Gaming Commission approves Ormsby house plans

Plans for a slot bar in the Ormsby House Casino parking garage were approved Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

The Winchester Club will open in July with 125 machines while work on the main resort continues.

Owner Allan Fiegehen said the main remodel is costing more than the $20 million they originally estimated and will probably take until July 2003 to finish.

Fiegehen's partner Donald Lehr said the project may cost up to $5 million more than the original budget.

Commission member Sue Wagner said many lawmakers would stay in the Ormsby House if it opened during the 2003 session. Lehr and Fiegehen said they are sensitive to that and would try open the hotel if it is ready by then.

Fiegehen said there will be nothing like the new Ormsby House in Carson City. Its rooms are being redesigned into suites by combining two rooms into one in most areas. That will reduce the total number of rooms in the hotel to 127.

General Manager Larry Tiller said they expect to hire about 230 employees -- fewer than the 260 there when the resort closed two years ago.

The Winchester Club will have a bar as well as slots in about 5,000 square feet of space on the ground floor of the parking garage behind the existing hotel. The space originally designed as an office area is being remodeled.

It will employ about 30 and be open 24 hours a day.