Gas prices trim Gold Ranch sales

The departed Sundowner giveth what gas prices taketh away.

That was the story at The Sands Regent in the quarter ended March 31 as the Reno-based company earned $145,000 on revenues of $13.2 million.

This compares with earnings of $194,000 on revenues of $12.5 million in the comparable quarter a year earlier.

Rob Medeiros, the company's chief operating officer, said sharp increases in gasoline prices walloped Gold Ranch, the Arco station and casino the company runs along Interstate 80 at the California state line.

Gasoline sales at Gold Ranch, one of the biggest Arco stations in the nation, fell 11.2 percent from year-earlier figures.

The reason? When Nevada's gas prices rose higher than those in California, visitors no longer stopped for fuel on their way home from Reno.

And when they didn't stop for fuel, they didn't play the slots at Gold Ranch or buy a soda at its convenience store.

On the other hand, The Sands Regent's downtown Reno property the 850-room Sands Regency gained from the closure of the nearby Sundowner hotel, said Ferenc Szony, president and chief executive officer of the company.

The Sands also benefited, he said, from the start of the American Bowling Congress tournament.

Gaming revenue at The Sands was up $524,000 from year-earlier figures and the hotel's occupancy of 83 percent was up from 76 percent a year ago.

Szony told investors the company's strategy continues to give emphasis to local gamblers, who account for about a third of the business at the Sands Regency.

Locals are almost all the clientele at Rail City, the Sparks casino that The Sands Regent bought this month, and they account for a good share of the gaming business at Gold Ranch, as well.

He said properties in the region that position themselves to take advantage of rapid population growth in northern Nevada appear to be having greater success than hotel casinos that rely mostly on tourist traffic.

Still, he said recent results at the Sands Regency show that Indian casinos such as Thunder Valley near Auburn, Calif., won't doom big downtown properties.

"To see the positive results at our downtown store was a big plus," Szony said.

"There is life after Thunder Valley."