Casino news source: The Reno Gazette-Journal
Back-and-forth battle over casino shakes up Sparks
ALISON BATH
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 12/31/2006
Watching what would become known during 2006 as the Lazy 8 controversy was like a tennis match with temperamental bad boy John McEnroe playing against himself.
High-powered lobs by influential players turned the effort to bring a casino to Spanish Springs into a commanding competition complete with all the theatrics -- name-calling, whining and temper tantrums -- that made McEnroe famous.
On one side: Reno lawyer, lobbyist and Red Hawk Land Co. owner Harvey Whittemore and Peppermill Casinos.
Their plan: Build a gaming/retail/entertainment complex dubbed the Lazy 8 on the Pyramid Highway just north of a regional park and near homes. The $100 million resort a casino, restaurants and hotel rooms.
On the other side: Some Washoe County residents and John Ascuaga's Nugget.
Their complaint: A casino with its traffic, crime and other negative effects would wreak havoc on nearby neighborhoods. Also, with gaming available closer to home, Spanish Springs residents wouldn't need to drive to town or to the Nugget.
Whittemore's first volley: Using a clause in a 1994 development agreement with Sparks, Whittemore said he had the right to build the casino wherever he chose. The clause allowed him to move the casino, once planned as part of Wingfield Springs, to any location in the city. Period.
The return: Emboldened with Nugget financial backing, vocal residents gathered signatures for a petition against the project, developed an anti-Lazy 8 Web site, and flooded Sparks council members e-mail boxes with often hostile missives. The Nugget began an advertising and mail campaign against the project.
The showdown: With both sides threatening lawsuits and recall drives, the Sparks Planning Commission voted 4-3 in July against Whittemore's plan.
In August, the Sparks City Council also voted down the project by a 3-2 vote. Cheers from the Nugget and residents followed, as did a $100 million lawsuit from Whittemore's camp.
Stinging from the reality of the suit and heeding advice from City Attorney Chet Adams, the council regrouped in September and reversed its position, approving in a closed session a settlement with Whittemore allowing the casino.
Residents, the Nugget and the state attorney general cried foul.
A recall petition for Adams was launched in October but failed when only 887 signatures were gathered.
The attorney general demanded the Sparks council have a public vote to settle the lawsuit or he would ask a judge to rule the city violated the state's open meeting law. Council members relented, affirming the settlement in an open meeting.
Casualty count: Judy Moss, appointed to the council in 2005, lost her election bid to Ron Smith. Adams is facing an investigation stemming from an affair with a former employee.
The rematch: In October, the Nugget and residents opposed to the Lazy 8 filed a lawsuit against Sparks asking a judge to void the controversial settlement. Both parties are to appear Feb. 2 before Washoe District Judge Jerry Polaha for a conference.
-- Alison Bath |
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