Nevada casinos concerned about high gas prices

RENO - As the summer tourist season swings into full gear, Nevada casinos are wondering how high gas prices will affect them.

Harrah's Tahoe spokesman John Packer said his resort is concerned that rising pump prices may make some Northern Californians think twice about the trip to Lake Tahoe.

The resort is keeping a close eye on traffic on U.S. Highway 50 from the San Francisco Bay area and Central Valley.

''We do have some contingency plans we're looking at, direct mailings, offers of fill-ups, if we see the need,'' Packer told a Reno newspaper.

''That's something in our back pocket if we notice travel patterns are changing.''

Tom Cargill, an economist at the University of Nevada, Reno, said he thinks high pump prices would keep some people away from the Reno-Tahoe area.

''It hurts. It has to,'' he said. ''Everything Nevada does, and depends on, is related to getting people to the state. And that will get more expensive.''

But at Boomtown Hotel-Casino along Interstate 80 west of Reno, high gas prices have had little effect so far, said General Manager Jack Fisher.

''We feel the (high prices) will have minimal impact. People will accept it and make the trip up,'' he said.

In Reno, Whittlesea Checker Taxi boosted its fares by 10 percent on June 1 in response to rising gas prices, said General Manager John Brenton.

Business over the Memorial Day weekend was disappointing, he said.

''People just weren't moving around. We're not sure if it was due to gas prices,'' Brenton said.

Cargill said Nevada resorts already are facing challenges from expanded Indian gambling in California, and high gas prices pose just one more challenge.

''It's but another cloud on the horizon,'' he said. ''The next couple of years will be difficult years for Nevada.''

While prices might begin easing in some areas, they generally will remain high through the high-consumption summer months, analysts said Sunday.