Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 20

Reno Gazette-Journal WEDNESDAY STEVE FALCONE, BUSINESS EDITOR: PHONE, 788-6322; FAX, 788-6458 AUGUST 11, 1993 5 teel makor ctill rnnciHorinn move io nevaaa or Arizona August 10, 1993 DOW(lndustrials) NYSE -Va CARSON CITY A new law making AMEX Nevada a more appealing site for a steel Recycling plant still hasn't convinced North Star Steel to move in. I The Minnesota-based company narrowed a search for potential sites to Wabuska, just porth of Yerington, and Kingman, and Jiad been expected to make a final choice by end of July. But company spokesman Greg Lauser said 4 NASDAQ 5 23V4 1Va 46V2 51 21V2 7'4 30Vb 12 62 7 7 6 50 48Va 18 6V2 25 51 48V4 44 15 11V4 17 21 6V4 16 25V2 Alpine Meadows Amfed Financial Amserv Inc. BankAmerica Clorox Coeurd'Alene Comstock Bank R.R. Donnelley Echo Bay First Interstate FirstMiss Gold First Western Fin.

FMCGold Gannett General Motors Granite Const. Harding Nevada Power Newmont Pacific Telesis J.C. Penney Reno Air Rotech Santa Fe Pacific Sierra Pacific Sierra Tahoe Southwest Gas US Bancorp that North Star Steel is still researching both sites looking for the best deal for electricity. Treasury auction: Yields on three-year Treasury notes rose in Tuesday's auction to the highest level since February. The high yield was 4.49 percent, up from 4.27 percent at the last auction on May 1 1.

It was the highest rate since three-year notes sold for 4.73 percent on Feb. 9. The notes will carry a coupon interest rate of 4's percent with each 10.000 in face value selling for $9,968.10. Bonds: The price of the Treasury's long bond rose again, pushing its yield to a second consecutive record low, while the rest of the market was unchanged to slightly lower. The price of the benchmark 30-vear maturity was up 1 0-32 point, or $3.13 per 1 ,000 in face value.

Its yield fell to 6.44 percent, below its Monday closing of 6.46 percent, the lowest yield since the Treasury began regularly issuing 30-year bonds in 1 977. -w V4 Vt .14 -V4 '8 -1 -Vs '4 -VS. NYSE Diary Associated Press SB23 1, signed June 24 by Gov. Bob Miller, provides for tax breaks and competitive electrical costs for industries investing $50 million or more in Nevada. Assemblyman Joe Dini D-Yerington said he hasn't heard anything from the company.

"We are real anxious to hear from them," he said. "When Anaconda left (in 1978) we lost 480 jobs and we never have picked that up. The plant would bring in a lot of Advances: 1,002 Declines: 949 Unchanged: 651 135 New lows 42 Total issues: 2,602 HUGS: Ashley Beamer, 7, left, and her sister Brooke, 4, pose at Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey, with the candy company's new Hugs. The candy, shaped like the familiar Kisses, combines white chocolate with milk chocolate stripes. Composite volume: 317,294,390 1992 avg.

comp. 250,157,090 1 Washoe casino revenue slumps in June evada's gaming wins ii ii i ijnT-- iiiimiihi iiAi a statewide gaming wins tor this June totaled BYRON 55,236, a 5.34 increase over June, 1992. All in millions of dollars and are rounded. IJGEIT Clark County Although July's official data isn't due out for several weeks, initial indications are the tourism and gaming business was strong, while this month has started out steady as well, Houghton said. Lou Phillips, Harrah's Northern Nevada division chief, said June "was a fairly weak month in the market it just wasn't strong." Although June is perceived as the beginning of summer, the season actually starts in early July, he said.

Gaming activity rebounded at Harrah's Reno and Lake Tahoe properties in July, but the region's biggest challenge remains a sluggish economy in California, which supplies the bulk of the region's visitors, Phillips said. Convention Visitors Authority marketing vice president, said it's essential the region continue striving to lure high-spending new visitors. Gaming and tourism are the region's largest industries, supporting the bulk of the local economy. Houghton said the region's gaming activity is holding steady, while monthly changes aren't viewed as a major cause for concern. "It's like a heartbeat.

You can have fluctuations once in a while, and you can have a little arrythmia but it isn't anything to be too concerned about," he said. "The thing is, how do we fare in the critical months of July, August and September." By Wayne R. Melton GAZETTE-JOURNAL Washoe County's gaming wins slumped nearly 1 percent in June compared to the same month in 1992, trailing far behind a 7.39 percent surge in Clark County. And for the fiscal year ended June 30, Washoe County's gaming win edged up just 1.18 percent compared to 1992. Clark County increased 6.84 percent for the year.

Truckee Meadows gaming and tourism officials said they weren't surprised by the slump, which they blamed on increased competition and California's sluggish economy. Mike Houghton, Reno-Sparks 206.6 New Jersey views $328.7 $4,526.5 $4,236.5 $191.8 $2,723.6 $2,540.2 $55.4 $704.9 $695.7 $39.0 $523.9 $486.2 $77.6 $887.0 $876.6 $355.1 $351.5 $12.2 $146.4 $132.3 $3.9 $42.3 $42.9 $5.2 $60.8 $59.6 $457.1 $6,018.0 $5,699.6 LV strip Downtown Laughlin Washoe County Douglas County Elko County Carson City Other Statewide poker as winner $481 .6 Poker arrived in Atlantic City a few weeks ago. Almost every major casino has, or soon will have, Paul HornGazette-Journal Source: Gaming Control Board a cardroom, and each is spending large sums to advertise and promote its new addition. Reno's Project likely to unleash hiring rush 4 tit' Jt 3 i ftl ii-" tives say it's essential that Circus develop and announce its hiring process as soon as possible, part- ly to eliminate unnecessary has- sles or confusion among poten- tial workers. I Even large first-time casino projects that have been well planned have been deluged with job applications.

For instance, on Aug. 2, thousands of people lined up to apply for about 8,000 1 i 1. linil y-i l.iil joos ai me iviuivi urana noiei and Theme Park in Las Vegas. Circus Circus has yet to report how many applications it ex-" pects. George Anastassatos, Nevada Employment Security Department labor economist, said inquiries are likely to be substantial.

Announcements on its staff total have ranged 2,300 to 2,500. Lou Phillips, Harrah's Northern Nevada Division chief, pre-'. dieted large numbers of workers from existing local hotel-casinos will apply for Project jobs, causing a ripple affect among eamine nronerties. By Wayne R. Melton GAZETTE-JOURNAL Set to boast an initial staff up to 2,500, Reno's new $230 million Project Hotel-Casino will oversee perhaps the largest hiring process in Washoe County history.

A number of Truckee Meadows employers have as many or more people the school district has more than 6,000 employees; Reno Hilton, Harrah's, John Ascuaga's Nugget, Circus Circus, the Eldorado and Washoe Medical Center all have 2,000 to 3,000 employees but the new facility set to open in 1995 will be the first to hire that many workers at one time. The project will initially have 2,000 rooms. By comparision, the Reno Hilton had 1,000 rooms and an initial staff of slightly more than 1,500 when it first opened in May 1978 as the MGM Grand. Its staff has since grown to 2,500 and the facility was upgraded to a total 2,001 rooms in the early 1 980s. For now, Circus Circus Enterprises, Project C's managing partner, says it has no plan for hiring.

The company hasn't determined exactly how the process will work and it has yet to talk with its marketing partners on how to do it, said Bill Paulos, a Circus Circus Enterprises senior vice president. "It is much too early to comment," said Paulos, who also serves as vice president and general manager of the Luxor, set to open this October in Las Vegas. Some gaming industry execu TROPICANA: An artist's rendering of the Las Vegas hotel-casino's new project. LAS VEGAS Tropicana joins themed-resort crowd 3-stage project: Bird and wildlife habitats planned. Nevada casinos, on the other hand, are becoming poker pootln recent years, many casinos have discontinued it.

"Poker will be gone from all but a few casinos in another three to five years." predicts George Rinaidi, vice president of gaming operations at Harrah's Reno. Why does Atlantic City want to hold 'em when Nevada is inclined to fold 'em? "Nevada casinos have historically viewed poker with little interest and even less support because the game isn't as profitable as the same space filled with slots, keno or blackjack," explains cardroom consultant Bee Estes. "Here in the West, we've got poker rooms from Seattle to San Diego. There are about 300 rooms in California: the four largest, in Los Angeles, have more poker tables than the entire state of Nevada," says Peppermill poker manager Jerry Smith. "Our markets are saturated.

The East is poker starved." Rick Gianti, poker manager at Bally's Park Place in Atlantic City, agrees. "The phenomenal success of the new Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, where poker is a key feature, has conv inced Atlantic City casinos of the game's value," he says. "Restricted to the amount of floor space permitted to slots (75 percent), poker appears attractive to casinos seeking more games to meet the huge customer demand here in the East." The reasons for the Atlantic City-Nevada poker paradox seem clear. Cardroomsare not uncommon in the West and Nevada casinos have traditionally expected poker to compete with slots and the pit for space. Hence, demand is low and expectations are high.

In Atlantic City, however, poker enables casinos to utilize new, additional space for a ganpe that already has proven its popularity in a market of 25 million people. Tom Bowling, poker manager at Atlantic City's Taj Mahal, which has the largest cardroom in the East, sums up thethinkingofmany in Atlantic City: "Poker will open up new markets." 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: 788-6458. Tropicana, owned by Aztar Corp. Wildlife Walk, the Tropicana's new bird and wildlife habitat environment, is situated on a covered walkway linking the resort's two towers. It features a collection of birds, butterflies and wildlife The new facade, surrounding the front, sides and the Inner Island area of the Tropicana, will recreate the feel of a colorful Caribbean village.

The facade and a new main entrance are scheduled for completion by the end of the year. Wire service reports "It's going to make it more competitive to get the best employees," Phillips said. "New facilities always attract very good people. If you're a good employ-, er, which we think we are, you're not going to have large numbers of your people" applying for jobs elsewhere. Although Reno-Sparks casino employees probably will move to various properties.

Project "is going to keep us all healthier and better," Phillips said. "I'm glad we have the competition, and I think it's great." clude bird and wildlife habitats, a Caribbean Village facade and main entrance, and a laser show on its Outer Island facing the strip. "These enhancements are designed to create a total Island experience for our visitors and guests," said John Chiero, president and general manager of the The Tropicana, which shares a Las Vegas Strip intersection with the Excalibur Hotel-Casino and the MGM Grand Resort and Theme Park, is the latest property to announce plans to turn itself intoathemed resort. Officials Tuesday announced a three-stage project that will in By Diana Frear Paschall GAZETTE-JOURNAL Ralph Sifuentes has been named director of hotel operations for Harrah's Lake Tahoe. He will be responsible for PBX, valet parking and housekeeping, and the service and sales department.

Sifuentes was previously manager of hotel, facilities services and housekeeping. Sifuentes was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He worked for various hotels in San Antonio V8 -Vs -1V4 -V4 -V2 -Vi -Vtt -2'4 Va -1 -V -y8 -4 1 '4 7V 13 9 22V8 45 11Va 37 26 42 34 18Va 37 47 7 23 58 17 13V2 16 21 7 13 Casino Credit Services: The Philadelphia, debt collector and receivables manager, formerly CRW Financial is expected to go public this week at an offering price of $7 to $8.50 per share. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company hopes to expand its relatively small ($61 2,000 profit in '92) casino-related business by buying its chief competitor, Central Credit of New Jersey. The Journal article, under "OTC Focus," is skeptical of the company's future, quoting an analyst who said, "small investors should stay as far away as possible from this deal." Aztar Bally Gaming Bally Mfg.

Boomtown Caesars World Casino Data Sys. Circus Circus Grand Casinos Hilton Hotels IGT Jackpot Ent. MGM Grand Mirage Monarch Primadonna Promus Cos. Rio Hotel Sahara Resorts Sands Regent Showboat Sodak United Gaming Video Lottery learning the table games and other things." "I love working with children," he said. "I do a lot of volunteering with children.

I work with the Boys and Girls Club of South Lake Tahoe. We don't have a building yet; we work out of a middle school." "I like to travel," Sifuentes said. "I went to Israel last year; that was great." PEPPERMILL: Geri Clerkin has been promoted from director of finance and property controller to chief financial officer at the Peppermill. She will be responsible for financial and internal control functions, accounting, payroll and personnel, credit and collections, and MIS. Clerkin has been with the companv for six vears.

HILTON HOTELS CORP: John Paul Nichols has been named senior vice president gaming development for the Hilton Gaming Division. He has 18 years experience in the lodging and gaming industry. 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. Sifuentes and began his career with Embassy Suites in 1985. Sifuentes transferred to Harrah's Lake Tahoe in 1 990, "Mainly because I've done everything that has to do with hotels," he said. "I wanted to be rounded out more and understand the gaming end of it. I'm.