Economy figures in casino expansion (The Buffalo News, N.Y.)

July 31, 2008 at 1:42 pm · Filed under Online Gambling

Jul. 30--NIAGARA FALLS -- Seneca Gaming Corp. executives are closely watching the downturn in the economy and the tightening credit market as they develop plans to expand the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel.

Brian Hansberry, Seneca Gaming chief executive, told investors during a conference call last week that the company is "constantly monitoring" a shift in the gambling industry credit market as it continues to develop its plan.

Plans to develop the Niagara Falls casino's 48-acre site have been anticipated as, in recent months, the corporation demolished a Pizza Hut, a Holiday Inn and a shuttered splash park on the property.

But despite statements earlier this year that details of the expansion would be released in January or February, no plans have been made public.

"We're rolling with the plans as we had previously stated," David Sheridan, Seneca Gaming's chief financial officer, said during the conference call. "Again, with the credit markets the way that they are -- certainly as you guys know -- it's just another factor for us to consider in monitoring and really determining what, if any, impact that's going to have on our future plans."

The 26-story glass hotel and casino currently sits on 24 acres in downtown Niagara Falls, but Seneca Gaming controls an additional 24 acres that remain undeveloped.

The hotel, completed in 2005, cost $234 million to construct and was financed through bonds.

Philip J. Pantano, Seneca Gaming spokesman, said the Seneca Niagara Casino expansion plans must be approved by the corporation's board of directors and the Seneca Nation of Indians Tribal Council before they will be made public.

But executives signaled in last week's conference call with investors that they are considering the changing economy in shaping expansion plans.

The conference call was set up to discuss a federal court ruling released earlier this month that found that the nine-acre site of the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino is sovereign land but is not eligible for off-reservation gambling.

The ruling was limited to the Seneca's Buffalo casino.

But analysts asked several questions during the conference call on when plans for the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel would be released and whether the court ruling would have an impact on those proposals.

"Right now our development plans continue as we had stated prior," Hansberry said.

Plans submitted to the Empire State Development Corp. when it used its power of eminent domain to acquire property in Niagara Falls for the Seneca Nation called for constructing two additional hotel towers and adding gambling space on the 48-acre site in Niagara Falls.

Pantano has said plans for the location have evolved since then, but "you're not going to see anything less than what was proposed."

Casinos across the country have been hit by the economic downturn in recent months.

Last month, Moody's Investors Service changed its outlook for the U. S. gambling industry from stable to negative.

The report found that the U. S. gambling sector is "facing its toughest challenge" since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when travel was curtailed.

But the Moody's report also noted that the "huge investments in amenities at regional casinos present vacationers with compelling substitutes to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. These local markets have an added allure: convenience."

That, it said, could help develop a "permanent preference for the more convenient, nearby gaming market."

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Arsonist blamed for fire at former downtown Reno casino

July 31, 2008 at 1:39 pm · Filed under Online Gambling

A fire at the former Sundowner Hotel Casino in downtown Reno was intentionally set.

That's the word from Reno Fire Department spokesman Steve Frady, who says investigators are trying to determine who set the blaze Tuesday at the building now being developed into The Belvedere luxury condominiums.

The fire, which broke out shortly before 5 p.m., produced flames 30 to 60 feet high and a thick smoke plume that could be seen around the downtown.

Frady says the blaze also caused about $120,000 in damage and prompted evacuations. He says the damage was largely confined to the building's exterior, but there was some smoke and water damage to the interior.

Meanwhile, officials are investigating whether a barbecue on a balcony caused a fire at an eight-unit Reno apartment complex early Wednesday morning.

Frady says the blaze caused about $225,000 in damage, but was confined to a single apartment in the Carlin Street structure. No injuries were reported in either fire.

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