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LAKE TAHOE — The layoffs at the Horizon Casino Resort and the change in management is a sign of the hard economic times, many said this week.
“Tourism drives this community and when things go south, all of us have a hard time,” said Carol Chaplin, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority executive director.
Tropicana Entertainment laid off about 75 workers on Tuesday as part of a change in operators at the Horizon that included the elimination of table games.
Horizon General Manager Steven Loyd and Columbia Sussex officials did not return the Tribune’s calls in time for this article.
The layoffs mean 75 fewer people won’t receive wages. This doesn’t just affect that group though, Chaplin said. It affects the grocery store, the gas stations, dentists and other services that workers spent money on.
“Losing 75 employees is brutal,” said Jerry Bindel, South Lake Tahoe Tourism Improvement District chairman. “The human toll is painful and I wish it didn’t have to happen.”
South Lake Tahoe Mayor Jerry Birdwell said the changes were because of the economy.
“It’s too bad about the layoffs in the community,” Birdwell said.
Every lodging operator is feeling significant pain right now. The numbers haven’t been this low in a long time, Bindel said.
Bindel attributes some of the hard times to Red Hawk Casino near Placerville, because it siphons off visitors from the South Shore.
In 2006, $634.4 million in income was created by indirect affect of tourism, such as workers’ expenditures, according to the Economic Impact Analysis of Tourism for the LTVA.
The LTVA will continue to be a part of the solution to drive visitors to the area so more business comes to the South Shore.
“We need to prime the pump,” Chaplin said. “Our job in light of this is reinforced that we need to be in our markets and in their faces.”
The Tourism Improvement District is also trying to increase the fees its members charge to guests to pay for marketing, Bindel said.
“Marketing is the only thing that’s going to pull us through this,” Bindel said.
In the next 30 days, Lake Tahoe Realty I, a new company owned by an affiliate of Columbia Sussex Corp., will take over management of the Horizon Hotel and will assume responsibility for employees, staffing and payrolls.
The Edgewood Companies, Tropicana, and Columbia Sussex have agreed that the Horizon’s lease and operations may be assumed by Lake Tahoe Realty I. The Horizon lease will expire in 2011, and after that, Edgewood Companies has an option for three one-year extensions.
The South Tahoe High School students will still have their prom at the Horizon, which is on June 6, STHS teacher Bob Grant said. Some had heard about changes coming to the Horizon and feared the STHS prom would need to be relocated.
According to Edgewood Companies President and CEO Brad Nelson, the company remains steadfast in its desire to ensure the long-term viability of the Horizon property.
“Edgewood Companies is committed to the South Lake Tahoe market and re-building a vibrant economic community here,” Nelson said. “This new arrangement helps preserve jobs in the near term at the Horizon and assures continued operation of one of South Lake Tahoe’s major resorts, while, at the same time, giving Edgewood Companies the continued opportunity to evaluate the longer-term options it has for the Horizon property.”
This move was a way to keep jobs, otherwise there was a great possibility the Horizon could have been shut down altogether, Edgewood Companies spokeswoman Molly Conklin said.
Tropicana and Edgewood Companies also agreed to new lease terms for MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, the companies said in separate statements. Tropicana will build its customer base at MontBleu, where the lease was extended 10 years to 2028.
Edgewood Companies recently filed an application with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to develop a world-class hotel on the existing Edgewood golf course property.
The application indicated that the owner of the land Horizon sits on — Edgewood Companies — may demolish the Horizon in order to obtain the Tourist Accommodation Units needed for the hotel at Edgewood.
Tourist Accommodation Units, or TAUs, are the rights to build hotel rooms or other tourist accommodations under TRPA regulations.
“Tourism drives this community and when things go south, all of us have a hard time,” said Carol Chaplin, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority executive director.
Tropicana Entertainment laid off about 75 workers on Tuesday as part of a change in operators at the Horizon that included the elimination of table games.
Horizon General Manager Steven Loyd and Columbia Sussex officials did not return the Tribune’s calls in time for this article.
The layoffs mean 75 fewer people won’t receive wages. This doesn’t just affect that group though, Chaplin said. It affects the grocery store, the gas stations, dentists and other services that workers spent money on.
“Losing 75 employees is brutal,” said Jerry Bindel, South Lake Tahoe Tourism Improvement District chairman. “The human toll is painful and I wish it didn’t have to happen.”
South Lake Tahoe Mayor Jerry Birdwell said the changes were because of the economy.
“It’s too bad about the layoffs in the community,” Birdwell said.
Every lodging operator is feeling significant pain right now. The numbers haven’t been this low in a long time, Bindel said.
Bindel attributes some of the hard times to Red Hawk Casino near Placerville, because it siphons off visitors from the South Shore.
In 2006, $634.4 million in income was created by indirect affect of tourism, such as workers’ expenditures, according to the Economic Impact Analysis of Tourism for the LTVA.
The LTVA will continue to be a part of the solution to drive visitors to the area so more business comes to the South Shore.
“We need to prime the pump,” Chaplin said. “Our job in light of this is reinforced that we need to be in our markets and in their faces.”
The Tourism Improvement District is also trying to increase the fees its members charge to guests to pay for marketing, Bindel said.
“Marketing is the only thing that’s going to pull us through this,” Bindel said.
In the next 30 days, Lake Tahoe Realty I, a new company owned by an affiliate of Columbia Sussex Corp., will take over management of the Horizon Hotel and will assume responsibility for employees, staffing and payrolls.
The Edgewood Companies, Tropicana, and Columbia Sussex have agreed that the Horizon’s lease and operations may be assumed by Lake Tahoe Realty I. The Horizon lease will expire in 2011, and after that, Edgewood Companies has an option for three one-year extensions.
The South Tahoe High School students will still have their prom at the Horizon, which is on June 6, STHS teacher Bob Grant said. Some had heard about changes coming to the Horizon and feared the STHS prom would need to be relocated.
According to Edgewood Companies President and CEO Brad Nelson, the company remains steadfast in its desire to ensure the long-term viability of the Horizon property.
“Edgewood Companies is committed to the South Lake Tahoe market and re-building a vibrant economic community here,” Nelson said. “This new arrangement helps preserve jobs in the near term at the Horizon and assures continued operation of one of South Lake Tahoe’s major resorts, while, at the same time, giving Edgewood Companies the continued opportunity to evaluate the longer-term options it has for the Horizon property.”
This move was a way to keep jobs, otherwise there was a great possibility the Horizon could have been shut down altogether, Edgewood Companies spokeswoman Molly Conklin said.
Tropicana and Edgewood Companies also agreed to new lease terms for MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, the companies said in separate statements. Tropicana will build its customer base at MontBleu, where the lease was extended 10 years to 2028.
Edgewood Companies recently filed an application with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to develop a world-class hotel on the existing Edgewood golf course property.
The application indicated that the owner of the land Horizon sits on — Edgewood Companies — may demolish the Horizon in order to obtain the Tourist Accommodation Units needed for the hotel at Edgewood.
Tourist Accommodation Units, or TAUs, are the rights to build hotel rooms or other tourist accommodations under TRPA regulations.
