It was announced in July that Station Casinos LLC was given approval to create a casino in the city of Reno. The gaming venue would be located across from the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, a piece of property that had been purchased by the company in 2004. The company had been unable to create a casino in the area due to the economic downturn. However, the diversification and expansion of the economy in Northern Nevada gave renewed interest to the company in developing a property in the area.

However, the plans of Station Casinos LLC would have encounter opposition along the way as John Farahi, the CEO of Atlantis Casino, filed an appeal opposing the approval of the company’s special use of permit that allowed the venue to be created without a hotel space. The Reno Planning Commission had given approval to the company for the special use of permit but Farahi was opposed and filed an appeal. The members of the City of Reno Council decided last week to overturn the appeal by a vote of 5 to 2.

According to Farahi’s appeal, his hotel was created based on the rules of a master plan along with city zoning and state laws that mandate casinos have a hotel with a minimum of 300 guest rooms. Farahi’s company had to take out a loan to be able to meet this standard and he is asking for a matter of fairness and what is right with the appeal.

Station Casinos is able to fall in the line of exceptions and does not have to meet this particular regulation. Going back to the 2002 ReTRAC project, according to MyNews4, there are few casinos that are affected by the two mile train track that goes through Downtown Reno. These casinos were provided with a relocation agreement that allows non-restricted Reno Turf Club gaming licenses to be grandfathered in and adding hotel rooms is not a requirement. Station Casinos meets this exception.

Station Casinos LLC Executives of Publicly, Chief Development Officer, Scott Nielson, stated that the company liked the location in Reno due to the proximity to the convention center as well as other retail locations that surround the area. Nielson states he is excited about the decision and glad that the appeal has been overturned and the company can come to the Reno market.

Station Casinos has yet to announce when construction will begin on the venue. However, the facility will have 84,000 square feet of space and will consist of a movie theater, outdoor dining area, bowling alley and a sports book.