Station Casinos in Reno says it is being hassled by the Culinary Union, which has proposed that new casinos outside the customary areas in Reno to be placed as a public vote before they can begin building.
A union spokesman said that there has no been no harassment; only that the union is interested in protecting the jobs of its some 2,000 members at the Circus Circus Casino and the Hilton Reno by requiring new resorts to be built in the downtown area.
Station Casinos, which is non unionized, expects to submit their plans to build within the next month a 500 million dollar casino resort in south of Reno.
The Las Vegas based Station Casinos Reno attorney, told the local Reno Gazette-Journal that the initiative placed an on the Nov. 7 ballot is aimed at them and is just one more scheme in 15 years of aggravation by the Culinary Union, which has a 55,000 member base in Las Vegas.
If voters in Reno approve the proposal, the new casinos built outside of downtown, even including the airport and convention center areas, all of these would be required to offer a donation to help the city pay off the debt for the downtown Redevelopment Agency of Reno. This debt consumes all available property taxes collected by the agency every year.
Donations like these could also be used for debt payments towards the citys 310 million dollar railroad trench project.
The petitioners will need 11,661 signatures from Reno voters by June 30 to get the proposal on the November ballot.
