Reno architect seeks financing for downtown renovations

Peter Wilday wants to transform the Holiday into the Palm Court Hotel-Casino with a palm-tree motif, indoor restaurants overlooking the Truckee River and an outdoor, riverside dining deck.

The indoor restaurants would displace the former casino, which would be replaced by a new 20,000-plus-square-foot casino on what is now the parking lot.

Wilday's plans for the nearby Bundox motel call for it to resemble a French chateau with riverside dining.

"It's doable - it's not a real pie-in-the-sky vision," Wilday said, adding he now will try to secure financing for his $14-million-plus plans.

Wilday's local projects include the National Bowling Stadium, and the Peppermill, Atlantis and John Ascuaga's Nugget hotel-casinos.

He's a principal in Gaming Entertainment Management, which already owns the Bundox and has an option to buy the Holiday within two years.

He's talking with potential backers who could fund the renovations and allow GEM an ownership stake.

Barney Ng, president of Capital Salvage, a San Leandro, Calif., investment company, bought the Holiday for $2.5 million following an auction last month.

Ng is unsure what role his company will have in the Holiday plans, but is confident that GEM can exercise its option.

"The vision that they have for the Holiday, I think, is well within the realm of attainability," he said.

The 42-year-old Holiday, which closed Nov. 1, is among six downtown casinos to close over the last four years.

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