Snow a mixed blessing for area hotels - 2004-01-06
Heavy snow that closed major highways New Year’s Day didn’t stop Northern Nevada hotel-casinos from having full occupancy.

Snow can be either good or bad for the tourism industry, depending when it falls and how it affects traffic over Interstate 80 from Northern California.

“Usually it seems to kill us on a Friday,” Eldorado Hotel Casino General Manager Gregg Carano said.

“This time it happened while (visitors) were here, so it kind of worked out positively for us. They couldn’t get out of here the next day. They were stuck with us one more night, and it seemed like a lot of them were happy to stay with us another night.”
Read the full story at Reno Gazette Journal

Private Salons: Plenty of Good Seats Are Available - 2004-01-06
Not one high-rolling gambler played in the Strip's three private casinos between March 1 and Nov. 30, the Gaming Control Board stated Monday.

The private casinos, named "international gaming salons" by state regulators, have won only $3.5 million since the first one opened at the MGM Grand in August 2002.

Pitched as a way to drive new business to the state by appealing to international gamblers who want to bet in privacy, Nevada lawmakers and regulators changed state laws and rules in 2001 and 2002 to permit private casino gambling in the salons.
Read the full story at Casino City Times