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E-T-T Gaming will reopen the former Continental hotel-casino as Terrible's Casino on Nov. 21. Photo by Craig L. Moran.

Saturday, October 07, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CASINO DEVELOPMENT: Continental will reopen as Terrible's

E-T-T Gaming says it will open the renovated property next month

E-T-T Gaming expects to reopen the renovated Continental hotel-casino on East Flamingo and Paradise roads as the Terrible's Casino next month.

E-T-T and Terrible Herbst gas stations are owned and operated by the Herbst family of Southern Nevada.

The 400-room hotel is being transformed into a Tuscany-style resort and is slated to reopen Nov. 21.

The 20-year-old Continental closed last year, a year after it was forced into foreclosure by its landlord, American Realty Trust Inc., which had loaned $31.2 million to Hotel Continental Inc. in 1992.

E-T-T acquired the property in October 1999. Herbst said the acquisition of the 10-acre property, and the hotel's renovation cost $65 million.

"It will cater to locals, similar to how the Gold Coast and The Orleans does, with a buffet, lounge, coffee shop and sports book," said Ed Herbst, president of E-T-T.

The renovated hotel-casino will also have a swimming pool, table games and about 750 slot machines. Most of the slots will use the "easy pay" ticket system, instead of coin payouts, Herbst said.

This is a similar system of slot machines being used at the Suncoast, which opened last month. Slot winners of fewer than 200 coins can cash out, instead of receiving tickets, Ed Herbst said.

Slots at Herbst service stations and car washes already use this system, but ticket payouts are at 40-coin minimums.

In an unrelated development Wednesday, E-T-T Gaming gained preliminary approval by the state Gaming Control Board to purchase $45 million worth of slot machines from Jackpot Enterprises Inc.

Jackpot Enterprises' sale of its slot route operation, Cardivan Co., to E-T-T is part of its plan to transform itself into an Internet venture fund company. Jackpot announced earlier in the year plans to change its name to J Net Enterprises Inc., which is pending shareholder approval.

Jackpot, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, rose 12 cents Friday to close at $8.62.

The state Gaming Commission meets Oct. 26 to take final action on E-T-T's acquisition of Cardivan Co.

The $45 million purchase of Cardivan is being financed through bank loans and high yield bonds.

E-T-T President Ed Herbst said the 6,000 slots the company is acquiring are not earmarked for the Terrible's Casino, but will likely be installed at the company's numerous gasoline stations throughout the valley, where customers buying gasoline can earn points that can be redeemed for cash at its casinos.

E-T-T also owns two casinos in Pahrump, Terrible's Town Casino and Terrible's Lakeside Casino & RV Resort. It also owns Terrible's Town Casino in Henderson.

Ed's two brothers, Tim and Troy, are also company executives.