The Challenges Ahead For the Siena

Mike, it shows there IS confidence in our marketplace, especially downtown. This is really good news. Most gaming analysts ie, Bill Eadington, said the Siena would never sell and sit there dark for years, well he was WRONG wasn't he? It just makes me so angry these people play down Reno when they don't even realize how attractive it is. So in regards to the Siena, these owners aren't Barney Ng or his family, they are smart and sound like they have some experience. They will do a great job and don't think they will stop with just existing facilities, to really make it work, they would pay to clean up some of the blight around it. As a person who is interested in such a business, hotel/casinos, major works will be done to the Siena in the next year. I can't wait, like you, to see what exactly they're going to do but in my mind I see them expanding it, with a parking garage included. Only time will tell but that is my assumption, I wish them the best of luck and will be there when it reopens and will support it to no end. Now, let's get the FITZ REOPENED!! I know Fernando has to be watching what's unfolding with the Siena.

Mike you hit it on the head with your comments! The Seina was a really nice facility, and I'm happy it sold, against my prediction, so fast! And, so cheaply, in my opinion. I still think it's totally in the wrong place for a gambling venue, as gamblers tend to like to drink and walk to the next casino when the luck runs low. If that hotel was Fitz it would be THE spot, alas, it's so far out off of the main gambling drag, it turns into a destination. Good management and careful marketing will make it work though, I wish the new owners the best and I will patronize the place when the doors re-open.

I think a big part of making this property successful is their substantially reduced debt load. Initially, trying to make the property profitable while making minimum payments on $50 million can be tough. When making minimum payments on only $3.9 million, you've reduced your biggest expense - by over 90%.

I think they need to purchase the Joseph Inn and Lakemill Lodge and clean up the area. Also, a parking structure would be helpful since it was part of the original plans. Also, bring back the table games!

The last time I walked into the Sienna the cigarette stench made me turn around and walk back out. I'd give it a chance, but I have my doubts. As was said, a 5 star place in a one star town.

Justin nailed it.

I love the Monday morning quarterbacks and Barney Ng bashing. Has anyone noticed that there were other casinos that closed recently too? Certainly, Barney Ng could have done things better, and in a thriving economy, Siena would have made his investors happy, but let's face reality, the gaming industry in Reno has been cut in half the last two decades. Barney Ng put money in Reno's economy and put food on the table for the casino hotel's employees. You blame a business owner for closing his business but don't thank him for years of signing your pay check??? And as for his poor, poor investors, my heart just bleeds. How about the investors in the large investment banks who were not even told their life's savings were being put in mortgage-backed securities and hedge funds??? Ng's investors knew exactly what they were getting into, a casino business, not a retirement fund, mutual fund, blue chip. A casino business. So before you start crying for these millionaires, how about asking them why after making millions with the Ng's they didn't just put all their money in mutual funds and blue chips and bonds? Uh, because they weren't happy with a few million and wanted to risk more on becoming multi-millionaires? The beauty of Capitalism is risk. Don't cry when people make millions and don't cry when they lose millions, we're all adults here.

??? ?Posted by: peterskene - 11/12/2010 5:39:57 PM The last time I walked into the Sienna the cigarette stench made me turn around and walk back out. I'd give it a chance, but I have my doubts. As was said, a 5 star place in a one star town." Reno is far from a one-star town. The Siena is adjacent to one star motels but that hardly defines the city as a whole.

I think I was pretty tame Blake. :) Compared to other blogs. I don't 'bash' anyone on this site. I simply said the family dynamics between Barney and Walter and the various forms of their entities was the stuff of Dynasty and Dallas, minus shooting JR...which is a 100% accurate conclusion IMO. History helps you understand how to plan for the future. The NG's bought the Holiday for around $2,000,000 if I remember, and invested $20,000,000 initial into renovation, opening it as a '4-Star Hotel', yet it failed so I wondered why. It's a good question to ask. I even remember RGJ's headline...'Upscale Casinos Debuts Amid High Expectations'. I'm very much a grown adult, but I don't come from an investment/financial background, so I guess I take a less cold, calculating approach to addressing people's investment losses. I don't like it when ANYONE loses money.

Barney was a bad boss. He didn't pay health insurance and then health insurance stopped.

The original construction price was to be about 25 million. It over ran by some reports of 60-80 million. Maybe someone should have started asking questions then but Barneys choice was to ignore the overruns, continue to move forward and settle any lawsuit that contractors sent him over demanding they finish the work. It was sunk before it began and he didn't have a clue, no matter how many tried to help him. This is not the first time he has failed or hurt a business he inherited from a bad loan.

Sorry Rory Outside of a few places Reno is a ONE STAR TOWN. In 2007 Nevada passed a law where no smoking was allowed when food was being prepared & served. I liked the Brew Brothers (Eldorado) during the day, But they fought the law and now you can have a cigar with your pizza. You can't less One Star than that. Will the last one out of Reno turn the LIGHTS OFF.

If you think Reno is a one-star town then you need to stop hanging out in One-Star places, which thankfully, do not outnumber the cool places to hang out downtown. Give me a break.

So Peterskene, the fact you hang out and eat in casino bars and restaurants shows you one-star tastes to begin with. I suggest getting out and exploring a bit more. A whitewater park, great restaurants, a cute riverwalk, the list goes on and on. All within walking distance of one another? You have zero community pride, probably contribute nothing to this community, and sit there and bitch about your surroundings instead of doing something about it. Why don't you just move? Or are you so pathetic that you are stuck in a place you hate? That would explain your attitude.

With regards to what Paul W said... I seem to notice a lot of people in Reno on various sites that do nothing but complain about Reno, claim to absolutely hate the city, the location, the people, the weather, anything "Reno", and saying how they wish they were somewhere else but are stuck here. As unemployment has been in the past few months, close to (if not over) 20%, and seeing how other areas have lower unemployment (the San Francisco Bay Area is actually below the national average right now), I'm sure I myself, as well as others who actually love being here and are having trouble finding work, would be more than happy if the Reno haters took this opportunity to go elsewhere and take their whining attitudes with them. It would do a lot to help our unemployment in this region. And please, don't let the door hit you ass on your way out. End rant...

Play nice folks! No one deserves to be called 'pathetic', even if they rate Reno one star, which I also strongly disagree with. Let's focus on the Siena.

I think what he was trying to say, albeit in a harsh way, is that...despite the misconceptions many newcomers have...Reno is a blue-collar town, and with the recession is going back to its blue-collar roots. There's nothing wrong with that, but wages are significantly lower here than in the Bay Area, and we are lacking the educated workforce that draws high-paying companies. Sorry, that's the truth and always has been. I have to chuckle reading some of the daydreams posted here, from a Ruth Chris at the Montage to a Grand Sierra thriving with $300,000 hotel condos. The Siena is falling into the trap it started with...there is simply not a big enough market here for a 4-star, high class hotel. Many similar new business owners have found out the hard way, this ain't SF. Sorry, just a reality check from a hometowner.

I think Steve absolutely nailed it, and I also shared his amazement/amusement when the Ruth's Chris was being talked about, among other downtown project proposals that never were reasonable given Reno's size and number of high income individuals living here.

The future bodes well for Reno. This "blue collar" image has lasted for decades, but in the future I don't see it around. I have to question the person who said hi paying companies aren't here. Um excuse me? Have you seen Microsoft's or Intuit's offices? Big name companies are here for sure and we aren't some small town anymore like most people think. By 2020, that image will be long gone and we will be preparing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. As for the Siena? It will come back and re-launch stronger than ever, IT will be the catalyst for a true downtown makeover.

@ Anakin Marc, I couldn't agree more. I was born and raised in a super small town on the very liberal CA coast and have wanted to live in Reno FOREVER. For one reason or another things hadn't worked out...until now. It looks like my dream may finally come true in early 2011 and I can't wait to be "waking up in Reno." As someone coming from an area that refuses to grow and change with the times, Reno is very exciting for my family and I. At least in Reno we will have many options on things to do and places to go, where as where we're from, there are NO options other than to sit at home. My husband and I feel Reno is a great place to invest in a home and business...it's where the movers and shakers live and we can see a wonderful future ahead for the city of Reno....so yes, again, I agree and say to all the Reno haters....buh-bye **waiving**

Someone posted that Reno is "...where the movers and shakers live...." Well, that's a nice thought, but its actually more like where warehouse workers, hotel staffers and cocktail servers live. But that is going to be changing over time, and the natural beauty of the region helps to overcome other factors.

If you think Reno is only warehouse workers and hotel staffers, then you don't go to enough business networking events. Some of the most innovative companies I have run across started in this area and are still here. One of the top battery research companies in America is here, countless renewable energy companies, biodiesel research facilities, one of the best arid desert research institutes in America. You need to get out a bit more.

Thank you, Melissa, but maybe you ought to consider the numbers. The local resident workers to whom you refer are statistically insignificant when compared to the larger numbers of hotel-casino employees plus distribution center employees in this area.