Ilitch casino partner to assume management of Sinatra's former Lake Tahoe casino

New firm OK'd for Tahoe's Cal-Neva
Ryan Randazzo (RRANDAZZ@RGJ.COM)
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
December 7, 2006

The Cal-Neva Resort in Crystal Bay will turn its casino over next month to veteran gaming executive Tom Celani and Luna Gaming, pending approval from the Gaming Commission.

The Control Board approved Celani's company Wednesday to lease the casino in the
historic property once owned by Frank Sinatra.

A group of Phoenix and Los Angeles investors called Namwest bought the hotel-casino last year for $30 million, but have been leasing the casino to former owner Chuck Bluth because they are not licensed. Sentry Hospitality of New York is managing the resort for the Namwest investors.

"It needs a lot of investment," said Celani, whose ventures include serving as a partner in Detroit's MotorCity casino and Sodak Gaming, a slot distributor for tribal casinos bought out by Reno-based International Game Technology in 1999.

"It just needs a little love and someone to focus on the casino," Celani said.

He plans to replace the slot machines, but Celani said he'll hold off on other improvements until he's confident Namwest is committed to redeveloping the property.

Namwest plans to spend about $60 million to convert the nine-story hotel's 219 units to 139 one-, two- and three-bedroom condos that investors will buy but occupy only part of the year. Some condos will have separately accessible guest rooms, accounting for the discrepancy in number of units.

The hotel is soliciting buyers for hotel-condominiums, saying the property needs the money from selling hotel-condos for upgrades and the conversion, according to the plans filed in Placer County, Calif.

Cal-Neva straddles the state border, so several government approvals are needed for the construction. Pending those, the units could be ready by 2008, officials have said.

Celani told the Control Board he plans to keep the same employees with the same benefits at the casino.

Pending Gaming Commission approval, Celani will take over Jan. 3.

He said he hopes to fill some of the empty hotel rooms by advertising ski weekends to Reno-Sparks residents, and said the property needs more marketing, especially of its history.

"I don't think they understand it very well," Celani said of the current managers. "I'm a big fan of the history."

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