Chad Lundquist/Nevada Appeal Security Contractors Scott Joyce, left, and Charles Joyce, from Performance Products Co. of Sacramento, install security cameras in the new bingo room of the Carson Nugget on Tuesday.
The Carson Nugget bingo announcer will no longer be drowned out by the nightly entertainment.
By the end of the week, Nugget officials will open a new 2,000-square-foot bingo room in the basement of the downtown casino.
The bingo room was located beside the main show lounge, where the entertainment and the usual casino noise overpowered the announcing of the bingo numbers.
Bill Nelson, the Nugget's assistant vice president who oversees slot and bingo operations, said comfort and convenience are important factors for the bingo parlor. It will be adjacent to the hair salon.
"We've had a bingo room for years, but it was time for an update," he said.
The new location will accommodate 65 to 70 players and has restrooms. Nelson said there will continue to be six bingo sessions daily, four of which are smoke free. The first session starts at 8 a.m., and the last begins at 9:30 p.m. The main-floor bingo room closed Monday in preparation of the move.
Nugget director of public relations Doug Brown said the casino is also adding a two-table, 900-square-foot poker room and a 2,000-square-foot slot room. Both will be smoke-free.
"All of these projects together cost about $1.3 million," he said.
The poker room will be located at the east side of the building, to the right of the valet entrance. The slot room will be in the location of the old bingo room, to the left of the valet entrance. The air pressure will be regulated to keep the air clean.
Brown expects the company will hire a few more employees for the new slot area, which will have 80 ticket-in/ticket-out machines.
"We've always been a very conservative business and we've always waited to see if something is going to be a fad, or if customers will want a product long range," he said.
"Poker is a good example. We had tables in the 1970s and 1980s, and then interest died out. In the last two or three years, it's come back. So it's not just a fad. Poker is going to be a long-range gaming commodity that people want."
The poker room should be open in March. The new slot room will be completed in a few months. American General of Carson City is the main contractor for the projects at the 507 N. Carson St. casino. The Nugget is owned by the Adams family.
-- Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.