Bordertown begins expansion project straddling state line

Stuck with an antiquated septic system, Bordertown Casino and RV Resort was limited to operating in the original buildings erected by the Gardner family in the 1960s.

Bordertown's longtime owners recently completed Washoe county-approved sewer facilities in preparation for an ambitious three-phase expansion that includes building a 120-room hotel at the site straddling the Nevada-California state line northwest of Reno.

"We have been stuck in the mud for a while because we didn't have sewer. Now that we have sewer it has opened the gates for expansion," says Sam Gardner, who for three decades has managed the property with his brother, Mitchell. "The county wouldn't let us add a square foot until we got sewer, and with the growth out here we've been dying to expand."

Putting the pieces in place wasn't easy because their plans include working with officials from both Washoe County and California's Sierra County. The family owns 14 acres on the Nevada side of the border and five acres in California.

The estimated $18 million expansion plan will add 33,000 square feet of retail and gaming space. The first phase of the expansion, which began last month, will double the property's current 10,000 square feet of gaming space.

The second will be to build a full-service truck stop on the California side of the border, and the final phase calls for building the hotel. The Gardners say timing of the hotel project depends upon economic factors.

"At the moment we really are not thinking about it too much and are focused on the casino and truck stop expansion," Sam Gardner says. "It is scary the amount of money it takes to fund one of these expansions. Just from the planning phase through construction has been an expensive ordeal all the preparation for the building itself, before we even stuck a shovel in the dirt, was a million dollars."

Bordertown currently has 6,000 square feet dedicated to retail and 4,000 square feet to its two eateries, the Border Deli and Kafana restaurant. Both will be expanded.