By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
All small legal gaming businesses are now eligible for the second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Last week, Congress passed a nearly $500 billion interim coronavirus bill. It included more than $320 billion in additional funding for the PPP, a forgivable loan program to help small businesses keep employees on payroll.
The PPP had originally been funded with $349 billion. But guidance released by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) had excluded any small business deriving more than one-third of its revenues from legal gaming activities from participation in PPP.
This position immediately came under criticism from members of the Nevada Congressional delegation.
“Nevada’s gaming small business community is a vital part of our state’s economy, and they deserve the same access to federal aid as any other legal business,” the two Senators said in a joint statement last week.
Last week Rosen and Cortez-Masto introduced a bill to Congress to allow legal gaming small businesses to have full access to SBA loan and gratn programs.
Regulations from the U.S. Treasury Department were revised stating that “a business that is otherwise eligible for a PPP Loan is not rendered ineligible due to its receipt of legal gaming revenues.”
In their joint statement, the two Senators said that they were pleased with the change. “We are glad to see that our calls for reform were answered and this much-needed step is being taken to provide gaming small businesses in Nevada and across the country access to financial support and aid during this difficult time,” they said. “We will continue working to protect the health and economic well-being of our state.”
The change came as particularly good news to local businessman Kurt Slight. Slight owns the Stateline Casino in Mesquite, a small business with about 16 employees. The Stateline, along with all other gaming businesses throughout the state have been closed since March 18.
The closure has been strange for Slight and his company. “Since we bought the place in 2007, we have never had a last call,” he said. “We have been open 24/7 the whole time. We didn’t even have locks on the door. We had to go out and get them installed to close it down. So it has been an interesting ordeal.”
Slight said he went through the process of applying for the PPP in the first round only to have it denied because of the SBA regulation. Now that his business is eligible, the bank is already resubmitting his application, he said.
“This is good news,” Slight said. “Of course, it would be better to be open. But if we can get some of this funding it will help to cover some of our people.”
All employees of the Stateline had been laid off until further notice. “But with this, we can bring some of them back to get some things done,” Slight said. “And, of course, we will need some money to pay all of our employees when we are able to reopen until we start making money again. This could help with that as well.”
