Gaming license OK’D for remote inn
Proprietor finally lands operator for four slots
The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday approved a restricted gaming license for Jason Stegall, the sole proprietor of the Outdoor Inn on Main Street in Jarbidge.
Where?
Stegall, who was given a rare opportunity offered by Commission Chairman Tony Alamo to appear before the commission by telephone, said his place has four slot machines operated only with coins.
He said that he was a minimum of six hours away from the commission’s Carson City office and that his place is about 65 miles from the nearest highway, U.S. Highway 93 near the Idaho border.
“There’s nothing like the sound of $20 worth of quarters falling into a slot machine’s steel hopper,” Stegall, a 40-year on-and-off resident of Jarbidge, said in a telephone interview after the license approval.
Stegall said he had difficulty finding a slot route operator to service the machines because coin slots are nearly nonexistent in today’s casinos and servicing four machines was hardly worth the trip.
He finally struck a deal with Reno-based Dynasty Games to do it.
Most of the 17-room Outdoor Inn’s customers are mining company workers, U.S. Forest Service employees or people who like to get away from civilization. Stegall said the slots are more of a historic novelty than a revenue source.
With overseeing the inn and the nearby Red Dog Saloon, Stegall is a one-man chamber of commerce.
He said the area is best known for its hunting, fishing, backpacking and trail-riding. The region also has a colorful history.
“It’s where the high desert meets the mountains and it’s at 6,200 feet, so we have cross-country skiing in the winter,” he said. “We had the last gold rush in the lower 48 states in 1909 and the last stagecoach robbery in 1916. About 27 people live here year-round, and we get mail delivered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.”
Alamo said the unanimously approved license might be the most isolated location ever approved.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.