Sun file photo
Downtown Ely is seen in an undated file photo. A new ordinance in the city that allows slot machines in restaurant-bars is coming under fire with complaints that it undermines the hotel industry.
Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 | 2 a.m.
A new ordinance in Ely that allows up to 40 slot machines in restaurant-bars is drawing criticism from some people who say it undermines the city’s hotel industry.
Previously, only businesses with at least 50 hotel rooms were permitted to operate 16 or more slot machines.
Under the new ordinance, which went into effect Jan. 11, businesses that want to have more than 40 slot machines must have at least 30 hotel rooms.
People visit Ely because of the city’s outdoor activities and other tourist attractions, and they stay in hotels that supplement their income through slot machines, White Pine County Assessor Burton Hilton said.
If hotels lose players to restaurant-bars, it makes them less viable, he said.
“I want to see what’s best for our community for the next 40-plus years that I’m here,” he said. “And I just don’t feel that bringing in a slot parlor is going to add to the community.”
Additionally, the city “desperately” needs more hotel rooms, he said.
Samantha Elliott, a member of the Ely City Council, said the goal of the new ordinance was to get some ambiguities in the old law, which was passed in 2017, “buttoned up.”
“It’s just trying to open up business a little bit more,” Elliott said. “We just looked at all the businesses here in town, we looked at what the state requires and what other cities and counties are doing throughout the state, and have just been trying to come up with a fair compromise.”
Hilton agreed that such issues present a sort of balancing act, but he questioned which way the scale is tilted.
“From an assessor point of view, any new construction is always good for the community because it generates more tax revenue for services that we provide,” Hilton said.
“But from a personal perspective, I don’t think we should just do whatever comes down the road, either,” he said. “What’s in our community’s best interest?”
White Pine County Tourism and Recreation Board Chairwoman Caroline McIntosh said Ely’s tourism is driven by its “natural assets,” such as the Great Basin National Park, but the city is limited because it doesn’t have enough lodging.
McIntosh said she was disappointed the council voted in favor of the new ordinance, which may benefit incoming developers, as opposed to people who were already investing in the community and following the previous ordinance, which she called “very well thought-out.”
McIntosh said she didn’t know if there was any evidence slot parlors have benefits socially or when it comes to improving quality of life.
“We need more quality lodging,” she said. “I’m taking the long road, the long view of, if the goal is quality of life, slot parlor does not fit in that category.”
Elliott, however, said the new ordinance requires businesses that want to operate more than 15 slot machines to bring “something else to the table” in the form of a restaurant-bar or more hotel rooms.
The law specifies the restaurant must be family friendly, with a full kitchen and a sit-down dining area, she noted.
Ely Mayor Nathan Robertson called the new ordinance a “pretty good compromise,” taking into consideration the business impact and community input.
“All I can do is make sure we’re doing an ordinance, not with one developer in mind but with what’s sustainable and what looks good for the community at large,” Robertson said. “And what looks good for the business climate, as well.”
Elliott said the council worked for nearly a year to come to a fair compromise.
“I’m just hoping that down the road this will show our state and everybody that we are open to business,” Elliott said.
“We are a little, tiny city about 3 1/2 hours north of Vegas, but we have year-round attraction — and it’s fun — and we hope that people will see that it’s a fun place to come and get away.”
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