Payout rules may be edge for marketing

From the Bay Bridge to the outskirts of Verdi, billboards along Interstate 80 encourage the gaming crowd to come to casinos where the slots are loose.

Tourism experts in Reno are thinking anew about that message after a newly completed study of the region's tourist industry suggests that payouts from slot machines may provide a competitive advantage in the battle against Indian gaming.

Here's why: The Indian casinos in California that are eroding Reno's gaming and tourism industries aren't regulated by the state.

Nevada gaming, however, is conducted under the watchful eye of the Gaming Control Board an agency that approves new slot machines only if they meet minimum payout standards, then conducts spot checks to make sure the machines continue to pay out.

"We always are watching," explained Joanie Jacka, administrative coordinator of the gaming control board.

While operators of Indian casinos have said that they'd be crazy to lose their market by tightening down too hard on payouts, the difference between state regulation and self-regulation provides a weak spot for Reno marketers to attack.

"It's our biggest competitive advantage," said Deanna Ashby, director of advertising and marketing for the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority.

While the RSCVA staff is keeping the results of the new visitor study close they don't want competitors to use the findings to battle back there's little doubt that the RSCVA will be paying greater attention to the markets within driving distance of Reno.

Ashby said the study found that the portion of visitors who drive, rather than fly, to Reno grew by about 70 percent from 1999 to 2002, when the study was begun.

That reflects the effects of the Sept.

11, 2001, attacks as well as the continued spread of legalized gaming into distant states from which Reno once drew visitors.

But visitors who drive to Reno California, the study said, remains by far the biggest tourism market aren't likely to plan their trips very far in advance.

In fact, Ashby said, visitors typically are booking their Reno-Tahoe trips about 15 days in advance a short time frame that doesn't allow hotel and casino operators much time to ratchet up or down.

Potential visitors continue to have a good impression of the Reno-Tahoe area, Ashby said, but the study notes tourists who have been here are less likely to return.

That, Ashby said, is a strong indication that Reno needs to pay continued attention to its tourist and gaming product.

Another notable finding of the visitor study, Ashby said, is the increased reliance of potential visitors on the Internet for bookings and information.

That, she said, is likely to change the advertising mix used by RSCVA.