In 2020, Harrah’s Reno was sold by VICI Properties and Caesars Entertainment to CAI Investments for $50 million. The intention was to create 530 market-rate apartments, 150,000 square feet of new office space, and 78,500 square feet of retail space.
The proposed retail component would include restaurants, bars, coffee shops and grocery stores, along with amenities such as a gym for residents.
The Reno City Council on Wednesday raised concerns for the project’s future, which now includes gaming.
“What is the fate of this project?” Mayor Hillary Schieve asked. “Because at this point, we just don’t know. When we look at residential, we don’t typically see a gaming use.”
The gaming applicant, Fine Entertainment based in Las Vegas, is planning to add slot machines under the PKWY Tavern brand. Johnathan Fine said that the North Tower is still designated for apartments, while the East Tower, closest to the Reno Aces Stadium, has been converted to a hotel.
With an approval of PKWY Tavern’s request for slot machines, a portion of the property will be dedicated to nearly 200 machines once more. Fine said the residential and hotel areas of the property do not have direct access to the gaming floor, and a leasing office occupies the second floor.
The property first gained its gaming license in 1947 and has continued to hold a license since then. The current gaming license under Fine was approved by council in March 2021. Since then, the property has operated 16 slot machines for one day during each quarter to preserve the nonconforming, nonrestrictive gaming license.
Fine Entertainment will also operate two restaurants within the facility, as the company controls 75% of the entire ground floor through its lease. The restaurants are a fine-dining Mexican establishment and a breakfast option inspired by the restaurant Eggslut in Las Vegas’ The Cosmopolitan.
Schieve asked whether or not the gaming floor would allow smoking, to which Fine responded that it is currently non-smoking. However, they did invest in a $700,000 HVAC air system to handle indoor smoking if operating as non-smoking becomes “a problem conducting business.”
Fine went on to say that he does not like smoking and “would like” it to remain non-smoking, and that the landlord has asked to keep it non-smoking as well. He said that over $9 million has been invested in property renovations thus far.
Council member Devon Reese said that while he is not against Fine’s ideas, he is concerned that the inclusion of gaming will affect other investments in the downtown sector.
“We hope that the project aptly named the Reno City Center will be a catalyst for further investment in the downtown area,” Reese said.
The property includes the Plaza Resort Club, which will feature walking paths, seating, lighting and an amphitheater.
Council member Meghan Ebert pointed out that, in current plans, accessing the Plaza through the facility’s parking garage isn’t easy without traversing multiple floors and walking through multiple establishments within the facility, including the gaming floor.
At multiple meetings regarding the proposed project, Council member Jenny Brekhus said she has requested the property be subject to a conditional use permit. However, the property is not subject to a conditional permit because they have not lapsed in their gaming use on the property.
Brekhus expressed concerns that the rest of the facility might now be dedicated to gaming.
Current zoning of the former casino allows for 24-hour operation, and the Nevada Gaming Commission approved Fine Entertainment’s license June 22, 2023, for the requested 197 machines, and was restricted to only those approved machines. No other gaming mechanisms may be added without additional approval.
Schieve said that while she wants the project to be successful, she is “reluctantly supporting” the inclusion of the slots because the project was long hailed as a housing project, which did not include gaming.
“I will not disappoint,” Fine said.
