Eldorado Resorts-owned MontBleu's assessed value back to normal

MINDEN, Nev. — Deadlines are just as important for multi-million hotel-casinos as they are for anyone else.

On Feb. 12, the Douglas County Board of Equalization apparently reduced the assessed valuation of the MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa in Stateline by half, but that's because the casino was assessed at twice its previous value when the rolls were issued.

Casinos in Nevada are typically assessed based on their income, but it's incumbent on the owners to provide information to the assessor.

The owners of the MontBleu, Reno-based Eldorado Resorts, didn't get that information to the assessor on time, which resulted in a taxable value of $73.8 million based on the cost approach.

That approach looks at the replacement costs for the property instead of the income it generates.

Documents submitted to the county after the rolls were published, indicated the casino had earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $8 million, which reduces the taxable value to $34.7 million.

In Nevada, property is assessed at 35 percent of the taxable value, which resulted in an assessed valuation of $12.1 million.

According to the Douglas County Assessor's website, the casino's taxable value was $11.36 million in 2019 and $11.8 million in 2018, so it actually increased in value over the past year.

The casino is part of the pending $17.3 billion merger between Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment Corp., which is likely to occur by the end of the first quarter.

At Lake Tahoe's South Shore in Stateline, Caesars owns both Harveys and Harrah's, which has led to speculation that one or two of the three properties under the Eldorado/Caesars umbrella might be sold.

Harveys last year announced $41 million in work, including the renovation of 519 guest rooms at the Lake Tower. Harvey's is also opening Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen Lake Tahoe in the casino.

In September, one of the owners of the nearby Hard Rock Hotel & Casino said she wouldn't be surprised if one of the properties sold in the near future.