pushed by Station Casinos and Golden Gaming, which operates PT’s Pubs and Golden Gaming, who said they just wanted a level playing field.
“This has been pushed by the Nevada Resort Association and it looks like they’re getting there way now,” Roger Gros with Global Gaming Business Magazine told KNPR’s State of Nevada.
Dotty’s has focused on middle-aged woman that it says were ignored by bigger casinos. Gros said its local casinos that are going after that market.
“They’re the ones that want to grab these middle-age women who have found a home at Dotty’s and are obviously comfortable there,” Gros said.
It is a market that Dotty’s has developed with personal service and rewards.
Gros said it is going to be interesting to see how they’re going to pull those customers into the bigger casinos. He says the valley might see some unemployment because of the rules changes as some slot parlors close rather than go through the expense of remodeling.
“It is a big victory for locals casino,” Gros said, “They were trying to nip this in the bud and that’s pretty much what they’ve done here.”
Casinos are looking for every little penny they can get, Gros said.
In other gaming news, Blackstone Group received preliminary approval to purchase the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Hotel-Casino and regulators approved a limited license for the Sam Nazarian of the SLS Las Vegas Hotel-Casino .
Gros said regulators were not happy with an incident involving Nazarian and a stalker, which was not handled well.
There was also a report that he used cocaine while on a trip to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Regulators do not want the SLS to become a “drug hot bed,” according to Gros.
Nazarian will mainly focus on the hotel and nightclub side of the business, while SLS President Scott Kreeger will focus on the gaming.
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Roger Gros, publisher, Global Gaming Business Magazine