Las Vegas high roller gaming salons could see some changes
Nevada’s high-end gaming salons could get more exposure and more players if the Nevada Gaming Commission approves amendments to a regulation to be considered Thursday.
Gaming salons are special rooms in which high rollers and celebrities can gamble out of public view.
Most high-end casinos have them and offer play in them to big spenders, entertainers and professional athletes who don’t want to see pictures of themselves spread on social media.
Among the Nevada casinos with salons are Wynn and Encore Las Vegas, Bellagio, The Venetian and The Palazzo, Resorts World Las Vegas, Durango and Reno’s Grand Sierra Resort.
Nevada law says licensed operators must open their casinos to the public without an admission charge. But in 2001, the Nevada Legislature allowed for the establishment of salons with special rules to insure privacy to players.
In December, several resorts approached gaming regulators about amending the salon rules to encourage more play. Some of the changes presented by the Nevada Resort Association required legislative action and Senate Bill 459 was unanimously approved by the state Senate and Assembly in May.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board conducted a workshop meeting in August to discuss prospective changes. The Control Board recommended approving amended regulation on Sept. 10, setting the stage for final approval by the Gaming Commission.
The changes in the regulation include:
— The financial criteria for admission into a gaming salon would be reduced from $300,000. When salons were initially introduced, the financial threshold was $500,000. In 2008, regulators reduced that amount to $300,000. The Resort Association suggested that amounts be determined by individual properties, but the new amended threshold under consideration is $20,000.
— Poker would be added to the list of games offered in salons. The regulation would require an individual player buy-in of $10,000 with a total $20,000 staked for a game to be conducted.
-Salon slot machine minimums would be at the discretion of the licensee. That’s similar to existing rules allowing licensees to determine minimums for salon table games. Originally, slot machine minimums were included in legislation and set at $500, but the Legislature approved the modification.
— Casinos would be allowed to convert private salons to public gaming without prior written approval from the Control Board chairman. The amendments would also enable a guest of a casino patron qualified for salon play to stay up to 24 hours instead of six hours currently allowed.
Attracting more players
Board members believe the modified rules would enable casinos to attract more high-end players to use salons and generate more revenue for the companies and in taxes.
“What’s interesting about this is that the goals actually remain the same, bringing more revenue to the state of Nevada in an economic uncertain time and allowing for a flexible and unique amenity that certain nonrestricted licensees can offer their valued patrons,” Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer said in the September board meeting.
Dreitzer said the Legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 459 set the stage for the regulatory changes under consideration.
“The task here before us is to adopt revised regulations consistent with the statutory change, done in such a way that is reasonable and consistent with good regulatory oversight,” he said, “while at the same time supporting Nevada’s licensees and their desire to utilize this important economic tool to produce greater revenue all in the face of ever growing competition across the world and certainly across the U.S.”
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.