Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 138

A special advertising section produced by the RQJ Custom Publishing Group 10 Saturday, May 20, 2000 Focus on Family Business Sundowner Hotel Casino Downtown properly prides itself on its friendliness and amenities By H. E. Spencer or the past 25 years, a commitment to taking care of customers and employees is SUNDOWNER HOTEL CASINO 460 Ailinglon A SUNDOWNER 5 HOTEL CASINO I rj 460 Ailinglon Ave. JfJ- 1775)786-7060 I rl 1 SUNDOWNER OT EL AIINO how the Sundowner Hotel and Casino has successfully been taking care of business. Satisfied employees translate into satisfied customers.

"The Sundowner prides itself on being friendly," said Matt Karadanis, director of operations. "The change people are friendly. The dealers are friendly. A lot of our customers have cultivated personal friendships with a lot of our employees." Matt's father, George Karadanis, and Robert Maloff opened the Sundowner in 1975 with a hotel tower, parking garage, 24-hour coffee shop and a casino. Some of todays 400 employees have been with the club since it opened its doors.

"George is a great guy to work for," said the younger Karadanis. "He's very fair. He's very approachable. There's not a lot of corporate pressure here." In 1977, the Sundowner purchased an adjoining property and built a second tower, bringing their room total to 583. They also increased their banquet facilities, and added a buffet and a fine-dining steakhouse.

Karadanis is particularly pleased Amenities 583 rooms reasonable weekend rates. casino, including slots, keno, table games and sports book. fine GK's Steakhouse dining after 5 p.m. Western Buffet open after 5 p.m. weekdays, and for brunch Saturday and Sunday.

24-hour coffee shop Parking garage free parking. Photos by Richard Stokes Gean LaFantan, chef at GK's steakhouse, shows one of his creations the Sundowner Duet with lobster tail and quail. with GK's Steakhouse. Reza, the maitre d', started as the restaurant's sous chef 22 years ago. Gaming includes dice, roulette and blackjack tables, keno and the latest slots.

An arrangement with the Club Cal-Neva provides a complete sports book. In the casino area, as with the rest of the hotel, the Sundowner tries to maintain a pleasant environment. "We don't sweat the games," said Karadanis. "We're not breathing down the dealers' necks. They're trusted, so they deal a good game." In addition to the recent casino makeover, the hotel is continually upgrading its facilities.

They just re-carpeted an entire tower and plan to do more. As far as the rest of downtown Reno, Karadanis feels the city is moving in the right direction, even though he like almost everyone else might not agree with every detail. There's still a lot of blight and run down properties to be cleaned up, and that redevelopment needs to include more than just Virginia Street, he added. "We sat on our hands too long," he said. "If we left it up to the no-growth-ers and the naysayers, nothing would be getting done.

No growth is death, and it's really hurt downtown Reno." To that end, Karadanis said he welcomes competition such as the Silver Legacy that opened near the Sundowner in 1997 saying that large, well-done properties add excitement to the area. "Reno needs two or three more Silver Legacys," he said. "They spend a lot of money promoting Reno." Whether there is a new surge in Reno tourism traffic or not, the Sundowner will do what it has done well for years take care of their customers and take care of their employees. The dozens of managers and supervisors that have been with the Sundowner for more than a decade translates into repeat business. "Our guests like to see the same faces time and time again," Karadanis said.

"Customers get uncomfortable with a place that has a lot of turnover, where they have to re-establish their relationship with the floor manager, the keno manager and the slot personnel. It's hard on a customer to re-establish that relationship." The Sundowner will continue to remodel and upgrade their physical facilities, and will soon begin a promotion intended to increase local awareness of what the hotel-casino has to offer. Karadanis said that once a customer comes through the door, the Sundowner would do what it takes to keep them coming back. "Repeat business is the backbone of our operation," he added. "Our steakhouse is a real sleeper," Karadanis said.

"Unfortunately, not enough locals know about it. The food is fantastic. The steak and lobster is as good as any place in town, and it's the most reasonably priced." The Sundowner has always appealed to working or retired middle-class customers. The hotel rooms are nice, but not opulent. The prices have the customers' pocketbook in mind.

"We probably have some of the best weekend room rates around the downtown core area," Karadanis said. The first two floors of the hotel, about 25,000 square feet, are mostly dedicated to gaming and recently have been remodeled. ST) m- Matre'd Reza greets customers at GK's Steakhouse, inside the Sundowner Hotel Casino,.