The announcements this week that both the Saddle West Hotel and Casino and the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Gambling Hall will have theater additions were greeted with applause.

Pahrump has been without a movie theater for more than seven years. There has been talk at various times of casinos opening theaters ever since, some of them have falsely raised hopes in Pahrump.

Here is a chronology of the theater scene in Pahrump.

* Dec. 20, 1996: California businessman Zahid Sadiq opens The Pahrump Theaters at 1301 E. Calvada Blvd. with two 168 seat auditoriums in a steel building and spray-on acoustic foam on the inside walls.

The first movie was "101 Dalmations" and "Jingle All The Way" a Christmas comedy spoof starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad.

* March 23, 2001: The Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Gambling Hall opens its doors to the public at 8 p.m. A movie theater is part of the phase two plans.

* April 26, 2001: Sadiq closes The Pahrump Theaters, complaining he couldn't keep his two theaters afloat financially. Sadiq said he lost money since it opened in 1996, except for a two-month period in summer 2000. The last movie was "Spy Kids" which topped the box office, but only pulled in $200 per day on opening weekend in Pahrump.

* May 21, 2004: the Pahrump Nugget breaks ground on a 24-lane bowling alley and what was to be an eight-plex movie theater. Rod Fox, co-owner of Foxfire Services, was to build the 41,751-square-foot theater. The bowling alley is built but not the theater.

* Sept. 12, 2006: The Pahrump Regional Planning Commission approves a rezoning of 12.16 acres from open use to general commercial for Terrible's Town Casino. Plans show an eight-plex Brendan Theatre with 1,300 seats.

The Nye County Commission votes 3-0 on Oct. 16 to approve the rezoning. Architect Pat Lenahan said the movie theater on the south side of Terrible's Town Casino would be built before a 103-room hotel in the same plans, due to public demand.

* June 22, 2007: Rod Fox, owner of Milestone Entertainment LLC, begins showing family movies at Petrack Park, using a 40 foot, inflatable movie screen. The first movie shown is "Happy Feet."

Fox said he was trying to seek a permanent theater location.

The weekly movies were shown during the summer of 2007 and continue to be shown on Saturday nights this summer, except July 5 and July 12.

* Sept. 28, 2007: Lenahan said he will meet with Brendan Theatres representatives next week to review plans for the Terrible's Town eight-plex movie theater.

* Nov. 27, 2007: Blake Sartini, chief executive officer of Golden Gaming Inc., owners of the Pahrump Nugget, confirms the acquisition of the Saddle West Hotel and Casino.

* Feb. 12, 2008: During a routine presentation on a request for an abandonment of Highway 160 frontage for Terrible's Town Casino, engineer Ed Taney tells the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission "the property is potentially not going to be developed. They're placing it (the theater and hotel) on hold."

* April 4, 2008: Herbst Gaming legal counsel Sean Higgins, announces that Terrible's Herbst may have to file for Chapter 11 if it can't file a reorganization plan. The action is blamed on the slumping economy and the recent acquisition of properties in Primm and Reno.

* June 20, 2008: Golden Gaming Inc. announces it has cancelled plans to acquire the Saddle West by mutual agreement with Marnell Sher Gaming.

* June 23, 2008: Marnell Sher Gaming LLC announces plans to convert the Saddle West Hotel show room into a temporary movie theater and build a four-plex movie theater addition to be completed by November 2009.

* June 25, 2008: Golden Gaming Inc. Chief Operating Officer Steve Arcana announces construction will begin after Labor Day on an eight-plex movie theater addition to the Pahrump Nugget. It will include 1,300 seats and be completed by Memorial Day 2009.