Several days ago, the United States SBA or Small Business Administration started taking applications for small businesses across the United States for loans as part of the organization’s PPP or the Paycheck Protection Program’s second phase. This particular financial relief program by the United States Small Business Administration was approved by the US federal government due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
As suggested by its name, the program was carefully crafted to help small business owners pay their employees and stay afloat while the USA economy is almost completely shut down. Thanks to the United States Small Business Administration program, over $300 billion was collected and made available initially, but gambling venues including Lakeside Inn Casino from the state of Nevada were not able to apply. Later on, the new funding emerged on the scene with a certain rule clarification which was in place in order to assist firms and businesses active in the casino gaming industry.
Unfortunately, the rule clarification which allowed business from the gaming industry to participate in the program came a little late for the Nevada-based Lakeside Inn Casino. The owners of the facility received a rejection note over two weeks ago and due to financial difficulties and not being able to pay its employees, the owners of the facility had no other choice but to close Lakeside Inn Casino permanently.
Lacking Federal Assistance
Formerly known as Tahoe Sky Harbor, Harvey’s Inn, Caesars Inn, and Fabulous Eddie’s Stardust Club, Lakeside Inn Casino located in Stateline, the state of Nevada was packed with one hundred and twenty-three rooms. The venue opened seventy-four years ago back in 1946 which makes it one of the oldest venues of this kind in the area. Its total gaming space covered 17,852 square feet while the facility included several other attractions including it’s the Timbers and Latin Soul Restaurants.
Over the years, Lakeside Inn Casino was renovated extensively several times including in 1957, 1969, 1972, and 1985 when the facility was rebranded to Lakeside Inn. At the time of its inception over seventy years ago, Lakeside Inn included a small casino which back in 1969 included only five table games and around one hundred slot machines. At the time, the casino floor at Caesars Inn was managed by Herbert Fisher and Grover L. Rowland. Then, three years later Harvey A. Gross purchased Caesars Inn alongside the venue’s surrounding land.
He expanded the venue and added one hundred and thirty rooms to the facility. After the death of Mr. Gross, Harvey’s Inn was renamed to Lakeside Inn and Casino. Despite its long and rich history, Lakeside Inn Casino closed its doors permanently back on the 14th of April and one of the major reasons is the lack of federal assistance. The original Small Business Administration prohibited the Nevada-based venue from applying for a loan as the company operating the venue earns over one-third of its profits from casino gaming.
The Small Business Administration Program’s Rule Changing
Initially, the Small Business Administration program followed a twenty-five-years-old policy even though loans were in place to help small-business owners. Following the rule change, some companies from the casino gaming industry were allowed to participate, but Lakeside Inn Casino was not able to qualify. Without this much needed federal assistance, Lakeside Inn Casino closed its doors permanently. The owner of the venue Stacy Noyes said that the venue will be sold. The area of the facility is heavily focused on tourists so even if Lakeside Inn Casino received a loan, it would have been most likely forced to shut down in the following months due to lack of tourists.
