Biggest individual owners of Sands reduce holdings

There's no reason for worry in the decision by major shareholders of The Sands Regent to sell some of their holdings, the company's president and chief executive officer told securities analysts last week.

Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that Pete Cladianos Jr., the former vice chairman of the Reno-based company, sold 16,100 shares in a series of trades through April.

His niece, Deborah Lundgren, sold 16,000 shares during the month, according to SEC filings.

Both Cladianos and Lundgren reported that their sales on the open market generated between $10 and $10.37 a share.

That's about the middle of the range in which the stock has been trading in the last three months.

Cladianos and Lundgren are the company's largest individual shareholders, according to a proxy statement filed by The Sands Regent last year.

Lundgren still holds 863,936 common shares and Cladianos holds 907,472 after last month's sales.

Ferenc Szony, president and chief executive officer of The Sands Regent, said the sales reflect the desire of Cladianos and Lundgren to diversify their assets as part of an estateplanning process.

Szony acknowledged, however, that the sales and the resulting reports to the SEC rattled some investors.

They got some good news, however, as the company reported earnings of $802,000 in the quarter ended March 31, an increase from $145,000 in the same period a year ago.

The gains reflect the company's acquisition last spring of Rail City, the locals-oriented property in downtown Sparks.While the company's other properties, the downtown Sands Regency and Gold Ranch at Verdi,were hammered by winter storms, Szony said Rail City netted $834,000 on revenues of $6.2 million.

He said the company hopes its two pending acquisitions in Dayton Depot Casino and Red Hawk Sports Bar can be developed on the same model as Rail City.

At Gold Ranch, meanwhile, Szony said the decision by Cabela's to build a gigantic sporting goods store nearby has caused The Sands Regent to rethink its locals-dominated strategy for gaming.

The Cabela's store, planned for construction next to Boomtown just down the road from Gold Ranch, is expected to draw about 3 million visitors a year.

Occupancy at the Sands Regency, the company reported,was down 10 percent in January compared with year-earlier figures and down 6 percent during

February and March.