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GRANDMA’S KITCHEN DOESN’T
FIT IN MADDEN’S MAN CAVE
By Chuck Muth
December
1, 2014
There
are a lot of crushing problems in Clark County, Nevada.
A
worst-in-the-universe education system.
A still-not-recovered economy.
High unemployment. Traffic congestion. Health care woes. Crime.
Homelessness. Hunger. UNLV’s football program. You name it.
So
which pressing problem will the Clark County Commission be tackling at their
meeting on Tuesday?
An
amendment to the Clark County Code that includes the following definitional
change…
In
addition, the amendment dictates the number of hours a tavern will be forced to
keep their kitchen open, dictates the number of people a tavern is forced to
employ in its kitchen, excludes the sale of t-shirts and beer mugs as “tavern revenue,”
and restricts who a tavern owner can sell their tavern to if and when they
chose to retire.
I…kid…you…not.
This
living embodiment of Nero fiddling while Rome burns is front and center on the
commission’s front burner because…well, because Stations Casinos wants it
there.
And
apparently what Stations wants, Stations gets.
And
why does Stations want county commissioners to micro-manage the operations of neighbor
taverns?
Because
it wants the government to help it crush a competitor, that’s why.
Make
no mistake. These code amendments are
aimed at one target and one target only…
Dotty’s
Gaming & Spirits.
You
see, Dotty’s redefined the look and feel of a neighborhood tavern; catering to
a female clientele as opposed to the male-focused sports-themed bars. They’re more like Grandma’s kitchen than John
Madden’s man cave.
Nevertheless,
Dotty’s are every bit a neighborhood tavern as any beer-soaked sports bar. They serve adult beverages and bar food and
have no more than 15 slot machines on the premises.
At
the time the Dotty’s model was first introduced back in the 1990s, nobody
thought it had a prayer of succeeding. But
succeed it did.
Turns
out a lot of “locals” prefer to hang out at a local neighborhood watering hole
with just a few slot machines rather than patronize a big, full-scale casino –
even an off-Strip casino.
In
addition, Dotty’s décor attracts older women who apparently appreciate the lack
of testosterone permeating the joint.
Simply
put, Dotty’s discovered a niche in the tavern/gaming market and catered to
it. But rather than compete for those
customers fairly and squarely in the free market, Stations decided to go to war
and crush the upstart using the powers of government regulation.
As
such, Dotty’s has already been forced to spend MILLIONS of dollars retrofitting
and remodeling its existing operations – now located throughout the state – in
order to comply with never-ending/ever-changing rules.
Alas,
in their zeal to destroy Dotty’s the Commission is starting to resemble a blind
bank robber: You know somebody is going to get shot, you just don’t know who.
Indeed,
this effort to legislate a single company out of business is likely to take out
other “real” taverns, as well. And yet,
when traditional taverns and sports bars go under and landlords are facing
potential huge losses in revenue, Dotty's is their first call.
Dotty’s
has, literally, saved more strip malls in the state than you can shake the
proverbial stick at.
And
they employ thousands of Nevadans.
And
generate millions of dollars in tax revenue.
Yet
on Tuesday the Clark County Commission will once consider doing the “dirty
work” for a Big Gaming competitor.
This
isn’t right. Even for Nevada, this isn’t
right.
Here’s
hoping a majority of county commissioners put an end to this anti-Dotty’s jihad
once and for all on Tuesday and get back to frying bigger fish.
Like
fixing UNLV’s football program!
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