Tourism boosters gets $2.6 million to combat effects of Indian gaming

Nevada tourism boosters won legislative approval Wednesday to spend $2.6 million for rural projects - including $1 million for the V&T Railroad project.

Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt told the Interim Finance Committee that Las Vegas may be well positioned to compete with Indian casinos now under construction around the West but that other parts of Nevada - particularly more rural areas - are vulnerable.

Reno, she said, is also vulnerable "because of the upheaval at the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority." Its director recently was fired and the staff reduced in a major shakeup.

She said now - before several Indian casinos are open and taking customers - is the time to transfer money from reserves and begin a campaign to push other attractions in Nevada such as its history and natural wonders.

"We feel there is a threat to the rurals and this is primarily for the rurals," she said.

Tourism Director Tom Tait said the first Indian casino opened about three months ago in Palm Springs and is "very busy."

Tait said the biggest single piece of the proposal is a $1 million grant to the V&T Railroad reconstruction project.

Fund-raising has been going on for the project for several years and has some $8.8 million. The total cost of rebuilding the railroad along its historic route from Carson City to Gold Hill is an estimated $22 million.

The Nevada Legislature has promised $5 million in state bonds to help once the remaining funds have been raised.

Marketing studies estimate the V&T could draw up to 250,000 riders a year and greatly enhance efforts to make the Carson City, Virginia City and Lake Tahoe area into a destination area for tourists based on the area's Old West heritage and history.

Hunt said those are the types of projects that will build tourism in rural Nevada despite the rise of Indian gaming.

"We want to start a new program that is aimed at letting people know there is more to do here than just gamble," said Hunt.

Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, agreed. "There are so many things in this state to see. It's not just the (Las Vegas) Strip and Reno's downtown," he said.

The plan includes $400,000 to encourage tourists to visit rural Nevada and stimulate economies outside Reno and Las Vegas.

Another $150,000 would pay to develop a Truckee River recreational plan, and $42,000 would finish and open a gift shop at Nevada Magazine in the Paul Laxalt Building in downtown Carson City. Marketing studies show sales of gift items could increase 20 percent in two years if Nevada Magazine had a retail outlet for its catalog items.

Another $56,000 would pay for technology upgrades in the administrative and marketing arms of the tourism commission.

And $150,000 would open a Nevada office in Utah to draw tourists and visitors as the Olympics come to that state.

Hunt and Tait told lawmakers all the items should more than pay for themselves in the long run. The legislative panel agreed and approved the expenditures.