Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 22

i Reno Gazette-Journal WEDNESDAY MAY 26, 1993 STEVE FALCONE, BUSINESS EDITOR: PHONE, 788-6322; FAX, 788-6458 May 25, 1993 DOW(lndustrils) NYSE i jm 'V 1 LV Consumer confidence hits lowest level since October NEW YORK A weak jobs market and dissatisfaction with the Clinton administration sent consumer confidence in the economy tumbling this month to its lowest level since October, economists said Tuesday. The Conference Board reported that its widely followed monthly consumer oulook survey found far less optimism than last month about expectations for the economy's future performance. The business research group's Consumer Confidence Index registered 61 .5, down from 67.6 in April. It was the lowest level since 5 1 .6 last October. The index had reached as high as 78.1 in December after the presidential election.

"Consumer confidence continues at levels that are historically associated with a weak economy," said Fabian Linden, executive director of the Conference Board's consumer research center. SAP 500 AMEX NASDAQ NYSE Diary Alpine Meadows 5 Amfed Financial 20 Va Amservlnc. BankAmerica 44 Clorox 50V2 Coeurd'Alene 19 -Vs Comstock Bank 7Vi R.R. Donnelley 30 Echo Bay 11 V4 First Interstate 571? Vi FirstMiss Gold 6 First Western Fin. 5 FMC Gold 6V2 V4 Gannett 52V2 General Motors 39 -Vs Granite Const.

17V4 Harding 914 Vi Nevada Power 24 Newmont 51 Pacific Telesis 45 J.C. Penney 48 Reno Air Rotech 13Va -Va Santa Fe Pacific 17 Sierra Pacific 20 -Va Sierra Tahoe Southwest Gas 1 8Ve US Bancorp 23 -Va Treasury auction: Yields on two-year Treasury notes rose in Tuesday's auction to the highest level in four months. The high yield was 4. 1 7 percent, up from 3.88 percent at the last auction on April 2 7. It was the highest rate since two-year notes sold for 4.28 percent on Jan.

26. The notes will carry a coupon interest rate of 4. 1 25 percent with each 10,000 in face value selling Bonds: Treasury bond prices erased earlier gains late Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan set off inflation alarms by saying business conditions are ripe for a fresh wave of job growth. The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond, which was up 5-1 6 point around midday, ended down 's point, 1.25 per 1 ,000 in face value. Its yield rose to 7.01 percent from 7.00 percent the day before.

Advances: 1127 Declines: 795 Unchanged: 604 Associated Press SELLING AMERICA: President Clinton surveyed an array of shiny new U.S. cars Tuesday and announced U.S. automakers are "winning the quality race" over foreign competition, he declared. Clinton went from car to car in a "Drive America" exhibit on Washington's Mall set up by the three major U.S. automakers and the UAW.

66 New lowi 17 Total issues: 2,526 Composite volume: 275,109,640 1992 avg. comp. 250,157,090 WALL STREET TT CflMIHCATOURISII Isoverboat craze sraik for investors? II 7 7 I 1 Assoc is tso! Prsss TOURIST VIOLENCE: Louisiana Gov. Edwin Ed- Tuesday at the Travel Industry Association of Ameri-wards, center, and Lt. Gov.

Melinda Schwegmann, ca's 1993 Discover America International Pow Wow left, talk with Hilary Shekelton of New Caledonia in New Orleans. Tourist officials stress safety rnr -iiftiimiiiiufi BYRON UfJETT Nevadans sought for their expertise evada gaming expertise is in demand. As gaming becomes a nationwide industry, the need for knowledgeable technicians, floor personnel, managers and marketers has created a "run" on capable casino employees. "And, it's certain to continue for some time to come," assures Gary Royer, President of Casino Control a Reno-based gaming consultant. "Operating even a small casino requires knowledge of key positions explains Reno gaming consultant Ken Adams.

"Operators in these new jurisdictions are turning to Nevada to fulfill their staffing needs, often paying salaries much higher than they receive here," he says. "Executive level management, mid-level management and technically skilled personnel are the most sought after positions," Adams reports. But George Rinaldi, Harrah's Reno vice president of casino operations, provides a word of caution. "Some less-than-qualified individuals have taken advantage of the demand outside Nevada. Check everyone out." he advises.

The need for expertise in skilled and management positions has given rise to recruitment firms specializing in fulfilling gaming positions. When Glen Mead, a Carson City financial consultant who has worked with the gaming industry for 30 years, recognized the manpower shortage, he formed Casino Management International. In little more than a year, CMI has emerged as a leading recruitment firm. Mead attributes the success of his company to the attention given the qualities and capabilities of those it places. "We go into a lot greater depth than just collecting resumes Tottenham Company, one of the first and foremost firms specializing in gaming recruitment, operates a little differently.

According to its President, Andrew Tottenham, they "build a model of the ideal candidate" then "find a person who fits those needs." He says they determine which companies have persons with the skills they're seeking, then, "we'll make an approach." Gaming's growth and acceptance has not only opened up exciting investment opportunities, it has also created a lot of job and career opportunities. However, the success of an operation may depend on how well these positions are filled. Bet on it. Byron Liggett is a Reno-based writer who specializes in the gaming industry. His column appears every Wednesday.

Write him at the Reno Gazette-Journal, P.O. Box 22,000, Reno, Nev. 89520. Fax: 88-6458. 1 Station Casinos: Stock fails to show-sizzle of other offerings.

By Don Cox GAZETTE-JOURNAL J- Selling casino stock is supposed tote easy. mention the magic word riverboat and watch the price jump. It's been working in the market all year. Will it keep working? "That's the sizzle area of gaming right now," Reno financial consultant John Klackingsaid. "If they were going into river-boats, that seemed to increase the stock." Until Tuesday.

Station Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas made its initial public offering of common stock more than 14 million shares. The company has the required riverboat. But Klacking, a vice president with Shearson Lehman Bros, in Reno, didn't see the first-day surge in stock price he expected. "It stayed flat," Klacking said.

"It came out at $20 (a share) and it stayed at $20. Maybe now we're at the end of the casino wave." That wave carried a handful of gaming companies making their initial stock offerings including Boomtown, which operates the Boomtown Hotel-Casino on Interstate 80 just west of Reno. "They just had a secondary offering," Klacking said. "The stock is so high, they had a secondary offering." Earlier this year, according to Klacking, when Boomtown issued stock for the first time, the price jumped after the company announced plans to launch a riverboat and open a casino in Las Vegas. "What really pushed that up was the announcement of expansion," Klacking said.

Casinos with riverboats in the Midwest have been hot. Is it time to cool off? "So many have done so well," Klacking said. "They aren't new anymore. They've pushed them up too high in price." But the price of stock in Circus Conference: Attacks on visitors force issue. NEW ORLEANS (AP) Tourism representatives meeting here to sell America are selling safety, too, in light of a homeowner's acquittal for fatally shooting a Japanese exchange student and the slayings of foreign tourists in Florida.

"It's like, 'If you come on vacation, don't leave your brains at said Peggy Palmer, representing a resort hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The acquittal of Rodney Peairs for shooting 16-year-old Yoshi-hiro Hattori after the lost boy showed up at his door will make more people aware that it's legal to own guns in the United States, said Joseph Neyenhuis, who works for a tour company in the GAMING STOCKS GOING PUBLIC Some more casino operators due to go public (dates unknown): Hollywood Casino: Owner of the Sands Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, N.J. Riverboat expected to open in June in Aurora, III. Opening price: $14 to $16. Underwriter: Salomon Brothers.

Jumer Hotels Casinos: Owns Rock Island Boatworks riverboat complex and four hotels. Plans riverboat complex in Missouri. Opening price: $14 to $16. Underwriter: Donaldson, Lufkin Jenrette. Primadonna Resorts: Owns Whiskey Pete's Hotel Casino and Primadonna Resort Casino on Interstate 1 5 near the California border.

Opening price: $14 Underwriter: Salomon Brothers. Circus Enterprises Inc. climbed Tuesday after reports the company had been approved for a dock-side casino development in Tunica County, Miss. The joint venture involving Circus Circus, ITT Sheraton and Bin-ion's Horseshoe of Las Vegas will include three dockside casinos at the Tunica site 20 miles from Memphis, Tenn. Station Casinos, which operates the Palace Station Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, plans to launch its gambling boat sometime this fall on the Missouri River near St.

Louis. The entire project will cost the company approximately $50 million. Station Casinos bought the riverboat, which has a capacity, for 1 7 million. Station Casinos is also expanding in Las Vegas, with plans for the Boulder Station Hotel Casino on the east side of the city. "(Station Casinos stock) came out at $20 (a share) and it stayed at $20." John Klacking Analyst Kevin Burns have been hired by the casino as artists for the advertising department.

Anderson and Burns will be rcnrnciKlp fnr tVio elers about U.S. habits and customs, Staallekker said. 1 Hiroshi Tomono, a Northwest Airlines representative in Tokyo, said his warnings include: "If a stranger approaches you, it doesn't always mean it's an expression of hospitality." "Especially the older generation, if they see a stranger apparently lost in front of their house, would invite him in for tea," To-mono said. "Most first-time travelers think they will be welcomed as a guest of the country and will be invited to people's homes." Other warnings: Avoid walking on streets alone. Stay on main streets.

Carry travelers' checks and credit cards. Stay in well-established lodging. Some tourism officials in cities with crime problems said they get far more questions about attractions than dangers. Miami and Florida blunted effects of their recent foreign tourist killings with better lighting, signs at and near the Miami airport and warning pamphlets distributed at tourist information stops. come.

Circus Circus Enterprises Inc. operates seven properties in Nevada: Excalibur in Las Vegas; the Circus Circus resorts in Las Vegas and Reno; the Colorado Belle and Edgewater in Laughlin; and Slots-A-Fun and Silver City in Las Vegas. The company's eighth property, Luxor, is scheduled to open on the Las Vegas Strip in October. Grand Slam Canyon, a theme park at Circus Circus-Las Vegas, will open in August. Circus Circus shows net income increase for quarter "Travelers will say, if people can carry guns and shoot someone and be acquitted, what on earth are we doing he said.

Neyenhuis was among 5,000 international travel industry representatives from 58 countries in New Orleans for the 25th annual Travel Industry Association of America's 1993 Discover America International Pow Wow. Many foreign travelers in the United States know about trouble. "Our clients are attacked every week in Miami," said Leon Staal-lekker, a tour company worker from the Netherlands. None of his clients was among seven foreign tourists killed in Florida during the last winter season. But he said one man was severely beaten and his jaw shattered by people who waved his car to the side of the interstate, telling him there was something on the car.

European laws make travel agents responsible for their clients' safety, so they pay close attention to hotel insurance and warn trav first quarter, resulting in a charge of $3. 7 million. Revenues in the first quarter were $209.8 million, up from $205.9 million in 1992. The company's operating income in the quarter was down 3 percent because of poor results in February, especially at Circus Circus-Las Vegas, which was hampered by the ongoing construction of Grand Slam Canyon. The last two months of the quarter reflected slight increases in operating in Aztar Salomon Brothers has maintained its "Buy" rating on the company, owner of the Tropicana in Las Vegas, Ra-mada Express in Laughlin and TropWorld in Atlantic' City, N.J.

Salomon said Aztar "should realize earnings momentum on several fronts." It predicted better performance in Atlantic City because of better weather and an improving economy in the Northeast. In Las Vegas, the Tropicana should benefit from increased traffic in its neighborhood from the opening of the MGM Grand and Luxor hotel-casinos. The Laughlin property is undergoing a 1 expansion due to open in September. LAS VEGAS Circus Circus Enterprises Inc. Tuesday announced that net income increased to $32.8 million (56 cents per share) in the first quarter of 1993, from $25.8 million (46 cents) last year.

The most significant factor in this year's improved results, the company reported, was a reduction in interest expense of $6.9 million because of additional capitalized interest and the retirement of subordinated notes in last year's Aztar 7V2 Bally Gaming 12 -Va Bally Mfg. 73s -Va Boomtown 2914 Caesars World 48V4 -Vs Casino Data Sys. 14V4 -V2 Circus Circus 567s 1 Grand Casino 42 Hilton Hotels 47V4 -s IGT 36V4 -Va Jackpot Ent. 21 7a MGM Grand 35Vs V2 Mirage 43 1V4 Promus Cos. 47Ve Rio Hotel 14V2 Va Sahara Casino 5Vs Sahara Resorts 21V2 -V2 Sands Regent 21 Va Showboat 21 United Gaming 9 -716 Video Lottery By Diana Frear Paschall GAZETTE-JOURNAL Jeff Eaton is the new executive chef for the Reno Hilton.

He will oversee operations of all restaurants and renovations, which include a complete remake of the existing restaurants in the fall. Eaton, originally from Holyoke, began working for Hilton in 1 984 when he left Sky Chefs where he produced meals for American Airlines. When not working, "I've got four kids ages 1 to 7," he said, "Mostly, I like to spend time with my family when I get the time." At this.time his family is in Laughlin. He was working on the opening of the Flamingo Hilton there and has been separated from them since March when he came to work in Reno. He will be traveling to Laughlin this weekend to bring them here.

PEPPERMILL: Lonnie Anderson and Anderson Burns production and design of all advertising for the Peppermill. CAESARS TAHOE: Caesar's Tahoe has been named a four diamond winner by the California State Automobile Association. The award was given for meeting criteria for service, elegant decor, property maintenance and superior food. Send news of people in the gaming industry to: Diana Frear Paschall, Reno Gazette-Journal, P.O. Box 22,000.

Reno, Nev. 89520. Fax: 788-6458..