SPECIAL TO THE PVT A layout of the proposed hotel, casino spa resort at Willow Creek golf course, presented to golfers and neighboring homeowners Wednesday. SPECIAL TO THE PVT An artist's conception of how the three-story hotel at Willow Creek golf course may look. Advertisement

Owners of Willow Creek golf course tried to rally a crowd of 50 golfers to their side Wednesday, after sending out a letter warning they would shut down the course if Nye County commissioners don't approve the commercial rezoning for their hotel, casino and spa resort.

"If our project does not generate the support it needs from the members and the community, we will have no choice but to shut down the golf course and let it sit idle until the deed has expired.

After the deed has expired we would then begin the process of developing the land for other uses. This would include single family and multi-family dwellings," states a letter to neighboring residents and members of Willow Creek golf course.

The deed restriction mandating a golf course be open to the public, expires in 2013.

AMI, the course owner, is also required to accept treated effluent from Utilities Inc., which is used for irrigation. AMI Director of Operations Antonio Caiati said he could keep accepting the effluent, avoiding a breach of contract, if he closes the course, digging some more retention ponds and letting the grass grow.

The planned casino, with probably 18 or 20 table games and 400 to 450 slot machines, will be necessary to generate room nights 52 weekends per year in a 100-room hotel, Caiati said.

He envisions "play and stay" packages at Willow Creek that would be closer to Las Vegas than Mesquite.

The company has a request to rezone 9.1 acres as commercial. But Caiati said in his opinion, "This section was already used for commercial zoning the minute they put a clubhouse and a pro shop on it."

Caiati repeated the threat of closure during the community meeting at the clubhouse. He urged members to show up at the Nye County Commission meeting at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 20 and show their support. In fact plans are to close the course that morning to allow golfers to show up at the Bob Ruud Community Center.

"This golf course, between salaries and everything else, has to cover about $170,000 a month to exist as a golf course. It covers right now about $35,000 a month on average, which means out of our pockets and everything else comes the difference of about $125,000 to $150,000 depending on what time of year it is," Caiati said.

The plan is to have a lessee come in and operate the hotel and casino. That income would be used to pay the bank, Caiati said.

"I don't want a gaming license. I know nothing about running a gaming industry, neither does my company," he said.

Caiati said if the rezoning is approved, he expects construction on the new hotel, casino and clubhouse, each part about 20,000 square feet, could begin in May. It would take two years to build. The hotel would be three stories high, about 38 to 42 feet, shorter than some of the pine trees in the parking lot, which he said won't block the views of Mount Charleston.

The casino would be centered over where the 18th green is right now, the existing clubhouse would be part of the parking lot, Caiati said. The clubhouse may or may not be torn down during construction, if it has to be torn down a temporary clubhouse will be installed.

"I'm not building a neon, flashing lights casino, OK?" Caiati told the crowd. He stressed later in his presentation, "it's not Vegas, it's a very low-key, country-club atmosphere. I'm not going to dump show girls down your throat, bring Siegfried and Roy to run their tigers."

Caiati said he's running the property for his boss, Aram Maissian, who concluded his buyout of the portions of other owners Aug. 17, who were part of the Southwest Exchange scandal and threatened to shut the course down last February. The previous owners were supposed to use $6.6 million from the sale of property that used to be the driving range into the course, he said.

"The only reason we struggled and kept this place afloat was good money after bad, under the presumption this means that we're going to be able to build something that's going to produce revenue and keep the golf course," Caiati said. "If that opportunity wasn't there, this golf course would've been shut down a year ago."

Caiati pledged to put $4 million into improving the golf course as part of the plan. He wants to build a joint green for the ninth and 18th hole, more ponds, beautify the barren desert patches, and said he has an individual interested in putting a tree nursery on the course with Italian cypress trees.

Caiati said a hotel with 100 rooms would mean 200 people traveling on neighboring streets each day. He pledged to work with the planning department to accommodate their requirements.

"If they tell us Red Butte has to be three lanes, then my company will pay to build three lanes. If they say they need a stop light here and a stop light there, then we put in the infrastructure for the stop light," Caiati said.

It isn't fair to compare Willow Creek with Mountain Falls golf resort, Caiati said. Mountain Falls golf course is a selling point for the housing development going up around it and has a homeowner's association, he said.

Caiati confirmed his company was interested in acquiring Lake View Executive Golf Course as well, currently owned by a group of homeowners. That will allow another course as an overflow, in case Willow Creek is booked up with tournaments, he said. Caiati doesn't foresee having to change much at Lake View, just build a better clubhouse.

But Caiati said that acquisition is also dependent on the county commission. "The money we are borrowing from the bank to do this thing basically includes the purchase of Lake View. If I don't get the approval to build it, I can't buy Lake View, I don't need it. "

So what are all the expenses for in running the golf course? Caiati said he has 30 employees. He spent $50,000 on fertilizer to try to get grass growing. He spent at least that much on new equipment. Then there was the cost of restocking the pro shop. Vandals have also damaged the facilities.

Resident Richard Cantino was worried that, if the golf course closes, property values will go down.

Ken Hodgkinson said he was formerly the president of a condominium association in Vail, Colo.

"I don't know if this is the highest and best use. But I'm starting to think it's better than any alternative that's on the table now. I don't like the fact 30, 40 foursomes a day come by my house," Hodgkinson said.

But he added, "The alternative is just unknown and this doesn't really sound too bad to me, although at the meeting I'm going to hold their feet to the fire. I want more answers than I heard here."