Harrah's, Boomtown, Eldorado, Siena, Cal Neva, other casinos seek property tax break

RENO - Six of the Reno area's largest casinos have filed appeals seeking to reduce their property values for the upcoming year.

The Washoe County Assessor's Office is recommending a reduction only for Harrah's Reno.

Others seeking breaks are Boomtown Hotel and Casino, the Eldorado Hotel Casino, the Silver Club, the Siena Hotel Spa Casino and Club Cal Neva.

Mark Stafford, a senior appraiser with the county, said he has recommended a reduction in Harrah's taxable value from $118 million to $105 million.

State law allows businesses to seek breaks when their properties are not performing up to normal business standards.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, the county board of equalization has reduced hotel-casinos' taxable values by more than $300 million.

In the past few years, most of the Reno area's largest resorts have received significant reductions.

But overall, the gambling industry appears to have stabilized since the recession following the terrorist attacks, Stafford said.

Hearings before the board of equalization will be scheduled in January and February.

In a related development, residents of upscale Incline Village on Lake Tahoe's north shore continue to protest land values that rose 31 percent in 2003.

Incline Village residents have filed more than 1,200 appeals over a subsequent 8 percent increase in land values.

Today, the board of equalization plans to decide whether to hold one hearing on the Incline Village cases or to hear them separately.

Despite soaring real estate prices, only 60 other county property owners have appealed their property taxes this year.

"We have never had that few," county Assessor Robert McGowan told a Reno newspaper.

McGowan said his office appraises property on the conservative side.

"We are audited by the state, and if we are too low, the state will correct us," he said.

"But the real estate market was so high, perhaps people felt they dodged the bullet."