A request for a conditional use permit and a waiver from a regulation requiring a rear landscaping buffer for the Pahrump Nugget Casino expansion project was withdrawn without prejudice at the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission meeting Wednesday.

That means it can be requested again without the one-year grace period to submit planning requests dismissed with prejudice.

A Jan. 7 letter to the Nye County Planning Department from Golden Gaming Inc. Chief Financial Officer Matt Flandermeyer said, "We are seeking to withdraw them at this time due to the fact that certain items were not resolved as we had anticipated with the public works department and in the time frame we had expected. Concurrently, our ability to obtain financing in the existing credit environment has forced us to delay this project until markets become more receptive. We remain committed to developing our master plan for the Pahrump Nugget."

Golden Gaming Inc. held a formal press conference June 25 to announce the company would break ground after the last Labor Day on a $10 million, octiplex movie theater, children's arcade and expanded gaming area.

A ground-breaking ceremony to kick off the project was held Aug. 18.

It was premature.

The Nye County Public Works Department asked for a traffic impact analysis and improvements on Crawford Way, with curb, gutter, sidewalk and paving.

Golden Gaming Inc. requested a waiver from a requirement to provide a six-foot landscaping buffer at the rear of the property. Company officials said a buffer would require them to realign a driveway, resulting in extensive re-engineering of the proposed theater project.

Golden Gaming suggested the landscape buffer be built across the property line on another parcel owned by the company.

The plans called for installing another 100 slot machines, with the possibility of expanding up to 250 machines, in a corridor connecting the existing casino with the movie theater addition.

The only comment came from Pahrump Nugget General Manager Jeremy Jensen, who told the RPC, "The only reason that the project is on hold is because of the current lending environment, and we do continue to remain committed to our master plan for the Pahrump Nugget. We do plan on intending on following through with the project, just not at this time."

The Pahrump Nugget Casino opened in March 2001. In 2004 construction began on the bowling alley addition.