Reno Nevada once upon a time ago would have been a place where you came for the casino experience. However it is 2017 and Reno is experiencing something new the casinos are not the main draw of Reno anymore.
There are only a few larger casinos left in town Atlantis, Peppermill, GSR, Nugget, Sands, Harrahs, Cal Neva, Eldorado, Silver Legacy, Circus Circus, and Boomtown.
There are a hand full of smaller casinos as well in Reno that do not offer rooms and other amenities the larger casinos offer.. Reno once had a lot more casinos but many of them closed and have been turned into apartments, condos or other types of business. Sure people still love to gamble and visit the casinos but Reno is in the mist of a major change.
Reno is surrounded by States that offer Indian Casinos like California, Arizona, Idaho, and Oregon. The only state near Reno that has no type of gambling in Utah. So if your looking for a casino you can find one in many of these States. You do not have to come to Reno for a casino anymore it is a fact that has impacted Reno and surrounding areas for some time.
Reno still gets a majority of visitors from the California area. Weather and road conditions affect the flow of visitors from California as well. People visiting Reno are more likely coming for a special event these days like Hot August Nights, Street Vibrations, or one of the many other events that attract a lot of people to Reno in the spring and summer months. However in the winter months depending on the weather the main draw is Lake Tahoe. Winter months for the casinos are dependent on road conditions as well.
Lake Tahoe is one of the biggest draws of the Reno area. Reno is also known for the Truckee River and many outdoor activities. In recent years Reno and Sparks attracted major companies to a place called USA PARKWAY located 17 miles East of Sparks Nevada. Companies like Tesla, Panasonic, Google, Chewy, and Apple added major employment opportunities to the Reno area. This also affected the casinos because it took away many employees.These companies offered higher wages and benefits and the casinos in the Reno area did not match or even try to compete with the wages being offered. Other business ventures also opened up in Reno taking away from the whole casino industry. If you live in the Reno area you can see that the casinos are no longer the MAIN DRAW!
Reno is experiencing a growing population due to these companies and many areas of Reno and Sparks are building new apartments, homes and attracting more local residents to the Reno area. However this also has some draw backs as well housing prices have sky rocketed and finding an apartment or place to live has become much harder and more expensive. This affects the casinos as well because people just do not have extra money to gamble. Casinos have to work towards attracting more locals and offering locals attractive deals to come to that casino.
Casinos in Reno are not offering the visitors or locals the comps that in the old days people expected. Mater of fact not only in Reno area but in Vegas many casinos are charging for things visitors have never been charged for. Casinos are cracking down on free drinks, room comps, and meal comps as well. Casinos with conference rooms or that can hold large conventions are attracting more business that way. The casinos also have made deals with the new companies coming in to hold training and other company events at the casinos. It just goes to show the Casino Industry is stretching out in ways it never use to have to.
Some of the smaller casinos may not survive unless they adapt and change the way they think, most of the larger casinos in the Reno area will be fine however I would not expect to see any new casinos coming to the Reno area anytime soon. Reno like many other places is changing the casino industry is facing the biggest challenges ever with gaming and casinos in almost every State of the USA.
You really do not have to look around and ask why Casinos are no longer the Main Draw in the Reno and surrounding areas.
The Outlaw Micheal Tomsik